He makes an energy drink named ‘Five Hour Energy’, and his company Living Essentials has a current annual turnover of around US $1.3 billion. Forbes magazine has named him amongst the richest Indian billionaires in the US. In this interaction with B&E’s Onkareshwar Pandey, Manoj Bhargava talks about Indian and US politics and his decision to donate most of his wealth to charity.
B&E: You basically hail from Lucknow. Tell us more about your life’s journey from Lucknow to the US?
Manoj Bhargava (MB): I would prefer to say little because I have had little attachment to my personal life. I was born in Lucknow and studied at the Mayanagar School till class 6. After that, my father decided to send me abroad. So for preparations, I spent three years in Mussoorie, while my Dad went there in 1967 only. My father had a big publishing business there. It was called Upper India Publishing House, which published books taught in various colleges. My father had written many books under the Bhargava De name. But with time, everything went downhill, though he was still among the top people in Lucknow. Our grandfather was a leader from the Awadh region. He used to get many hand-written letters from Mahatma Gandhi, who had also sought the help of our grandfather in those days. Even after out grandfather’s demise, many leaders from various political parties used to come home. Even Chief Ministers and Ministers used to frequent our house before and after being sworn in for support. That’s all more or less how it was. Afterwards, we moved to Philadelphia in the US, and I finished my education from there.
B&E: Tell us more about your initial days in US. Were things smooth from the beginning?
MB: In those days, you could not take money abroad. We had nothing when we reached there, but we were very happy and made up our mind to work hard. A new beginning had to be made all over again. We started from zero again. Everyone finished their education there, and except me, everybody had a graduate degree. There too, illiteracy is not considered good. I think that there are two types of education. One is just to take a degree. And then begins the second type of study – the study of life. Bookish studies do not pay much, they act as only a base in life. Then you have to build your own house on that. If you study at Doon, IIT, and IIMs and still don’t know much about life, what is the use of such an education.
B&E: Today, you are the richest Indian in America. How did this success come about?
MB: We create an energy drink, which we call 5-Hour Energy. If you’re tired, you can take it and your exhaustion will disappear. It works for five hours, and after that you will return to your normal state. Last year, in the US, we sold 50 Million bottles of this drink. It costs $3 per bottle, or nearly Rs.165. I thought that if I am doing something, it has to be special. To make something new and special, you have to invest a lot of time and energy. So after talking to nearly two thousand people, we decided to start the business. Initially, the company manufactured the drink in big bottles. Later on, I thought that it’s a headache to buy the big bottles, so we created a smaller bottle. We kept on improving it. Today, the sixth generation of ‘5-Hour Energy’ is out in the market. The retail turnover of our business today is around a quarter of a billion dollars.
B&E: You came from a well to do family and there was no shortage of material possessions. Can handling this kind of wealth be difficult for people at times?
MB: I studied for nearly 12 years. After school I thought about the reasons why one needs to earn money. What should one do with it? That thought kept me occupied for a long time. Everyone has different kind of goals. I am not a show off and I do not have a thing for too many material possessions. There’s a saying in our land, that we don’t spend time, time spends us. We don’t indulge, indulgence indulges us. Still, if someone doesn’t learn and isn’t careful, he can’t be called intelligent.
B&E: Being a non-US trader, did you face any challenges there? If so, how did they impact your business?
MB: (Smiling) When you get down to wrestling, you have to do it with someone else. You can’t do it alone. I just thought that we have to do this and just started. We didn’t care about what will happen ahead.
B&E: You basically hail from Lucknow. Tell us more about your life’s journey from Lucknow to the US?
Manoj Bhargava (MB): I would prefer to say little because I have had little attachment to my personal life. I was born in Lucknow and studied at the Mayanagar School till class 6. After that, my father decided to send me abroad. So for preparations, I spent three years in Mussoorie, while my Dad went there in 1967 only. My father had a big publishing business there. It was called Upper India Publishing House, which published books taught in various colleges. My father had written many books under the Bhargava De name. But with time, everything went downhill, though he was still among the top people in Lucknow. Our grandfather was a leader from the Awadh region. He used to get many hand-written letters from Mahatma Gandhi, who had also sought the help of our grandfather in those days. Even after out grandfather’s demise, many leaders from various political parties used to come home. Even Chief Ministers and Ministers used to frequent our house before and after being sworn in for support. That’s all more or less how it was. Afterwards, we moved to Philadelphia in the US, and I finished my education from there.
B&E: Tell us more about your initial days in US. Were things smooth from the beginning?
MB: In those days, you could not take money abroad. We had nothing when we reached there, but we were very happy and made up our mind to work hard. A new beginning had to be made all over again. We started from zero again. Everyone finished their education there, and except me, everybody had a graduate degree. There too, illiteracy is not considered good. I think that there are two types of education. One is just to take a degree. And then begins the second type of study – the study of life. Bookish studies do not pay much, they act as only a base in life. Then you have to build your own house on that. If you study at Doon, IIT, and IIMs and still don’t know much about life, what is the use of such an education.
B&E: Today, you are the richest Indian in America. How did this success come about?
MB: We create an energy drink, which we call 5-Hour Energy. If you’re tired, you can take it and your exhaustion will disappear. It works for five hours, and after that you will return to your normal state. Last year, in the US, we sold 50 Million bottles of this drink. It costs $3 per bottle, or nearly Rs.165. I thought that if I am doing something, it has to be special. To make something new and special, you have to invest a lot of time and energy. So after talking to nearly two thousand people, we decided to start the business. Initially, the company manufactured the drink in big bottles. Later on, I thought that it’s a headache to buy the big bottles, so we created a smaller bottle. We kept on improving it. Today, the sixth generation of ‘5-Hour Energy’ is out in the market. The retail turnover of our business today is around a quarter of a billion dollars.
B&E: You came from a well to do family and there was no shortage of material possessions. Can handling this kind of wealth be difficult for people at times?
MB: I studied for nearly 12 years. After school I thought about the reasons why one needs to earn money. What should one do with it? That thought kept me occupied for a long time. Everyone has different kind of goals. I am not a show off and I do not have a thing for too many material possessions. There’s a saying in our land, that we don’t spend time, time spends us. We don’t indulge, indulgence indulges us. Still, if someone doesn’t learn and isn’t careful, he can’t be called intelligent.
B&E: Being a non-US trader, did you face any challenges there? If so, how did they impact your business?
MB: (Smiling) When you get down to wrestling, you have to do it with someone else. You can’t do it alone. I just thought that we have to do this and just started. We didn’t care about what will happen ahead.
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