In 1981, his teacher Khen Rinpoche directed him to begin a business in Manhattan in order to help support Tibetan refugees.
Following a meditative vision and the text of an ancient Buddhist classic, The Diamond Cutter Sutra, Geshe Michael helped Ofer and Aya Azrielant–two entrepreneurs from Israel–to start the Andin International Diamond Corporation.
Andin started with a $50,000 loan and only two or three employees. By the time Geshe Michael retired from the firm in 1999 as Vice President in charge of the Gemstone Division, sales had grown in excess of $100 million per year, and Geshe Michael´s division was handling over 30,000 diamonds on a good day.
Andin eventually acquired the world´s most desirable gemstone website (jewelry.com), and reached over $200 million in sales, with thousands of employees in its supply operations globally
It was purchased by Warren Buffet´s Richline Group in 2009
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It’s not the first time I’ve read that fact and I’m surprised every time. These are very inspiring results