Vikram Punia Net Worth

Vikram Punia has an estimated net worth of $2 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, Vikram Punia profile (figures as of October 20, 2026). That is down from a peak of $2.1 billion.

Vikram Punia is an Indian-born Russian entrepreneur and the founder and sole owner of Pharmasyntez, a Russian drug company that is a leading supplier of medicines under government contracts. He was born on 15 March 1973 in Jaipur, India, into the family of a wealthy local developer, and Forbes describes him as self-made.

He finished school in Rajasthan and at Birla High School in Pilani. In 1992, at age 19, he went to Russia on a student exchange program to study medicine at the Irkutsk Medical Institute in Siberia. He left after two years, in 1994, to go into business, first reselling tea, leather jackets and pantyhose.

He became a Russian citizen in 2009. Since 2017 he has sat on the board of the Indo-Russian Business Council, helping Indian entrepreneurs set up business in Russia. He received the Order of Friendship in 2024. He is married with three children.

His rise from a medical student selling goods on the side to the sole owner of a major drug company took a little over a decade. He has also become a bridge between India and Russia in business.

How Vikram Punia made his money

Punia founded Pharmasyntez with partners in 1997, owning 80% of it. In 1999 its first plant opened in Irkutsk, repackaging generic tuberculosis drugs imported from India. The company grew to make antibiotics as well as drugs for tuberculosis, cancer and HIV.

He moved to Moscow in 2008 and moved the company's headquarters there. In 2010 he became its sole owner. Pharmasyntez works under deals with regional governments, including in Yakutia and Moscow, and is on Russia's list of systemically important enterprises.

In 2016 he told President Vladimir Putin that more than two million hepatitis patients in Russia needed treatment and proposed allowing compulsory licensing so Russian firms could make generic versions of Western drugs. In 2020 Pharmasyntez became the first company in Russia to receive a compulsory license to produce Remdesivir, a generic version of Gilead's drug Veklury.

How Forbes has valued Vikram Punia

Forbes first listed Punia on its World's Billionaires List in 2025, at $2.1 billion. His figure was $2 billion on the 2026 list.

As of October 20, 2026, the Forbes real-time billionaires tracker also showed $2 billion. His fortune rests entirely on Pharmasyntez, which he owns outright.