Bangalore: Romesh Wadwani, chairman and CEO of Symphony Technology Group, a Silicon Valley-based private equity firm promises major part of his wealth to his philanthropic foundation. To this Indian American Billionaire, his organization on charity is as important as his companies, reports Ishani Duttagupta of Economic Times.

"I'm from an Indian family of professionals and my parents had to go through hardships themselves to send me to IIT-Mumbai. And having got the best of education myself, I firmly believe it is my personal obligation to give back to the community," he says. He also believes that "Leaving too much for one's children will take away their own entrepreneurial skills.’’

His success in the field of business can be traced back to the establishment of Canteen Corp at IIT-Mumbai's Hostel 2 in the year 1964, along with his friends."We created a supply chain to provide snacks and beverages to the students at IIT-Mumbai and ran a profitable venture before it was shut down," he says proudly.

Wadhwani does not see any element of surprise in the fact that the Indians who make it to the list of richest Indians in America are mostly graduates from IIT. "For most Indians in America, wealth is not inherited. Neither do we make it as heads of large hedge funds and private equity funds. For us to make it to the top, we have to use our knowhow to create great new technology products and build high-tech companies," he says.

Wadhwani, who is the founder of Symphony Technology Group, has been successful in raising the revenue of the company to $2.5 billion. With his leadership and management experience he has taken the company to greater heights in the technology industry with a total employee count of 15,000 in less than a decade. This California based company specializes in acquisition, growth capital, and turnaround transactions.