Uday Kotak

Uday Suresh Kotak (born 15 March 1959) is an Indian banker and founder of Kotak Mahindra Bank, where he is a non-executive director. He resigned from his CEO position in September 2023. His son, Jay Kotak, is the co-head of the bank's digital banking app, 811. In the early 1980s, while India was still a closed economy with slow economic growth, Kotak decided to start on his own, turning down a lucrative job offer from a multinational corporation. Over the next few years, he diversified his business into various areas of financial services, establishing a prominent presence in bills discounting, stockbroking, investment banking, car finance, life insurance and mutual funds. In March 2003, Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd. became the first company to receive a banking license from Reserve Bank of India. In 2006, he and Goldman Sachs ended their 14-year partnership when Goldman Sachs sold their 25% stake in two subsidiaries for $72 million to Kotak. Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimated his wealth to be US$14.8 billion as of April 2021. In October 2024, Kotak was ranked 18th on the Forbes list of India's 100 richest tycoons, with a net worth of $14.1 billion. As per Forbes list of The Richest People In The World, dated 8 March 2024 Uday Kotak ranked #148 with a net worth of $13.3 billion. He was honoured with the Special Jury award at the EY Entrepreneur award ceremony in February 2026, for his contributions to the Indian banking and financial services industry.