The Indian Paper Billionaires and Their Magnificent Castle in the Air: Why Forbes' Billionaire List is Just for Entertainment

In his article "The Indian Paper Billionaires and Their Magnificent Castle in the Air," U. Mahesh Prabhu discusses the dubious nature of valuation in modern business, particularly in regard to Indian "billionaire" businessmen. Prabhu argues that valuation is often manipulated by the selling and buying of individual shares at exorbitant rates, leading to inflated company values. He suggests that investors should be wary of these practices and the potential collapse of these paper billionaires in the near future. Prabhu emphasizes the importance of understanding the true value of a company and the role of tangible assets in determining that value.

Forbes' billionaire list is often a hot topic of conversation for many in India. However, it's important to recognize that these lists are often created for entertainment, rather than being taken at face value. In fact, the magazines themselves assert this fact. While these lists may be interesting to peruse, there's a significant difference between value and valuation - value is tangible, while valuation is not.

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Today, most valuation is based on figures that are often botched up by manipulating the price of individual shares by selling and buying at absurd rates to oneself or to a close friend or family member. For instance, let's say you sell 1% of your company shares to someone you know for $1000. You can then claim on paper that your company is worth $100,000. Similarly, if you sell 0.0001% of shares or $1000, then your share is $10,000,000,000 ($10 Billion).

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This same gimmick is used by people all the time. For publicly listed companies, the funds are funnelled into another company, and then the same money is routed into the market to buy your own shares. Of course, this is both legally and ethically incorrect, but such people always find amazing ways to avoid being caught. Strange as it may sound more than often these "billionaires" are steeped in debt. If you can find the debt they inherit and compare it with the turnover of their company, then you will have a better picture.

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Many are billionaires because they own shares in certain companies, and the great way to find their debts is to search for their companies on websites like Zauba Corp. In India, almost every billionaire-owned company is in steeped debt to public sector banks. The government of India has already made efforts to lessen its Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) by amalgamating well over two dozen government banks into a handful of banks. This has certainly mitigated the disaster, but we must wait and watch to see if they can avert a catastrophe.

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To hide their fiscal situation, Indian billionaires have begun using pawns in the media and social media. They get so-called "influencers" to speak of their colossal wealth, particularly the cars, properties, and lifestyle items they own. However, they never speak of the debts they have incurred.

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My humble advice to anyone reading this article is to stay away from shares in the so-called billionaires in the days to come. An imminent collapse is a matter of when, rather than if. And when they collapse and their share prices tumble - or worse, they are delisted - you'll have only yourself to blame.

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It's important to recognize how unreliable the media is when you observe how they wrote and even celebrated the likes of Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksy, and the like just months before their infamous escape from India. There are also those "billionaires" like Anil Ambani - who didn't care to run away for the debts they had were with Chinese banks.

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The world is changing, and so is the way we perceive the concept of wealth. While these "billionaires" may appear to be the pinnacle of financial success, it's important to remember that their wealth is often just a castle in the air. In fact, the very concept of "paper billionaires" speaks to this notion - their wealth is often nothing more than a valuation on paper, rather than a tangible representation of their assets.

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In today's world, it's more important than ever to be sceptical of those who claim to be billionaires or flaunt their wealth in public. Rather than focusing on the fleeting glamour of wealth, we should be focusing on the tangible value of what we have and what we can create. By embracing practical, ethical, and sustainable practices in our personal and professional lives, we can build true wealth that is based on our own skills, talents, and contributions to society.

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In conclusion, the world of billionaires and their so-called wealth is often nothing more than a fa?ade. By recognizing this reality, we can make informed decisions about our own financial futures, and work towards a more sustainable prosperous and peaceful future.