Sridhar Vembu is a billionaire technology entrepreneur and the co-founder and chief scientist of software company Zoho. He is well known for giving up his life in California and choosing to live and work from a small village in Tamil Nadu. He often speaks and posts on social media about duty, dharma, simple living, and his goal of developing rural India. He has also said many times that he does not need more money.
Because of this lifestyle, Sridhar Vembu is often praised as a role model and described as someone who believes in “simple living and high thinking.”
However, this public image is very different from what has come out in a California court, where his divorce case is currently being heard. In January 2025, the court passed a strong order against him based on its early findings.
The Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, ordered Sridhar Vembu to post a bond of $1.7 billion. The court itself said this was an unprecedented step, meaning it is very rare. The court also appointed a receiver to oversee several Zoho-related companies in the US and Sridhar’s personal assets. This was done to protect the rights of his former wife, Pramila Srinivasan.
In addition, the court has paused a major asset transfer, stopping certain financial transactions until the case is decided.
In its order, the court said that Sridhar had acted without considering his wife’s rights over shared assets and had also ignored the law. The court added that several Zoho-linked companies and individuals were likely to act according to Sridhar’s instructions in a way that could harm Pramila’s financial interests.
The court order, which is available as a public record, highlights a sharp contrast between Sridhar Vembu’s public image in India and the serious legal issues he is facing in the United States.