He dropped out of college – at 34, this Indian edtech co-founder joins Forbes World’s Billionaires List 2026
Forbes 2026 World’s Billionaires List is out. India’s record 229 billionaires this year include Alakh Pandey and Prateek Boob, co-founders of PhysicsWallah, who made the list for the first time after their education technology firm went public last year.
Pandey, a college dropout, joined the global rich list following a sharp rise in his wealth following PhysicsWallah’s IPO in November. Forbes.
Started as a YouTube channel in 2016, Noida-based company PhysicsWallah has grown into a major educational platform offering numerous exam preparation courses. Its rapid expansion and strong market penetration have played a key role in Pandey’s net worth rising into billionaire territory.
As of March 10, 2026, Alakh Pandey’s net worth is $1 billion.
Where does Pandey rank in the Forbes 2026 Billionaires List?
34-year-old Alakh Pandey entered the Forbes Billionaires list at number 3332 worldwide.
The co-founder of PhysicsWallah is not only the first to appear on the rich list, but he is also among the five entrepreneurs who managed to enter the world’s richest ranking in their 30s.
A major milestone for PhysicsWallah came in November 2025, when the education technology firm made its stock market debut.
PhysicsWallah public offering
PhysicsWallah has made a strong listing in the Indian equity markets; It was listed at a 33% premium over its IPO price. ₹109 per share.
The IPO opened for subscription on November 11 and closed on November 13, 2025. The Motherboard IPO saw a total subscription of 1.81 times.
Individual retail investors (RIIs) subscribed 1.06 times the allocated portion, while the non-institutional investors (NII) segment subscribed 48%. The qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) category saw the highest interest, with a subscription level of 2.70 times.
Price of PhysicsWallah IPO ₹103 and ₹109 per share. Bid in total ₹3,480.71 crore through fresh issuance of 28.45 crore equity shares worth ₹3,100.71 crore and offer for sale (OFS) of 3.49 crore. ₹380 crore.
From dropping out of university to starting a YouTube channel
Alakh Pandey pursued a Bachelor of Technology degree in Mechanical Engineering from Harcourt Butler Technical University in Kanpur but dropped out in the third year.
Alakh Pandey opened the YouTube channel PhysicsWallah in 2016 and stepped into the education technology industry through an online platform. Soon after his YouTube channel, Pandey started gaining popularity among students aiming to get into IITs across the country.
According to data collected from social media platform LinkedIn, Alakh Pandey founded his company in April 2014 in Uttar Pradesh.
