Premji commits additional 34% stake worth $7.5 b for philanthropy

Market value of endowment corpus stands at $21 billion

Wipro Chairman Azim Premji has committed to philanthropy an additional 34 per cent stake in Wipro Ltd belonging to him and valued at ₹52,750 crore ($7.5 billion).

The new commitment is in addition to the 33 per cent Premji had already earmarked for the Azim Premji Foundation, taking the total market value of the philanthropic endowment corpus to ₹1,45,000 crore ($21 billion).

Premji’s total stake in Wipro stands at 74.3 per cent. With the additional commitment, the Foundation now has economic ownership of 67 per cent of Wipro.

What this means is that all the dividends, bonus and other benefits that accrue to the 67 per cent stake will go towards the endowment that supports Premji Foundation’s philanthropic activities.