Anytime the word billionaire is mentioned, the first thing that always comes to mind is a person with lots of money; probably more than they can account for, a person driving a high-end cars, a lavish house and other things associated with being wealthy.
While some billionaires choose to showcase and flaunt their wealth in public, most always prefer keeping it on the low. One of such is Narendra Raval alias Guru, the Chairman of Devki group of Companies.
Despite being one of the richest men in Kenya, he never walks with any cash and only has one pair of shoes.
In an interview with Business Daily, the 58-year old businessman estimated to be worth Ksh50 billion said he has no debit or credit cards, he does not have a wallet and walks around with nothing but his car keys.
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File image of Devki Group founder Narendra Raval. [Photo: Courtesy]
“I don’t carry cash or cards. I only have my car key…If you took me now, with nothing on me, no cash, no phone and you dropped me in an arid land in Ethiopia or Somalia, I will build another Devki dynasty without taking a penny from anywhere or knowing anybody,” he told the publication.
In this era where everyone does their transactions through mobile money, Raval says he does not have an M-Pesa account, adding that he does not know the total amount of money he has since he does not count his money.
“I don’t know. The day you start counting your money that is the end,” he said while responding to a question on the amount of money he has.
Explaining why he does not count his money, Raval said: “Because my money is not what I have in the bank. My money is the 6,500 people who work for me. My money is the oxygen that patients in hospitals are now breathing because we donated…That is my wealth, not when I spend on myself or my company or my family.”
In terms of material possessions, Devki says he has three helicopters, a simple mobile phone and drives a Mercedes Benz.
In his closet, he has four suits and six ties, arguing that the situation would have been different if it was not for his wife who believes a man should have more than one suit and ties.
In addition to being a successful businessman, he is also an author and a philanthropist. He supports several schools, children homes and other vulnerable people in the community.
