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Cyrus S. Poonawalla
Poonawalla in 2015 (2nd from right)
Born	1941 (1941) (age 83)
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

Cyrus S. Poonawalla (born in 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. 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. He is ranked number 1 on the Hurun Global Healthcare Rich List 2022.

In October 2024, Poonawalla and his family were ranked ninth on Forbes list of India’s 100 richest tycoons, with a net worth of $24.5 billion.

As per Forbes list of The Richest People In The World, dated 8 MARCH 2024, Cyrus Poonawalla ranked #90 with a net worth of $21.3 Billion.

Early life and career

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

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.

Personal life

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

Awards

• Padma Shri for his contribution to the field of medicine, by the Government of India in 2005.
• The Ernst & Young "Entrepreneur of the Year" in the category of Healthcare & Life Sciences in November 2007.
• The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for India in February 2015.
• Honorary doctorate by the University of Massachusetts Medical School in June 2018.
• Honorary doctorate by the University of Oxford in June 2019.
• 'ICMR Lifetime Achievement Medal' for contribution in healthcare by Bill Gates in November 2019.
• Lokmanya Tilak National Award in August 2021.
• Dean's medal from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in May 2022.
• 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.

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.

References

1. ^ "Biography". Retrieved 26 June 2019.
2. "Index". Retrieved 31 March 2020.
3. "Forbes India Rich List 2021". The Hindustan Times. 7 October 2021. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
4. "Hurun Report – Info – Hurun Global Healthcare Rich List 2022". hurun.net.
5. "India's 100 Richest". India’s 100 Richest. 9 October 2024.
6. "The Richest People In The World".
7. Thacker, Teena; Rajagopal, Divya. "Serum Institute founder Cyrus Poonawalla to keep some vaccine aside for Parsis". The Economic Times. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
8. ^ "Cyrus Poonawalla". Forbes. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
9. Kapur, Shweta (8 June 2010). "Villoo Poonawalla passes away at 67". Pune Mirror. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
10. "Villoo Poonawalla's death leaves a void in racing". Racing Pulse. 14 June 2010. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
11. "Padma Awards Directory (1954–2009)" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 May 2013.
12. ^ "Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla – Honours and Awards". cyruspoonawalla.com. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
13. "Padma-Winning Pune Man Becomes 1st Indian to Get 'Doctor of Humane Letters' Degree!". The Better India. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
14. "Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla conferred honorary degree by The University of Massachusetts Medical School". 8 June 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2020 – via YouTube.
15. "Honorary degrees awarded at Encaenia 2019". University of Oxford. 26 June 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
16. "Honorary degree recipients for 2019 announced". The University of Oxford. 25 March 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
17. "Oxford degree for Cyrus Poonawalla". 5 July 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2020 – via YouTube.
18. "Bill Gates Confers ICMR Award to Dr.Cyrus Poonawalla". Punekar News. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
19. "SII chairman Cyrus Poonawalla named recipient of Lokmanya Tilak National Award". The Indian Express. 31 July 2021.
20. Sharma, Ruchika (24 May 2022). "SII chief Dr Cyrus S Poonawalla conferred Dean's Medal by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health". Medicaldialogues. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
21. "Padma awards announced, Padma Vibhushan to Gen Bipin Rawat, Kalyan Singh". The Indian Express. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
22. "Padma Awards, Government of India" (PDF). Padma Awards 2022.
23. "Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla to be conferred with Padma Bhushan". 25 January 2022. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
24. Вергун, Костянтин (27 May 2019). "Patrons ready to support fight measles outbreak in Ukraine". Journalist.today. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
25. "Обеспечить украинцев вакцинной от кори помогут меценаты". vesti-ukr.com. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.

External links

• Profile at Forbes

• Businesspeople from Pune
• Indian billionaires
• Indian chief executives
• Indian businesspeople in the pharmaceutical industry
• Recipients of the Padma Shri in medicine
• Living people
• Savitribai Phule Pune University alumni
• 20th-century Indian businesspeople
• 1941 births
• 21st-century Indian businesspeople
• Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in trade and industry
• Parsi people
• Businesspeople from Gujarat