Manoj Bhargava

About Manoj Bhargava

Birth Year: 1953
Birth Place: United States
Citizenship: United States
Education: Princeton University
Occupation: Entrepreneur, philanthropist
Known for: 5-hour Energy brand

Manoj Bhargava

Manoj Bhargava was born on 1953 in United States. Manoj Bhargava's 5-Hour Energy weathered some negative publicity this past year. In 2012 the Indian-born mogul's ubiquitous energy shots were named by the Food & Drug Administration as having possibly contributed to 13 deaths in four years. Parent company Living Essentials responded that it was "unaware of any deaths proven to be caused by the consumption of 5-Hour Energy." Bhargava joined the Forbes Billionaires list last year, having taken a highly unusual career path. A math whiz, he moved to Philadelphia with his family as a teen, and soon headed to Princeton U,. but dropped out after freshman year. He went back to India, where he lived as a monk in the mountains for 12 years. After returning to the U.S., he forged a successful career in plastics then stumbled upon a formula for energy shots at a health trade fair. His two-ounce caffeine and vitamin elixir, 5-Hour Energy, promises to keep users alert without crashing, and claims a 90%-plus market share in the energy shot sector. The brand gets its own boost from its distinctive red bottles and deliberately corny, low-cost TV ads. Bhargava owns 35% of 5-Hour's parent company; he pledged another 45% to charitable causes in poverty-stricken rural India.
Manoj Bhargava is a member of Food and Beverage

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Biography/Timeline

1953

Bhargava was born in Lucknow, India in 1953, and in 1967, moved with his family to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Bhargava's Father attended the Wharton School of Business in pursuit of a doctorate degree. Bhargava won a math scholarship to an "elite private academy" called The Hill School, and after high school graduation attended Princeton University for one year in 1972.

1990

Bhargava returned to the US and joined his parents' plastic injection Manufacturing company Bhar Incorporated located in New Haven, Indiana. In 1990 he purchased a company that produced parts for outdoor furniture. He sold Prime PVC Inc. in 2006. A subsequent company, Chemicalpartners.com, specialized in inventions and new ideas for Business.

2003

Bhargava created Innovations Ventures LLC (dba Living Essentials LLC), and launched 5-hour Energy in 2003. By 2012, Retail sales had grown to an estimated $1 billion. Over time, Bhargava created additional entities or funds to support a variety of new ventures. These included the capital venture company MicroDose Life Sciences, a Manufacturing venture laboratory called Stage 2 Innovations LLC, a private equity fund called ETC Capital LLC, Plymouth Real Estate Holdings LLC and Oakland Energy and Water Ventures. In 2014, he financed a New York City-based film distribution company, Bleecker Street.

2012

Bhargava was interviewed on the ABC News show Nightline in September 2012. That year, an article in Forbes magazine said Bhargava and his company, Innovations Ventures, had participated in up to 90 court cases against competitors, suppliers and associates since 2003. As of 2012, fourteen of those cases had been settled or dismissed.

2013

In 2013, Forbes reported Bhargava's net worth to be $1.5 billion, but he was dropped from its list of billionaires in 2014. Bhargava's 2015 documentary, Billions in Change, reports he has a net worth of over $4 billion, while some news articles report the $4 billion figure to be unverified.

2015

Bhargava is a member of the Giving Pledge campaign. In 2015, he pledged to give 99% of his wealth to philanthropic causes. His foundations include the Hans Foundation and Rural India Supporting Trust. In 2016, Bhargava told National Geographic that he planned to distribute 10,000 of his stationary, power generating bikes to rural homes and villages in India.

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