It is a practice normally employed by the unemployed and people down on their luck.
However, begging is turning out to be a lucrative job for one individual in Mumbai, India.
Local media is reporting that beggar Bharat Jain has bagged himself ₹7.5 crore (AU$1.3 million) by panhandling on the streets of the tech and financial metropolis.
It’s believed he takes home about 2500 rupees daily, which works out to be $44 a day or $1320 a month.
And he literally takes it home because he owns a luxurious two-bedroom flat. He also lets out two shops, which pull in an extra $530 a month.
He’s been named the wealthiest beggar in the world by local media organisations.
Bharat turned to begging after growing up in poverty and doesn’t have a formal education. But he now has the means to send his children to a convent school.
It’s understood he spends about 10 to 12 hours each day begging, usually around the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station and Azad Maidan sports ground, which are considered prime begging locations.
His family runs a stationery store and have implored him to stop begging. Despite that, he is continuing with his “occupation” of begging.
The act of begging is a criminal offence in most Australian jurisdictions but police don’t treat it as a high priority.
Begging is relatively widespread in the CBDs of capital cities like Sydney and Melbourne.