Rich Dad, Philanthropic Daughters Daughters of rich businessmen who went philanthropic!

By Ritu Kochar

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With a lot of money, come a lot of privileges. And for someone born to rich parents, it also brings a lot of speculation from the rest of the world, who think that life for these rich kids have been easier. Though I cannot stress enough how true that is, I also believe that what they do with that money is what would define them, not just their inheritence.

They sure are born rich, but these rich Indian kids are not too shy at giving as well. Their wealth allowed them to go to bunch of expensive schools, with most of them having Ivy League background, but these young daughters of rich dads have decided to take a shift from their family businesses and take a philanthropic turn.

In this article, we will talk about 4 such daughters who come from a well-off background, but realizing the need of the hour, have either left their family business completely or handle it as well, while pursuing social entrepreneurship. These young philanthropists have chosen a tough path for themselves and are now helping solve society's problem.

Ananya Birla

When there's a Birla attached to your name, people build certain expectations around you. Something similar happened with Ananya Birla, the first daughter of Kumar Manglam Birla. However, she didn't let her surname define who she was.

While studying at University of Oxford, 17 years old Ananya decided to become a social entrepreneur and bring a change in our country. Now 21, Ananya stands tall and proud with her organization Svatantra Microfinance, an organisation that provides affordable financial and non-financial solutions to rural women and uses technology in a big way to do so. It currently has close to 1,20,249 clients across three states (Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh ) with a gross portfolio of `128 crore.

This isn't it! Ananya soon plans to venture into the fashion segment with her eCommerce website underway and mental health awareness initiative called MPower.

Roshni Nadar Malhotra

The only child of tech industrialist and founder of HCL Shiv Nadar, Roshni is said to be the reason behind the second innings of the Shiv Nadar Foundation in social service. The Executive Director and the CEO of HCL Corporation, Roshni is a graduate from the Kellogg School of Management with one of her majors in social entrepreneurship. When she moved back home, she waited no time to implement what she's learned and became a trustee of the Shiv Nadar Foundation. The organization has been running the not-for-profit Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of Engineering in Chennai since 1966.

Taking her father's initiative forward to make education accessible in rural areas, Malhotra helped her father build an institution in the form of Shiv Nadar Schools. Now, with her husband Shikhar Malhotra acting as the CEO of Shiv Nadar Schools, Roshni works closely with the kids and manages HCL as well.

In an interview to Mint talking about inheriting money and philanthropy, Malhotra said, "I personally think that people who are inheriting the wealth must have an agreement on how that wealth will flow from generation to generation, how they would like to spend it, and have similar philosophies around philanthropy to ensure continuity and scaling up. Institutions need a lifetime to realize their potential."

Trishya Screwvala

Daughter of a first generation entrepreneur, Ronnie Screwvala, the man who built his media and entertainment company UTV Software Communications Ltd from scratch, Trishya studied to be a film-maker. However, she soon realized that to make an impact she has in mind, she needs something more effective than films.

Keeping in mind the young population of our country, Screwvala realized that a great way to channelise their energy is through volunteering for non-profits. She then set up the non-profit Lighthouse Project in 2012 to introduce a structured youth mentoring programme to train volunteers to work as mentors with NGOs. Trishya helps other NGOs with her foundation, for instance Akanksha Foundation and Salaam Baalak Trust, both non-profits working for the development of children from low-income communities, and the Apne Aap women's collective, an anti-trafficking organization.

Through Lighthouse Project youngsters can volunteer with certain NGOs. Trishya is not only helping build an educated India, she is also helping these young volunteers build character.

Aditi Kothari

Carrying the family torch forward is Aditi Kothari, the fifth-generation businessperson of the Kothari family. Born to Hemendra Kothari, a marquee name in investment banking, Aditi went through her trials in the word of finance before joining family business and it was after her graduation from the Harvard Business School that she joined DSP BlackRock Investment.

Getting inspiration from the biggies like Bill Gates and Zuckerberg, Aditi isn't shy to show how much and how often she donates as she believes it to be the ultimate inspiration to do good work. She believes this practice should be promoted. She herself is keen in protecting all living beings and is a trustee of the Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT) set up by her father Hemendra Kothari. Kothari is also very passionate about education and oversees a low-cost boys' hostel in Mumbai and some schools in Nashik. She has also been working extensively on empowering underprivileged women by teaching them how to manage their money and make their own financial decisions.

Which women entrepreneurs were you inspired by? Share with us on our Facebook Page Entrepreneur India.

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Ritu Kochar

Former Staff, Entrepreneur India

Ritu used to work as a Feature writer for Entrepreneur India.

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