MBA Student Challenges Nikhil Kamath on 'Idiots' Comment, Exchanges Leave Audience in Stitches

Candid Exchange Between Nikhil Kamath and Business Student at Columbia Business School

A recent conference at Columbia Business School turned into an unexpected moment of sharp wit and light-hearted banter when a business student, Anaheez Patel, confronted Nikhil Kamath about his earlier controversial remark from a podcast. The exchange, which took place in front of a packed auditorium, drew laughter from the audience.

The interaction began when Patel, a business student, took the microphone and addressed Kamath's earlier remark, where he had said that "25-year-olds pursuing MBAs are idiots." Calm but pointed, she asked why he chose to attend and speak at a business school if he held such views about MBA students.

Kamath responded in a playful tone, first asking if Patel was the same person who had shared the viral clip online. As the audience broke into laughter, he acknowledged her question and leaned into the moment rather than sidestepping it. Taking a dig at the cost of education, Kamath pointed out that an MBA in the US can cost around USD 300,000 (approx Rs 2.8 crore) per student. With roughly 500 people in the room, he joked that nearly USD 90 million (approx Rs 838.5 crore) had collectively been spent just to be there.

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Kamath quipped, "I hope knowing the rich kids of India of tomorrow has some value to me in the future, hence, I am here," triggering loud cheers and applause from the very MBA students he had once mocked. The moment also sparked a debate around Kamath's earlier comments on higher education. In the podcast, he had argued that traditional college degrees, especially MBAs, are losing relevance in a rapidly changing job market.

According to Kamath, in the coming years, fewer people may choose conventional career paths, with entrepreneurship becoming less of an option and more of a necessity due to shrinking job opportunities. He suggested that "if you are 25 and going to an MBA college today, you must be some kind of an idiot," in a podcast last year.