Shark Tank India judge and Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal believes he has the answer — a unique mix of immigrant trauma and Indian guilt parenting.
Taking to LinkedIn, Mittal wrote: “First Indian-origin NYC Mayor at 34 Zohran Mamdani recently made history. Same week, two 22-year-olds (Adarsh Hiremath & Surya Midha) became world’s youngest billionaires beating Zuckerberg. Saikat Chakrabarti is taking on Nancy Pelosi for Congress.”
He added, “I’ve been saying this for years — everywhere you look at top positions, you’ll see Indians. They showed up. Outworked everyone. And took what others felt entitled to. Immigrant trauma + Indian guilt parenting = Unstoppable hunger. All India wins.”
Wo i’s Zohran Mamdani?
Zohran Mamdani, 33, recently became New York City’s first Indian-American and Muslim mayor. He is the son of filmmaker Mira Nair and Ugandan-born Indian academic Mahmood Mamdani. Born in Kampala, Uganda, he moved to New York at the age of seven and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2018.Before entering politics, Mamdani worked as a foreclosure prevention counselor helping low-income families, while also pursuing creative interests like rap and writing. He holds a degree in Africana Studies from Bowdoin College.
About Adarsh Hiremath and Surya Midha
At just 22, Adarsh Hiremath and Surya Midha have become the world’s youngest self-made billionaires. They are the co-founders of Mercor, a San Francisco–based AI recruiting startup recently valued at $10 billion after raising $350 million in funding — surpassing the record set by Mark Zuckerberg at age 23.
Hiremath grew up in the Bay Area and pursued a Concurrent Bachelor’s/Master’s in Computer Science.
Midha was born in Mountain View and raised in San Jose by parents who immigrated from New Delhi. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Foreign Studies at Georgetown University and also studied economics there.
The duo also made their mark in competitive policy debate — becoming the first team ever to win all three national tournaments, with Midha named best speaker at two of them.