‘Over 80% of entrepreneurs in America…’ Vedanta’s Anil Agarwal for boosting India’s entrepreneurial spirit to match US

Agarwal shared his insights after watching The Men Who Built America, a series on five iconic U.S. entrepreneurs: John Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, J.P. Morgan, and Cornelius Vanderbilt. These men, he noted, all started from scratch. "Did you know that over 80% of entrepreneurs in America are self-made?" Agarwal tweeted, pointing out that only a small percentage inherit their businesses. “This is why the U.S. economy is the most dynamic in the world. It encourages risk-taking and celebrates wealth creation.”

He drew parallels between India and the U.S., noting that India’s entrepreneurial spirit is equally strong and deeply ingrained. However, he noted that societal views on wealth creation need to shift. While India is no stranger to entrepreneurship, he said, “we are still reluctant to embrace wealth creation. We prefer regulation to letting free our creativity.”

Agarwal called for regulatory reforms that ease compliance for businesses. He said while laws must exist, they should not stifle the growth and risk-taking essential to entrepreneurial success. "Our startups today should become the giants of tomorrow,” he wrote, comparing Indian startups to firms run by global tech titans like Elon Musk and Steve Jobs, who started small and grew into world-leading entrepreneurs.

Agarwal emphasized the importance of giving Indian entrepreneurs the freedom to innovate and generate wealth. "That is what creates the GDP and jobs that will make a prosperous country," he said, underscoring his vision of a thriving Indian economy driven by homegrown entrepreneurship.

How did netizens react?

“You are so right Sir! We detest wealth creation but want to become rich. What a contradiction!” one user replied.

“True. In order to succeed we need to take Big RISKS, but our society prefers stability over Risks and at the same time want big success. That's why people prefer Stable Jobs and get into a Comfort Zone and then it becomes hard for them to get out of it and try NEW THINGS,” another replied.