New Delhi, May 23 -- Vikram Lal is not a name many young, aspirational Indians instantly recognize. Ask a 20-something in Bengaluru or Mumbai who built the empire behind the Royal Enfield motorcycle, and they are more likely to point to his son, Siddhartha Lal, the leather-jacket-wearing inheritor who transformed the brand.

There's good reason for that. In the hyper-visible world of Indian capitalism, billionaires are expected to follow a familiar script: towering mansions, lavish parties, and constant public visibility.

Vikram Lal rejected that script through one of the rarest acts in corporate India-walking away at his peak, when people were still asking why, not why not.

Born in 1942, Lal grew up around business. His father had buil...