DMart Damani's CSR initiative has Gopal Mansion becoming a 53-Key lodging for kin of patients

Mumbai: Radhakishan Damani, the media-shy billionaire investor and businessman who owns retail chain DMart, has decided to share his wealth with the society in his own reclusive way-by offering lodging to the families of the patients undergoing treatment at nominal rates.

The offer comes at a nominal rate of Rs 800 per day, along with lunch and dinner at Rs 75 a plate each and breakfast for Rs 30.

The facility at the Gopal Mansion near the Metro Cinema was inaugurated in March and offers 53 rooms on a first come first served basis to the needy. The south Mumbai facility is being run by the Shivkishan Mindaram Damani Charitable Trust that Damani's family owns.

The information, which was in circulation through Whatsapp message for sometime, was confirmed by the company in an email to PTI.

Damani, who is painfully reclusive, does not give media interviews or attend market-related events. He is reportedly known to be even more restrained in disclosing his funding of charity projects.

The low-profile investor that Damani is, has made his way into the billionaire list and too among the top 20 richest Indians, with a blockbuster listing of Avenue Supermart, the company that owns the DMart brand of low margin retail chain last year.

Listing at a premium of over 114 percent, the shares controlled by the 61-year-old Damani, including through his family members and investment firms, are now worth over USD 5.1 billion. The over USD 5 billion networth includes USD 2.4 billion of shares that Damani owns.

The IPO made him the 16th richest Indian, way ahead of several other well-known billionaire names like Anil Ambani, Rahul Bajaj, Ajay Piramal and Kalanithi Maran.

Reliance Industries' Mukesh Ambani remains the richest Indian with an estimated networth of USD 27.6 billion, as per the latest Forbes ranking.

The market grapevine has it that Damani has been the mentor of big bull Rakesh Jhunjhunwala.