In 1979, Rahul Mehta’s parents sold all their gold and silver to pay for his first semester in America; decades later, he funded 8 schools across 6 IITs

Rahul Mehta sold four companies, then gave it all to build schools at IITs. (AI-generated sketch)

What would you do if you had already built and sold four companies, made enough money to stop working and reached what you considered your “enough number”? For Rahul Mehta, the answer was not another company, a bigger house or more wealth. He decided to invest his time and resources in something he believed could have a longer-lasting impact: education.Mehta, who left India for the US at 17 with money his parents raised by selling their gold and silver, went on to build and sell four companies in America. Years later, he returned to India with a very different goal — helping strengthen the country’s intellectual capital. Through the Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta Family Foundation, named after his parents, he has supported the creation of schools and programmes at several IITs, spanning biotechnology, AI, data science, health sciences and sustainability.

His parents sold their gold to send him to America

Mehta’s journey began in a lower-middle-class family in Mumbai. His parents had no formal education, while his father was involved in small textile businesses.When 17-year-old Mehta decided he wanted to study in the US, his parents could not simply fund an international education. Instead, they sold the gold and silver they had accumulated to pay for his first semester.He arrived in Houston in 1979 with enough money for roughly one semester and began working on campus almost immediately.There were times when money was so tight that food itself became a challenge. Mehta recalled surviving on inexpensive frozen pizza while studying.But that experience also shaped his approach to money, work and eventually philanthropy.

Four companies, four exits — and no venture capital

After completing his education, Mehta did not follow the traditional route of joining a large company.He started his own technology business, building an interface between Oracle and SAS. The company grew to around 80 employees, but Mehta chose to bootstrap it rather than borrow money or raise venture capital.He eventually sold the company in 1996.Instead of retiring after his first major financial success, he started another company. Then another. His businesses were subsequently sold to major technology companies including HP, Veritas and Brocade.By 2006, Mehta had decided that he had accumulated enough.That was when his definition of success began to change.

“Money is not the answer”; why Mehta chose education

Mehta believes wealth eventually reaches a point where accumulating more of it has diminishing meaning.“At some point, you realise you aren’t going to spend it all,” he said in the YourStory interview.For him, the more valuable resource was time.“What you don’t have in life is time,” he said.That philosophy became central to his approach to giving.Mehta describes philanthropy through three words: Time, Talent and Treasure — in that order.The idea challenges the assumption that philanthropy is primarily about writing large cheques. According to Mehta, people who do not have significant wealth can still contribute through their time and expertise.

Why IITs became central to his education mission

Mehta’s first major education initiative in India emerged after a visit to IIT Madras.A conversation with the institute’s leadership eventually contributed to the establishment of the Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences and Bioengineering at IIT Madras, named after his parents.The project demonstrated something Mehta would encounter repeatedly: meaningful educational change takes time.Building academic programmes involves recruiting faculty, creating infrastructure, developing curriculum and waiting for students to graduate and enter the workforce.But that long timeline is precisely what attracted Mehta to education.Since then, the foundation has supported academic initiatives at multiple IITs, including programmes related to data science, artificial intelligence, health sciences and sustainability.One of the recent areas of focus has been sustainability education, including a BTech programme at IIT Indore.

He saw AI coming before it became impossible to ignore

Mehta’s approach to education is also based on anticipating what India will need in the future.He had advocated for data science and AI-focused education before the technologies became mainstream. In 2018, he reportedly pitched the idea of dedicated schools in these areas, but the response was limited.Then generative AI exploded into public attention.The arrival of tools such as ChatGPT suddenly made the importance of artificial intelligence far more obvious to universities and students.For Mehta, however, the underlying question had remained the same: What skills will India need a decade from now?

His bigger bet: India’s intellectual capital

Mehta’s education philosophy extends beyond individual IIT campuses.He believes countries become economically stronger when they invest in intellectual capital — people with the education and skills needed to create new businesses, technologies and solutions.His foundation has set a target of producing 12,000 graduates by 2031, with many expected to come from smaller towns and families without a long history of higher education.The thinking is straightforward: educate a student, improve their employment prospects, and the impact can extend to their family and community.For a first-generation college student, a degree can represent more than academic achievement. It can change the family’s economic trajectory.

The lesson for students — and everyone else

Mehta’s story ultimately goes beyond IITs or philanthropy.It raises a question that students, parents and professionals can ask themselves: What does success mean after you have achieved your original financial goal?For Mehta, the answer shifted from building companies to building educational opportunities.His journey from a teenager whose parents sold their jewellery to fund his first semester in America, to an entrepreneur who sold four companies, and finally to an education philanthropist supporting programmes at IITs, illustrates a different way of measuring achievement.The most striking lesson may not be how much money he donated.It is his argument that time, talent and knowledge can sometimes be more valuable contributions than money alone.And in education, where the results of an investment may take years to appear, that may be the most important resource of all.Disclaimer: This article is based on publicly available information and the YourStory report. TOI Education has not independently verified all claims mentioned above.