BY VEENA RAO
Atlanta, GA, April 10, 2026: Raj Sardana, the Atlanta-based founder and CEO of Innova Solutions, has been named to the newly released Forbes Self-Made 250, a ranking of the most successful self-made individuals in the United States.
Sardana, 66, is ranked No. 85 on the list, which was unveiled by Forbes as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations. The list recognizes individuals who built their wealth and influence largely through their own efforts, with a strong emphasis on overcoming adversity and long-term impact.
In its profile, Forbes highlights Sardana’s modest beginnings, noting that he “spent his childhood in a 225-square-foot, government-provided one-bedroom in India with no heat, refrigeration or phone.” The article adds that he arrived at Georgia Institute of Technology in the 1980s with just $100, a detail that underscores the “distance traveled” central to the list’s criteria.
From those early struggles, Sardana went on to build Innova Solutions into a global IT services company with tens of thousands of employees and billions in annual revenue. Today, he is widely regarded as one of the most prominent Indian American business leaders in the Atlanta area.
The Forbes list includes 250 individuals across industries—ranging from technology and finance to entertainment and sports—who have achieved high “self-made” scores based on their entrepreneurial journeys.
Several Indian American leaders were featured alongside Sardana, reflecting the community’s growing influence in business and innovation. Among them are Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and its parent Alphabet Inc.; Jay Chaudhry, founder of Zscaler; and Hemant Taneja, a managing director at General Catalyst.
For Atlanta’s Indian American community, Sardana’s inclusion carries particular local significance. An alumnus of Georgia Tech, his journey from a small apartment in India to leading a major global enterprise in metro Atlanta mirrors the broader immigrant success story that has come to define much of the region’s economic growth.
The Forbes “Self-Made 250” list, curated by senior editor Alex Knapp, evaluates candidates based on financial success, the obstacles they overcame, and their overall impact. Unlike traditional wealth rankings, it aims to spotlight individuals whose personal journeys exemplify the American ideal of upward mobility.
