This story is part of Forbes’ coverage of India’s Richest 2022. See the full list here.

Kumar Birla is betting big on new businesses to grow his family’s empire, even as he defends his turf elsewhere. The chairman of textiles-to-cement conglomerate Aditya Birla Group saw his net worth drop to $15 billion on a depreciating rupee despite growing sales at flagship Grasim Industries. A post-pandemic bump boosted revenue there by 41% to 280 billion rupees ($3.5 billion) in the first quarter, following a 25% jump in the year ended in March.

Birla’s entry into the $8 billion Indian paints business through Grasim, announced last year, is set to roil an industry dominated by entrenched players, such as Asian Paints, controlled by billionaires Ashwin Dani and Mahendra Choksi and the Vakil family, and Berger Paints, backed by the billionaire Dhingra brothers. Grasim is spending 100 billion rupees to build five plants to produce a combined capacity of 1.3 billion liters of paint a year, with plans to tap the group’s huge distribution network from its cement business. Separately, the company is investing $250 million over the next five years on an e-commerce platform for building materials—a potential $100 billion market where just 2% of business is transacted digitally.

Birla, who inherited the 75-year-old group at age 28 after the death of his father in 1995, faces a similar challenge to his status as India’s largest cement producer. Gautam Adani, India’s richest person, is now the country’s second largest cement maker after his recent $10.5 billion acquisition of Switzerland-based Holcim Group’s cement operations in India.

Meanwhile, Birla is steadying his cash-strapped telecom business with an infusion of new funds. Vodafone Idea, the group’s joint venture with U.K.’s Vodafone, is looking to roll out 5G services even as it struggles to expand its 4G footprint. The telco faces competition from aggressive players such as Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio and Sunil Mittal’s Bharti Airtel.