Midas of global outsourcing. Premji transformed Wipro, his family's vegetable-oil business, into one of world's most important outsourcing companies (total sales: over $2bn and employees: over 30,000) is already part of Indian business folklore. The transformation of his business into an IT company began in 1980, when he took advantage of IBM's withdrawal, in 1977, from India. He invested heavily in research, technology and customer service from the beginning. A growing number of European firms and US rely on the Banglore-based Wipro to handle their software needs, keep their databases and computer networks up and running, and answer calls from customers. The softly spoken chairman and principal shareholder of Wipro, the workaholic software magnate, has become India's richest man, worth an estimated $11 billion according to Forbes magazine of USA. He is revered by businesspeople in India for insisting that Wipro will not pay bribes - a common practice of doing business there. Premji who is evangelical about his country's potential has set up a foundation in India to promote primary education in poor rural parts that reach more than 2.5 million children. His recent $2 billion donation to his foundation was the largest charitable contribution in the history of modern India. Azim Hasham Premji was born in Bombay.