Princess Jahnavi Kumari Mewar of India stepped into the world of investing at a young age, eventually transforming her family’s investment operations into a modern family office and launching her own private equity firm, Auctus Fora.
Born into India’s historic Mewar royal family, Jahnavi says her upbringing was privileged but disciplined. Although India’s monarchy officially ended generations ago, royal traditions still shaped her childhood. She attended school inside the family palace alongside her cousins and was taught early on how to interact confidently with dignitaries and guests from around the world.
Despite her family’s wealth and business interests spanning real estate, hospitality, logistics, consumer products, and education, she says there was never pressure to join the business. Still, she was naturally drawn to her father’s work from a young age, often spending time in his office and observing meetings long before she fully understood them.
As she grew older, her involvement deepened. She began attending meetings, reviewing documents, and learning through experience — including making mistakes and asking difficult questions. Even with her privileged background, she says financial discipline was always emphasized. While studying business and international trade in Melbourne, she worked several jobs, including telemarketing, club promotion, and catering, while completing her studies.
At 18, she became increasingly involved in the family’s investments. Just months before the global financial crisis, she sensed growing instability in the markets and warned her father that sectors like hospitality and real estate could face trouble. Acting quickly, the family managed to exit several hospitality investments profitably before the crisis hit.
By her early 20s, Jahnavi had effectively taken charge of restructuring the family’s investment operations into a more formalized family office structure. One of her first major moves was introducing proper cost-sharing among co-investors, many of whom were close family friends who had historically invested alongside the family without covering management costs.
She also reshaped the investment strategy by focusing more aggressively on emerging markets and pursuing direct investment opportunities rather than relying heavily on intermediaries such as bankers and outside advisors. According to Jahnavi, reducing layers of middlemen improved accountability and lowered costs.
Entering male-dominated investment rooms at a young age was not easy, she admits. She often faced skepticism about her experience and authority. Over time, however, she learned to balance confidence with humility, listening carefully while becoming increasingly assertive in decision-making.
She credits older, more conservative advisers — whom she jokingly calls the “dinosaur squad” — with teaching her the importance of protecting wealth before aggressively pursuing growth opportunities.
