===The ₹1,600 Crore Surprise===
Joginder Singh, 93, of Moga, Punjab, has just become India’s oldest billionaire—self-made. On April 2, 2026, his net worth crossed ₹1,600 crore. That’s ₹50 crore more than his total declared at Tax Day 2025. “I sold two LIC policies last week alone,” he told *Punjab Kesari* on Friday morning from his two-storey house in Moga’s Civil Lines. “My agent number still works. Clients trust me because I don’t just sell— I reminisce about 1970’s interest rates.”
It took him 10 years.
===Begins With ₹12,000 a Month===
In 2016, Joginder’s monthly pension from LIC was ₹12,184. “I had to live on that after my wife passed,” he admitted to *The Tribune* last week. He wasn’t sure if his children in Canada would support him. So he returned to his old identity: LIC agent. He reactivated License No. MP/163/2016 under the Moga branch. His first client? A local dal mill owner who bought a ₹5 lakh LIC Jeevan Akshay VII on February 12, 2016. The policy still yields ₹31,000 every six months. That single renewal convinced Joginder to scale up.
By March 2018, he had 112 policies on books. His annual commission crossed ₹8 lakh.
===The Blockbuster Policy: ₹25 Crore Single Premium===
The turning point arrived on January 19, 2020. A 58-year-old NRI from Melbourne walked into Moga’s LIC branch. He bought a ₹25 crore single premium LIC Vriddhi plan—Joginder had convinced him after talking about old Sikh shrines in Punjab versus modern Melbourne’s stress. “He cried when I shared my story,” Joginder recalled. “Said no broker in Australia had time for emotion.” Commission from that one policy: ₹7.5 lakh. It pushed his net worth past ₹50 crore by April 2020.
Joginder reinvested commissions into shares—he has 23,000 shares of SBI, bought between ₹250 and ₹800 since 2021.
===Fear Then Courage===
March 2023 brought doubt. “My cardiologist said I wouldn’t survive another year,” he told his branch manager in Moga. “I pushed back: I’ll hit ₹500 crore first.” The manager laughed. By March 2024, Joginder’s book showed 3,218 policies, average sum assured ₹12.8 lakh. His Facebook page, “Joginder Singh’s LIC Legacy,” now has 14,000 followers posting testimonials like “My father bought a policy from a 90-year-old—now my daughter studies in Canada.”
===No Retirement, Only Reinvention===
Joginder works 9am-1pm daily. “I’m not retired,” he says, “I’m reinvested.” His daily routine: prayers at 5am, client calls at 6:30am slot, tea with retired teachers at 8am. His personal assistant keeps a CRM sheet in an Excel file titled “J Singh 2026.xlsx.” Last week, he added 19 new policies. Nine clients are over 70.
Licence renewal? “Did it online on March 28, 2026,” Joginder confirmed. Cost: ₹2,000. Expiry: March 27, 2028. The branch manager jokes: “He’ll be 95 when he renews next.”
===Numbers That Tell The Story===
Net worth growth: ₹50 crore (April 2020) → ₹300 crore (April 2023) → ₹1,600 crore (April 2026)
Policies sold: 3,218 (as of March 31, 2026)
Average age of clients: 57
Average premium: ₹1.2 lakh
Top policy: ₹25 crore single premium
SBI shares: 23,000 shares bought between ₹250 and ₹800 since 2021
===The Emotional Ledger===
Joginder still carries the 2021 file where he wrote: “If I die tomorrow, my LIC commissions will pay for my nieces’ weddings.” In that same file, his granddaughter Meera (22) just signed up as his junior agent. She sells LIC policies online to NRIs in Vancouver. Joginder beams: “She’s the future.”
===And Then There’s This===
The Moga LIC branch now calls Joginder their “living legend.” They even made a small token for him on March 10, 2026— a framed ₹1,000 note signed by the entire team. “It’s the smallest note,” Joginder laughs, “but it appreciates more than any ₹25 crore policy in my portfolio.”
