Anurag Dikshit

Occupation Businessman
Anurag Dikshit (English pronunciation: /ˈdɪksɪt/; born 1973, in Sindri, Jharkhand), is
a billionaire Indian businessman, the richest man in Gibraltar and the 701st ri
chest man in the world[1]. As a co-founder of PartyGaming, parent company of the
world's leading online poker site PartyPoker.com, he is one of the youngest bil
lionaires in the world. The largest individual shareholder, he owns approximatel
y 30% of PartyGaming after selling 23% of his stake in the company's Initial Pub
lic Offering.
Born in Sindri, Jharkhand, Dikshit graduated with a Bachelor of Technology degre
e in computer science and engineering from India's Indian Institute of Technolog
y, Delhi in 1994. He completed schooling at De Nobili School, FRI. Following gra
duation, Dikshit worked as a software developer in the United States at CMC, as
a systems analyst for Websci and later as a consultant for AT&T.[2] With a curre
nt fortune estimated to be $1 billion, he is 35th on the list of the richest Ind
ians in the world.
PartyGaming
When Dikshit was twenty five years old, he met Ruth Parasol who asked him to wri
te some proprietary code for PartyGaming's Starluck online casino to replace the
software they were licensing. PartyGaming was founded by Parasol, an American l
awyer who now lives in Gibraltar. She considered Dikshit's skills so crucial to
the future of the business, she allocated him a considerable number of shares in
the company.
In 2000, Dikshit hired a colleague from his alma mater, Vikrant Bhargava, to hea
d the company's Caribbean operations. Party Poker was launched in August 2001, j
ust prior to the poker industry as a whole enjoying a huge resurgence in popular
ity in America. As television programs, new books and celebrities got involved w
ith poker, online poker sky-rocketed in popularity. Dikshit's platform, which al
lowed 20,000 simultaneous users, proved inadequate and new technology was adopte
d allowing 70,000 simultaneous users.
Prior to the company's IPO, Dikshit was virtually unknown to the general public.
He remains a chess aficionado and student of antiquities.
In May 2006 Dikshit stepped down from PartyGaming's board of directors to develo
p new products as head of the company's research and special projects.[3] he con
tinues to own approximately 28% of the company's shares.[4]
In December 2008, Dikshit pled guilty to illegal Internet gambling and agreed to
cooperate with the U.S. Justice Department in an investigation of Party Gaming.
Dikshit entered the plea to one count of online gambling in violation of the Fe
deral Wire Act and agreed to forfeit $300 million. "I came to believe it was in
fact illegal under U.S. law," Dikshit told U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in New
York, referring to PartyGaming’s activity. "I have taken full responsibility for
my actions."[5]
Dikshit currently resides in Gibraltar.