Today, we are going to talk about the Dharod family and their net worth.
There are a lot of family-owned businesses out there. Regardless of the scale, it is often a point of pride for a lot of people. The stories on how those businesses started often differ from one another. Sometimes, the story of how it started is already mythologized in some way.
Keeping a business within the family can go both ways. If you are an only child, it is your duty to continue the family legacy. Even though you have no interest in the business. You just kind of have to make sure it does not go under It is hard to call it a family business when you are the one who started it and you do not have any relatives involved, though.
But often people will try to pass down the business to the next generation. They will try to involve everybody in the inner workings. Sometimes it could be seen as nepotism. It is unfair that other people have an in just because they are related to the owner.
It is hard to trust a business you have built in the care of somebody you are not related to. There is a chance that they share your ideals. But it is going to be hard if that person shuns the supposed heirs of the business.
The last paragraph feels clouded by all the dramas that I have watched. But sometimes it could be a reality. You never really know.
Dharod Family: Quick Details
- Known family members: Harshad Dharod, Sunil Dharod, Puja Dharod
- What they do: Run a restaurant franchise business and a real estate business
- Estimated net worth $100 million
A Rags-to-Riches Story Of Sorts
I hadn’t really heard of the Dharod family prior to writing about them. They aren’t the type of people you would necessarily know unless you read very niche trade publications.
Sure there are a lot of very famous families out there like the Trumps or the Kardashians. But all rich families get the same attention from the press. It really depends if they could sell them in a way.
While researching about them, I could see why people would search about them. They have a very inspiring story to how they have gotten to this point in their life. It’s the good ol’ rag to riches story. Or was it the American dream?
Like I said previously, their story to success has already been turned in something that appeals to a lot of people. Though it really only started with one person. And that is the patriarch of Dharod family, Harshad.
The Tale of Harshad and His Many, Many Franchises
The story that the company tells on their website goes like this.
Harshad Dharod moved to the United States from Bombay—now Mumbai—in order to go medical school. It is a very common thing for a lot of immigrants to do. Somehow, the United States offers a lot more opportunity than wherever people migrated from.
The allure of the American dream can sometimes be very strong. While it is easy to speak the language, it’s still very hard to live in the United States, especially if you’re an immigrant.
Harshad already had family members living in the United States when he and his family migrated. His uncle would often bring chocolates from the U.S. whenever he went back to India. I guess those moments solidified Harshad’s intent to go to the U.S.
Harshad didn’t really have a lot of money when he set foot in America. The easiest part, relatively, is going to America. But part that comes next, living in America, is the hardest.
So in order to be able to pay for tuition to medical school, he got a job working for the fast food restaurant Jack in the Box.
Slowly but surely, Harshad managed to do really well at his job there. He somehow managed to climb up the ranks in that specific branch of Jack in the Box. I mean, he is a college graduate. So there’s that.
A Change In Career
Unsurprisingly, he decided to forego what he set out to do—becoming a doctor—and instead, decided to get into the business of running a fast food restaurant. Within seven years, he was able to acquire his first ever branch of Jack in the Box. With the next five years after that, he was operating a total of 19 branches of Jack in the Box.
Somehow, he also operated 14 Papa John’s restaurants that he acquired in 1997. He kept operating them for 15 years before selling it in 2012. Eventually he sold his franchises of Jack in the Box in order to operate a new franchise: Carl’s Jr. (Or Hardee’s if you’re from the East Coast.)
But it took a bit of work for them to push the acquisition forward. They were planning to acquire about 70 stores right out of the gate. And they needed at least a million dollars for each of the franchises he was buying. It was definitely a risk.
They were able to secure funding for the deal. But Harshad hadn’t really seen any of the franchises that he was going to buy. And that lead him and his family to doing a road trip around California to check out the franchises. It became a bonding experience for them.
The Dharod Family Is Expanding Their Business
It is insane how quickly Harshad Dharod was able to acquire so many franchises within California. Running a franchise of anything, whether it be a 7-Eleven or any of the many fast food restaurants, takes a lot of your time. I could see people possibly running at most two to three franchises. But going onto the double digits? That is dedication.
I guess Dharod’s style of management was easily scalable from one franchise to another. He wouldn’t have been able acquire the succeeding Jack in the Box franchises if he wasn’t doing well with the first one. Considering that he spent a few years working there before operating one, it’s an amazing feat.
It should have been obvious that the way you could get more customers in your store is by giving them good service. That is exactly what Dharod’s management style is like. He connected to his employees on a personal level. Sometimes it could feel like those employees are just cogs in a machine.
By 2006, the Dharod family expanded to real estate. I guess it just made sense in a way? He bought out a lot of the franchises for Carl’s Jr. and managed to increase their sales. Why not do it for real estate?
So they basically started to acquire multi-family assets—apartment complexes—they could rent out to people. Compared to single-family homes, you could potentially get a lot of money from it. Because you are renting out hundreds of units. But the cost of maintaining apartment complexes is a lot more complex that with single-family homes.
Over the years, the rest of the Dharod family started becoming involved in the business. Some of Harshad’s relative started becoming franchisees themselves after seeing his success with his many franchises. His relatives own at least 10 franchises among them.
So What Is The Dharod Family’s Net Worth?
Considering how the Dharod family was able to expand their business, it’s safe to assume that their net worth is at least $100 million. I guess the success that Harshad achieved from starting out as a crew member in a Jack in the Box has compounded. Everybody in the family wants to continue that legacy that their dad has built. Even though Harshad seems to still be involved with the franchise business.
His son Sunil on the other had helps run the real estate side. His other children are involved in some capacities in either companies. Puja is involved with Silver Star as well. And you can see her flaunt the wealth her family has amassed on places like TikTok and Instagram.
It’s amazing to see Harshad start off from humble beginnings. His father had died when he was about five years old. So that left him and his three brothers with his mom. They sold bottles of milk around town.
It’s hard to underestimate how helpful his uncle has been part of his success. If it weren’t for his uncle living in the United States, it might have been harder for Harshad to make it in there. Maybe some parts of his experience might have panned out similarly. Or he might have just been a doctor.
You never really know where your story will end up. It’s great that Harshad has developed a philosophy with how to run his franchises. You never really want to give any of your customers or even your tenants bad service. That will reflect on you.
It’s hard to do well in business when your reputation among people who avail your services is bad. Your reputation often always precedes you. If people do not like the service at the franchise or apartment complex you own, it’s hard to find new customers.