While economists warn us of an imminent recession that is going to hit us and leave a lot of us unemployed soon, there are people out there who are, surprisingly, majorly benefitting economically from this lockdown. 

Case in point, Radhakishan Damani an Indian businessman who controls Avenue Supermarts Ltd.

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While the stocks are on an all-time low, this man's net worth has surged amidst the coronavirus lockdown. 

The net worth of Mr Damani surged almost 11% this year to $10.7 billion and is still on the rise. This development has singled him out as the billionaire with most gains among the 12 richest Indians, whose wealth is tracked by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. 

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Shares of Avenue Supermarts, which are the primary contributors to almost all of the wealth that makes up for Damaniâs net worth, have advanced a whopping 24% this year. 

This can be attributed to the fact that âPeople have been buying in panic and hoarding during the lockdown that drove the sales, making the companyâs share a perfect hedge amid rout,â Arun Kejriwal, director at Kris, an investment advisory firm in Mumbai told a leading publication. âTheir unique no-frills model and also choosing to operate from locations outside malls will help them to tide over the situation.â

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Interestingly, his net-worth surge comes at a time when stocks have fallen to about a quarter of the net worth of his billionaire fellows Mukesh Ambani and Uday Kotak.

Damaniâs supermarket chain, known for its thrifty cost structure, majorly profited from the panic hoarding of household essentials after India decided to place its 1.3 billion people under a three-week lockdown last month.

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Cyrus Poonawalla, who founded the vaccine manufacturer-- Serum Institute of India, was the only other Indian businessman on the list of the lucky 12 whose wealth rose contrary to global economic trends in 2020. 

Poonawalla saw his net worth rise by 2.6% to $8.9 billion this year, according to the Billionaires Index.

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