Jagan Gupta, left, and brother Neel Gupta.
It’s not that unusual for Tulane graduates to return for MBAs, but when those graduates are identical twin doctors — and when they already have multiple Tulane degrees — that stands out.
When they graduate from the Professional MBA program in May 2025, Neel and Jagan Gupta will have each earned a remarkable three diplomas and two certificates from Tulane University. They received bachelor’s degrees from Paul Tulane College in 2002 — as valedictorian and salutatorian of the class, no less — and graduated from the School of Medicine in 2006. They followed those degree programs with one-year medical internships and four-year residencies at Tulane.
“It doesn’t matter how old you are or how young you are,” says Neel Gupta (PT ’02, M ’06, MBA ’25), a musculoskeletal radiologist and assistant professor of clinical radiology at Tulane. “Life’s a journey of education that’s always going to stay with you, and you can add a lot of value to your community by doing something that adds value to yourself.”
“Our parents always impressed upon us the importance of learning,” adds Jagan Gupta (PT ’02, M ’06, MBA ’25), a neuroradiologist at the VA Medical Center and clinical assistant professor of radiology at Tulane and LSU medical centers. “That’s how we see these [business] classes.”
One of the reasons the brothers decided to pursue MBAs, in fact, was to set a positive example for their own children.
“When I was younger, my mom went to med school twice,” says Jagan. “We would see her come home in the evening, close the door and then study. This is how we grew up. We just studied in the evening. I want my kids to pick up on that. I can tell them that, but unless they see you doing it, it’s something different.”
With their MBAs, the brothers plan to apply their skills to the family business.
“My dad’s been an entrepreneur since day one, and he got into real estate at a young age,” says Jagan. “We have quite a bit of property in the city, in the French Quarter, the Warehouse District and the Lower Garden District.”
The family is currently renovating a 60,000 square foot building on Carondelet Street in New Orleans, with plans to bring the historic structure back into commerce with residential, retail and parking.
“We wear scrubs but in the back of our cars, we have hard hats and yellow vests, because we’re always going to the properties,” says Neel. “For us, it’s a lot of pure joy. Everyone has their art, and for us, we love seeing these buildings come back to life.”
