Binod Chaudhary
Quick Facts
Biography
Binod Chaudhary (Nepali: बिनोद चौधरी; born 14 April 1955) is a Nepalese businessman, industrialist and philanthropist. He is the current chairman of Chaudhary Group (CG), a conglomerate that consists of nearly 80 companies. Chaudhary is also the first, Nepali billionaire as listed by Forbes.
Besides business, Chaudhary has been involved in various other government and social sectors. He worked as a member of constituent assembly and parliament of Nepal from April 2008 to May 2012. His CG Foundation works for the social welfare and he often contributes in the areas of art, music and literature as well.
Early life and education
Chaudhary was born in Kathmandu, Nepal as the son of Lunkaran Das and Ganga Devi Chaudhary. He was raised in Kathmandu with his two brothers Arun and Basant Chaudhary.
His grandfather was a textile trader and owned a small textile store. His father transformed the store to Arun Emporium which is considered to be Nepal’s first department store. Chaudhary converted the store to a conglomerate which is one of the biggest corporate houses in Nepal. He left his studies and started business at the age of 18 when his father got heart illness.
Chaudhary is married to Sarika and they have three children.
Business and Industry
Inspired from his industrious father, Chaudhary always envisioned to become a very big industrialist of Nepal. With more than four decades of continuous hard work, he is living his dreams as he developed the Chaudhary Group to the biggest conglomerate of Nepal which is worth a billion dollars and more. Forbes magazine has listed him as a billionaire in 2014 and he is the 1,460th richest person in the world.
Today CG stands as a transnational conglomerate which consists of nearly 80 companies spanning five continents. It has more than 60 brands in 30 countries with more than 6000 employees. Of its food brands, ‘Wai Wai’ noodles has been the most successful business. The brand produces more than a billion packets of noodles annually and is traded over 35 countries worldwide. The Group’s other notable areas of interests are finance, banking, cement, real estate, hotels, electronics and home appliances, education, energy, biotech, power, retail.
Chaudhary has publicly stated that much of his success doing business in Nepal has come from his ability to make connections with the right people. He has had close connections with the Nepalese royalty, and credits his decision to give half ownership of a steelmaking company to the then-king's brother in 1982 as "the main reason for my success."
Philanthropy
Chaudhary has founded the Chaudhary Foundation which makes significant contributions on the fields of education, health, sports and youth empowerment.
Gyan Udaya Scholarship, which provides scholarships for needy students (more than 350 students have received this scholarship till date) and Samata Siksha Niketan, which provided a fund of Rs. 3.5 million for the infrastructure are some of the major initiatives taken by CG foundation in education field. Similarly, CG Operation Dristi provides eye care services and CG Medicare provides health services to locals.
Moreover, Chaudhary has taken several new initiatives like Gen Nep and Social Building Fund to improve the financial condition of many Nepali through numerous social business activities.