With a net worth of over 2.5 lakh crore (roughly 30 billion USD), Tirupati’s renowned Lord Venkateswara temple has a greater market value than IT services provider Wipro, the food and beverage manufacturer Nestle, and the state-owned oil tycoons Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Indian Oil Corporation combined.
Details about Tirupati’s Lord Venkateswara temple Worth Over ₹ 2.5 Lakh Crore richer than Wipro, Nestle, ONGC, and IOC
For the first time since its founding in 1933, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, keeper of the temple devoted to Tirupati’s presiding deity, disclosed its financial status.
Among its assets are 10.25 tonnes of gold in bank deposits, 2.5 tonnes of gold jewelry, approximately 16,000 crores in bank deposits, and 960 properties spread out across India. The sum of all of these exceeds 2.5 lakh crore.
As per stock exchange data, at the current trading price, the Tirupati temple’s net worth is more than most of the blue-chip Indian companies.
At the close of trade on Friday, UltraTech Cement had a market value of Rs 1.99 lakh crore, while Bengaluru-based Wipro had a market cap of Rs 2.14 lakh crore.
With a market cap of Rs. 1.96 lakh crore, the India division of the Swiss multinational food and beverage company Nestle was also undervalued.
The temple trust was valued lower than state-owned oil giants Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), as well as the power giant NTPC Ltd, the automakers Mahindra and Mahindra, and Tata Motors, the world’s largest coal producer Coal India Ltd, the mining conglomerate Vedanta,
Only a small handful of businesses have market values greater than the net wealth of the temple trust.
These include Reliance Industries Ltd., owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, with revenues of Rs. 17.53 trillion, Tata Consultancy Services, with revenues of Rs. 11.76 trillion, HDFC Bank, with revenues of Rs. 8.34 trillion, Infosys, with revenues of Rs. 6.37 trillion, ICICI Bank, with revenues of Rs. 6.31 trillion, Hindustan Unilever Ltd., with revenues of Rs. 5.92 trillion, State Bank of India, with revenues of Rs (Rs 4.38 lakh crore).
According to a temple official, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is getting richer and richer as cash and gold gifts from pilgrims at the hill temple climb and fixed deposits in banks generate more money as interest rates rise.
The property possessed by TTD consists of land plots, structures, money, and gold deposits made in banks as donations to the temple by worshippers.
According to temple officials, placing a value on precious antique jewelry and real estates, such as cottages and guest houses on the seven hills to accommodate pilgrims, could be misconstrued and does not contribute to the estimated total asset worth.
Devotees adore the vast seven hills as Lord Venkateswara’s home and hold them in high regard.
The TTD forecasted about Rs 668 crore as income in the form of interest from cash deposits in banks in its around Rs 3,100 crore annual budget for 2022–23, which was presented in February. Additionally, it was estimated in the hundi of the hill temple that about 2.5 crore worshippers would make financial offerings totaling Rs 1,000 crore.
In Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Odisha, Haryana, Maharashtra, and New Delhi, TTD is in charge of managing a sizable number of temples.
