The Man Who Made Bombay Rich- The Untold Story | RN Bhaskar

In this video, RN Bhaskar is sharing an untold story of David Sassoon who completely changed Bombay trajectory with his Business Mind.

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Footnotes for the Sassoon podcast
India has been fortunate for having long spells of relative calm. This was usually when the government (by rulers, or the British, or post Independence by an elected government) was capable of ensuring both law and order and amity. That allowed people of all races, creeds and religions to coexist in harmony. That in turn allowed regions to blossom.
This is what happened with Surat during Aurangzeb’s reign which ended in 1707. Surat was a vibrant city. It had a port, was the centre for the best quality yarns which got exported across the world, had a robust money market, managed by the money merchants (shroffs) who financed trade across India and even overseas with their hundis (a type of credit note).
Once Aurangzeb died in 1707, law and order worsened. Money merchants and businessmen began fleeing Surat. Many came to Bombay (now Mumbai). The Britih promised law and order and peaceful coexistence. Business flourished,
Nor surprisingly, when the business environment became turbulent in Baghdad, David Sassoon opted to come to Mumbai. He began trading in textiles, then cotton, and then opium. His second son Elias stationed himself in Shanghai, China and began doing business from there. He along with another Jew named Kadoorie made Shanghai an international trading centre. Kadoorie later helped develop Hong Kong.
But Sassoon also focussed on building synagoes, schools, hospitals and further grew his businesses. His contributions to the most important landmarks in Bombay and Poona (now Pune) are by now legendary.
Later, he decided to set up textile mills – around 17 of them – in Mumbai, accounting for 60% of Mumbai’s workforce.
But not happy with Bombay’s climate, he moved to Poona, where he built synagoes, schools hospitals and a crematorium for Jews. He and his wife are buried there.
His eldest son, Albert, became the “Landlord of Bombay”. But after his father’s death, he opted to travel to Europe, where he got married into the Rothschild family, and built his fortunes there. Bombay was forgotten. The business here was carried on by his younger brother Sueliman, and by Sarah after his death. After she died, the empire fragemented and its pieces wee pcked up by other businessmen.
Sassoon’s story can be found – in pieces – in different books. The ones that I found most useful are:
• The Global Merchants: The Enterprise and Extravagance of the Sassoon Dynasty by Joseph Sassoon -- https://www.amazon.in/Global-Merchant...
• The Last Kings of Shanghai: The Rival Jewish Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China by Jonathan Kaufman -- https://www.amazon.in/Last-Kings-Shan...
• The Sassoons: The Great Global Merchants and the Making of an Empire by Joseph Sassoon -- https://www.amazon.in/Sassoons-Global...
Also see https://asiaconverge.com/2019/10/davi...