Cyrus S. Poonawalla

Cyrus Soli Poonawalla (born 11 May 1941) is an Indian billionaire businessman, and the chairman and managing director of the Cyrus Poonawalla Group, which includes the Serum Institute of India, an Indian biotech company which is the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world and Poonawalla Fincorp a leading NBFC in India.^[1][2] In 2022, he is ranked as the 4th richest person in India on Forbes India rich list with a net worth of $24.3 billion.^[3] He is ranked number 1 on the Hurun Global Healthcare Rich List 2022.^[4]

Cyrus Poonawalla
Poonawalla in 2015 (2nd from right)
Born	Cyrus Soli Poonawalla (1941-05-11) 11 May 1941 (age 84)
Nationality	Indian
Education	Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce
Occupation(s)	Businessman, owner of Bilthoven Biologicals, Serum Institute of India, Poonawalla Fincorp
Years active	1966–present
Known for	Founder of Serum Institute of India and owner of Poonawalla Group of Companies
Spouse	Villoo Poonawalla ​ (died 2010)​
Children	Adar Poonawalla
Awards	Padma Shri (2005), Padma Bhushan (2022)
Website	cyruspoonawalla.com

In October 2024, Poonawalla and his family were ranked ninth on Forbes list of India’s 100 richest tycoons, with a net worth currently of $22.1billion.^[5]

Early life and career

Cyrus Soli Poonawalla was born in a Parsi (Zoroastrian) family.^[6] He is the son of Soli Poonawala, who was a horse breeder.^[1]

Poonawalla founded the Serum Institute of India in 1966 and built it into the largest vaccine manufacturer (by doses) in the world. Serum produces over 1.5 billion doses annually of a range of vaccines, including for measles, polio and flu.^[7]

Personal life

Poonawalla was married to Villoo Poonawalla, who died in 2010.^[8][9] They have a son, Adar, who currently works as the CEO of Serum Institute of India.^[7] He has two grandchildren.

Awards

• Padma Shri for his contribution to the field of medicine, by the Government of India in 2005.^[10]
• The Ernst & Young "Entrepreneur of the Year" in the category of Healthcare & Life Sciences in November 2007.^[11]
• The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for India in February 2015.^[11]
• Honorary doctorate by the University of Massachusetts Medical School in June 2018.^[12][13][14]
• Honorary doctorate by the University of Oxford in June 2019.^[15][16]
• 'ICMR Lifetime Achievement Medal' for contribution in healthcare by Bill Gates in November 2019.^[17]
• Lokmanya Tilak National Award in August 2021.^[18]
• Dean's medal from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in May 2022.^[19]
• Padma Bhushan, for his contribution in production of vaccines during COVID-19, in the field of Trade and Industry, by the Government of India in 2022.^[20][21][22]

Philanthropy

In May 2019, it was reported that Poonawalla, in partnership with Naum Koen, had proposed supplying Ukraine with 100 thousand doses of the measles vaccine for free vaccination.^[23][24]