Meet Kerala’s richest minister: Shibu Baby John’s ₹24.63 crore net worth surpasses CM Satheesan’s wealth

Senior Congress leader VD Satheesan took oath as Kerala Chief Minister today, 18 May.

Satheesan’s 20 Cabinet members were also sworn in at a grand function here with Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administering the oath of office. Alliance parties, including the UDF’s second largest constituent IUML, have also been accommodated in the ministry.

Satheesan is yet to officially announce the portfolios, but Shibu Baby John, the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) leader, after being sworn in as a minister, told reporters later in the day that he has been allocated the Forest, Skill Development and Cashew Industries departments.

Shibu Baby John is richest minister in Kerala

“After the Cabinet meeting, officials from the department came to meet me. I directed them to start a 24×7 call centre to address human-wildlife conflict. Any person can bring their concerns to the notice of the minister and officials,” he said.

John won the election from Chavara constituency in Kollam. He had earlier served as Labour Minister in the Oommen Chandy government.

John is the richest minister in the Satheesan cabinet. Even richer that Chief Minister, according to an analysis of his affidavit by election watchdog, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR)

John has declared net worth of ₹24.63 Crores in his election affidavit filed before contesting elections. Here is the detail of his net worth as declared in the affidavit.

Satheesan and his wife, Lakshmi Priya R, together declared a gross total assets of around ₹5.6 crore, categorised into movable and immovable properties.

Shibu Baby John (Self)

Movable Assets : ₹17,75,14,510

Immovable Assets ₹3,84,83,845

Annie Mathew John (Spouse)

Movable Assets: ₹2,28,27,664

Immovable Assets: ₹74,84,293

Shibu Baby John Liabilities: ₹3,62,72,724

Key Asset Highlights

Shibu Baby John’s movable assets ncludes significant investments in bonds, debentures, and shares (over Rs. 10.31 crore) and personal loans/advances given (over Rs. 6.11 crore).

Vehicles: Shibu owns an Audi Q7 and a Hyundai Creta. His spouse owns a Maruti Swift.

Jewellery: Shibu has shwon 40 grams of gold (Rs. 5.82 lakh), while the spouse holds 800 grams (Rs. 1.16 crore).

Shibu’s immovable assets comprises both inherited and self-acquired agricultural land, non-agricultural land, and commercial buildings in locations like Neendakara and Thiruvananthapuram.

Liabilities: Shubu’s liabilities include an overdrawn (OD) account and car loan from ICICI Bank, as well as significant personal borrowings from entities like Century Max John Mary LLP and Vinu Kuruvila.

Income Details

Self-Income Sources: Income from pension as a former legislator (Rs. 25,000/month), business profit remuneration, and other sources

Spouse: Declared as a housewife with no independent source of income

Tax Filing: Shibu total income shown in the last IT return (2024-25) was ₹4,17,970.

Who is Shibu Baby John?

Shibu Baby John is a businessman and a film producer. Heis the son of Baby John, the veteran Kerala socialist leader and former minister, popularly known as the “Kerala Kissinger” for his political negotiation skills.

Shibu graduated with a BTech from TKM College of Engineering, Kollam. After his studies, he ventured into the export business. His wife, Annie Constantine, is also a civil engineering graduate from TKM College of Engineering. The couple have two children.

In the 2001 Indian assembly elections, John contested in the Chavara constituency on the RSP ticket and won. In 2005, he left the RSP and launched the Revolutionary Socialist Party (Baby John). In the 2006 assembly election, he lost to NK Premachandran of the RSP. In the 2011 assembly election, John defeated then state minister Premachandran in the Chavara constituency, and was sworn in as a minister.

In 2014, both leaders merged their parties, allowing Premachandran to join the UDF. In 2016, John was defeated by Vijayan Pillai of Communist Marxist Party (CMP) Aravindakshan Fraction.