2 Indians in US' Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40 list: Forbes

December 13, 2016

New York, Dec 13: Two Indian-origin men have figured in Forbes magazine's second annual list of wealthiest entrepreneurs under the age of 40 which is topped by Facebook founder Mark Zuckeberg.

Vivek Ramaswamy, a successful biotech entrepreneur has been ranked 24th on 'America's Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40 2016' list with a networth of 600 million dollars and Apoorva Mehta stands at 31st spot with a 360 million dollars networth.

Ramaswamy, 31, a Harvard University and Yale School of Management alumnus, continues to make waves in the biotech business with his deals and drug development plans, Forbes said.

He was behind the biggest biotechnology initial public offering of 2016, Myovant Sciences, which raised USD 218 million listing its shares on Nasdaq in October, it said.

Last year, Ramaswamy pulled off the biggest IPO in the US biotech history by listing shares of Axovant, a company that is trying to develop a new Alzheimer's drug.

He runs Roivant Sciences, a biotech holding company with an innovative financial strategy to develop drugs, often by purchasing drugs that have been forgotten or abandoned by the pharmaceutical industry.

Forbes called Mehta one of Silicon Valley's youngest immigrant success stories. Born in India, Mehta and his family moved to Canada in 2000, where he studied engineering at the University of Waterloo before working at Blackberry, Qualcomm, and then Amazon. In 2012, he cofounded Instacart, a grocery delivery service that partners with grocery chains.

Customers can order groceries through a mobile app, and pay fees of typically under USD 10 to get deliveries in an hour or two from Instacart contractors. The company is valued at an estimated USD 2 billion, and most recently raised funding from Whole Foods Market in March 2016, it said.

The list has been topped by Zuckerberg, whose Facebook shares and net worth soared to new heights. He is now worth USD 50 billion, up USD 2.9 billion from a year ago.

Newcomers to the 2016 ranks include NBA stars Kobe Bryant and LeBron James and boxer Floyd Mayweather as well as pop star Beyonce and actress-turned-consumer products marketer Jessica Alba. The last two are the only women among the top 40 under 40.

All five of these superstars have net worths that range from USD 275 million to USD 350 million, Forbes said.

The richest under 40 newcomer is Bryan Sheffield, who has struck it rich in the Texas oil patch. Sheffield is worth USD 1.45 billion. Another new billionaire is Kevin Systrom, cofounder of photo-sharing app Instagram.

To be eligible for the list, individuals had to be under the age of 40 as of December 12. These entrepreneurs also have to reside in the US and substantially have made their own fortunes in this country, Forbes said.

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Spain blocks arms ship from India to Israel amid ongoing Gaza genocide

News Network

May 18,2024

In a humanitarian move, Spain has refused entry to a ship carrying arms from India’s Chennai to Israel to dock at one of its ports, its Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares has said.

The Denmark-flagged cargo ship Marianne Danica sailed from Chennai on April 8 when people in Gaza were observing Ramadan fasting, and was headed to the port of Haifa in Israel, according to maritime tracking portals and Spanish media.

Spain has been extremely critical of the rising civilian casualties due to the Israeli offensive in Gaza and, along with Belgium, has suspended arms exports licenses to Tel Aviv.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Randhir Jaiswal, at the weekly press conference, only said that they have seen the report of the ship and will revert with more information.

Meanwhile, a source said, “Investigation will reveal if the items on board were cleared for export and if the end user is the same as reported by The Guardian because there are items that are not banned for exports.”

Speaking to reporters in Brussels on Thursday on the issue, Mr. Albares had said, “This is the first time we have done this because it is the first time we have detected a ship carrying a shipment of arms to Israel that wants to call at a Spanish port.”

“This will be a consistent policy with any ship carrying arms to Israel that wants to call at Spanish ports. The Foreign Ministry will systematically reject such stopovers for one obvious reason: the Middle East does not need more weapons, it needs more peace,” he stated.

The ship was carrying 27 tonnes of explosives according to local reports. It was to make a port call at Cartegena in Spain.
In February, Mr. Albares said that they had suspended arms export licences to Israel since October 7, which he said made them “realise” the importance of a “fair and lasting solution” to the Palestinian cause.

The incident comes amid an ongoing row between Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s party and his coalition partners over another ship, Borkum, that was due to dock at Cartegena port on Friday over allegations that it was carrying arms meant for Israel. However, the Spanish government has said that the arms it is ferrying are meant for the Czech Republic.

Belgium had suspended two arms export licences to Israel.

“We welcome the decision of the Spanish government to deny the transit authorisation of the vessel Marianne Danica, in accordance with Tratado (treaty) on Arms Trade and Spanish law,” Amnesty International Spain said on social media platform ‘X’.

The timing also coincides with the Israeli ground offensive inside Rafah. According to the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) at least 6,30,000 Palestinians have been forced out of Rafah since the launch of the incursion on May 7.

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