In the turmoil of partition, the Agarwals lost everything. No wealth. No business. No safety net. What followed was a restart from nothing. The family tried everything: riding rickshaws in Calcutta, running a small grocery store, odd jobs, before moving to Indore and finding their footing in transport trade. After these struggles, over four decades the family built Agarwal Coal Corporation—today a ₹15,000 crore business that imports 15–20 million tonnes of coal annually. In this episode of the Create Wealth Podcast, Sandeep Jethwani sits down with Tapan Agarwal, the second-generation leader now modernising the business, diversifying into ₹5,000 crore of Indore real estate projects, and building his own brand with a ₹100 crore car collection showcased on Instagram as Car Crusader. This is a story about family business reinvention, legacy vs. risk, resilience after partition, and how India’s hidden wealth creators think about building and protecting empires.
Highlights
From Partition struggles to Rebuilding Wealth
How the Agarwals became one of India’s largest coal importers
Asset Allocation of the Agarwal Family
The Coal Business of India – (Problems, Logistics, Economics)
Coal Empire of the Agarwals
Tapan’s approach to upskill the Family business
Challenges while bringing change in a Legacy business
The Real Estate business of the Agarwals
Why the family is betting ₹5,000 crore on Indore’s Real Estate
Philosophy behind handling finance of Business & Family
How the next – gen should own up the Family business? (Roadmap)
The ₹100 Crore Car Collection
The Economics behind Ultra Rich Segment Cars
Why Car Crusador? (the Story & Success)
The story behind the still unboxed Cars & their Miniatures
Agarwal Family’s contribution to the Society
Future of the Family & Cars
Tapan Agarwal | President & COO, S.A. Division, Agarwal Coal & CEO at Emerald Developers
