Industrialists should lead a simple life to set an example: Anil Agarwal

NEW DELHI: Indian businessmen and industrialists should adopt a simple lifestyle and shun ostentatious display of wealth, emulating the Western super-rich such as Warren Buffett, because lavish lifestyles generate ill will and can influence the country’s approach towards the elite, Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal said. He said passion for business and profits was fine and the government must support entrepreneurs.

“At the same time, businessman also needs to live simply. They have to have a simple house, simple car. I’ve seen in USA, all the industrialists are very, very simple. I’ve met Warren Buffett. He wears a shirt and pant, drives his own car.”

Palatial houses and limousines give heartburn to poor, said Agarwal. He said ostentatious display of wealth can affect the approach of the society and the government towards business. “Big cars and big houses give a wrong signal. Businessmen have to lead a simple life to set an example. You have to spend less on weddings.”

Agarwal, known for his humility and unpretentious ways, says other industrialists would agree with what he says. “If you look closely, we are all the same.”