He is the Tony Stark of the real world. Not in the sense that he has an iron suit, but that he is a billionaire superhero, who’s out to save the world.
At 14, Manoj Bhargava migrated to USA with his parents. After dropping out from Princeton after a year, he traveled between India and USA and worked many jobs. But at the age of 50, Mr. Bhargava’s business thrived with his revolutionary product the 5-Hour ENERGY drink. By 2012, his company Living Essentials LLC’s net worth struck the coveted Billion mark.
In 2015, Manoj Bhargava – by now the richest Indian man in the US, as part of the Giving Pledge campaign, vowed to give away 99% of his net worth to charity. Now, his company mainly focuses on innovations that target mankind’s real problems: Water, Energy and Health.
Over the years, Mr. Bhargava had also given birth to one company that may just solve the world’s real problems… the State 2 Innovations. State 2 Innovation is an engineer’s paradise. And this paradise is where the magic happens. The projects that have come out of this workshop are as simple as they are mind blowing…
- RAIN: The Clean Water Project
Inspired by the natural water cycle of the rain, the company has developed a compact machine which pulls salty water out of the ocean and converts it into water that is “nearly as clean as pharmaceutically purified water” and requires nearly zero maintenance. Mr. Manoj’s company aims at stationing thousands of these units in big barges a little way into the ocean and transferring pure water back to land. This is expected to solve water problems in many developing and underdeveloped countries.
- FREE ELECTRIC: 1 hour of cycling will deliver 24 hours of Energy
This one’s my favorite. It looks and works like a normal exercising bicycle, but the science seems to be stored in it’s motor. The claims are that an hour of pedaling (which is a normal gym workout) will return 24 hours of energy! For 2016, the company projects placement of 10,000 devices in rural India. If successful, this would solve Energy and pollution issue of the country – one stone, two birds!
- RENEW: The prevention-is-better-than-cure Healthcare device
This is an improvised version of a machine that was being developed in Singapore. It works just like the heart – but pumps blood back from the extremities. This way, even a body with a weakened heart would be ensured sufficient circulation and many vascular diseases prevented. It won’t go as far as curing! Mr. Bhargava claims he has been using the machine himself for some time now.
It’s inspiring to watch and hear him talk; Mr. Bhargava seems like the kind of person who may just save the world from itself. I especially liked his train of thought, his attitude to work and his passion to give back. The following is the film of his campaign Billions In Change… It is a long one, but worth the watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY7f1t9y9a0
So it seems there is good left in the world after all. But like Mr. Manoj says, there are many talking, but the change will be brought about when there is action. We are awaiting this action with eagerness…
To know more, follow the goodness here.
Billions in change
Manoj Bhargava
The Hans Foundation
