Bhatia is a co-founder of InterGlobe Aviation, the operator of India's biggest airline. The Gurgaon-based company controls IndiGo and had revenue of 689 billion rupees ($8.2 billion) in the year to March 31, 2024. It's part of InterGlobe Enterprises, which also has interests in technology services, logistics, and hospitality.
The majority of Bhatia's fortune is derived from his 36% stake in InterGlobe Aviation, a Gurgaon, India-based airline services provider and the operator of IndiGo. His stake is held directly, through family members and holding companies, according to a September 2024 stock exchange filing. Rahul is credited in this analysis with the stakes held by his wife Rohini and father Kapil to reflect his status as founder and group managing director. IndiGo is India's largest passenger airline by market share, according to the company website.
He also has a stake in InterGlobe Technology Quotient, an outsourcing company which is valued at about $500 million based on a 2017 stake sale reported by Economic Times.
His 60% stake in InterGlobe Hotels Private, a joint venture with Accor Asia Pacific, is valued based on its book value of $137 million as disclosed in the company's March 2022 annual report.
A spokesperson for InterGlobe Aviation didn't respond to requests for comment about Bhatia's net worth.
Bhatia was born in Nainital, India in 1960. He's the son of Kapil Bhatia, an entrepreneur who ran a travel agency called Delhi Express. Rahul studied engineering at University of Waterloo. While completing his degree, he spent two years working at IBM, where he was involved in a pilot project for a fully automated screen manufacturing plant. He went on to work in information technology for United Airlines in Chicago. He met his future partner Rakesh Gangwal while working for United in 1985.
After his father's Delhi Express ran into financial troubles, Rahul returned from his studies in Canada to help create InterGlobe Enterprises in 1989 with its main business in air transport management. He went on to create Indigo Airlines with Gangwal in 2006 with its first flight from New Delhi to Guwahati. Indigo held an initial public offering on the Bombay Stock Exchange in October 2015, a move that made him one of India's wealthiest people.