1/8/2017 Anexperienceofwealth:TalesoftheKannadigacrorepatisTheEconomicTimes

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Anexperienceofwealth:TalesoftheKannadigacrorepatis
ByShenoyKarun&SujitJohn,TNN|Updated:Jan08,2017,12.46PMIST PostaComment

Fourofususedtosleepinoneroom.Canyouimaginethatina10ftx12ftroom,withno
airconditionerorfan!Itwasamarshyareaandeverymorningwehadtoclearthewaterthat
hadseepedinbeforedoinganythingelse.ItwaslikeaBadu(ArabicforBedouin,anomadic
group)house,"reminiscesBRShetty,therichestKannadigaintheworld,abouthisdaysas
a31yearoldjobseekerinAbuDhabiinUAE.

Today,40yearslater,Shettyownstheentire100thfloor15,000sqftofBurjKhalifa,the
tallestbuildingintheworld,andoneoftheplushest."Ialsoownflatsonacoupleofother
floorsinthesamebuilding,"hesays.HeownsresidentialbuildingsinDubai,AbuDhabi,
London,Perth,Bengaluru,MangaluruandUdupi.
SpottinganopportunityincreatingbespokesoftwareforUS
clientsusingIndiassubstantialengineeringtalent.
Thisonetimejobseekernowemploys38,000people,mainlyintheMiddleEast.HisNMC
HealthisUAE'slargestprivatehealthcareprovider,andhisUAEExchangeisaleading
globalremittanceandforeignexchangebrandthatboughttheLondonheadquartered
foreignexchangegroupTravelexfor1billiontwoyearsago.

TuluspeakingShetty,72,hasanetworthofRs18,700crore,orabout$2.75billion.HisonlysongotmarriedlastweekinMangalore,his
hometown.Itattractedtheentirepoliticaltopbrassofthestate.HeistheonlyoneamongthetenontheTOIRichListofKannadigaswho
hasbuilthisfortuneoutsidethecountry.Eightstartedtheirbusinesseswithintheirhomestate,andmostarefirstgenerationentrepreneurs
orhavebuilttheirbusinessesfromscratch.Wemustclarifythatsincethisisalistbasedonlinguisticcommunitiesofthestate,andnota
listoftherichestpeoplewholiveinKarnatakaatthemoment,weareincludingthosewhospeaknotjustKannada,butotherlanguages
prominentinthestate,includingTuluandKonkani,andanybodywhosefamilyhasahistoryofatleast100yearsinKarnataka.

SotheNo.2onourlistisInfosyscofounderNRNarayanaMurthy,withanetworthofRs11,100crore,orabout$1.6billion.Murthyis
oneoftheIToutsourcingpioneersofIndiaandcanjustifiablylayclaimtosomeoftheenormousglobalattentionthatIndiaingeneraland
Bengaluruinparticularreceives.

MurthywasborninSidlaghattainKolardistrictandgrewupinMysuruwherehisfatherwasahighschoolteacher.Aftercompletinghis
schooleducation,hewenttoNationalInstituteofEngineering,Mysuru,fromwherehegraduatedin1967withadegreeinelectrical
engineering.HethendidaMaster'sdegreeatIITKanpur.

Murthywasastrongleftistinhisearlydaysbut,afterahumiliatingexperienceatthehandsofcommunistBulgaria'spoliceduringatrain
ride,renouncedthosebeliefsinfavourofwhathetodaycalls"compassionatecapitalism".

HebecameconvincedthattheanswertoIndia'sunderdevelopmentlayinentrepreneurship.Spottinganopportunityincreatingbespoke
softwareforUSclientsusingIndia'ssubstantialengineeringtalent,hefoundedInfosysin1981withsixothers.

ThispioneeringITservicescompanyisnowoneofIndia'smostvalued,andhasmadebillionaires,ornearbillionaires,ofallitsfounders.

TwoofMurthy'sfellowcofoundersNandanNilekaniandKDineshfeatureinourlistatNos4and5respectively.Nilekaniand
family'snetworthstandsataboutRs7,640crore,andDineshandfamily'sataboutRs5,730crore.

NilekaniwasborninBengaluruandattendedBishopCottonBoys'SchoolbeforestudyingelectricalengineeringatIITBombay.Hehadan
outstandingstintasInfosysCEObetween2002and2007.Twoyearslater,heleftInfosystoserveasthechairmanoftheUnique

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1/8/2017 Anexperienceofwealth:TalesoftheKannadigacrorepatisTheEconomicTimes

IdentificationAuthorityofIndia(UIDAI),acabinetrankposition.

NilekaniisnowalsoontheNitiAayogpanelonepayments,workingwithchiefministerstopromotetheuseofdigitalpaymentsystems
acrossthecountry.

ImmediatelyfollowingMurthyatNo.3ontheTOIRichList,isamanwhohasbuiltonaneducationandhealthcarebusinessheinherited
RanjanPai.Hisgrandfather,TMAPai,startedKasturbaMedicalCollegeinManipalin1953andManipalInstituteofTechnology
(whereMicrosoftCEOSatyaNadellagraduatedfrom)fiveyearslater.Hisfather,RamdasPai,tookitfurther.

AllofthatisnowpartofManipalUniversity.ButRanjanPai,43,hasmassivelyexpandedthebusinessandgivenitacorporatestructure,
inspiredpartlybywhathesawintheUSwhenhewenttostudyhospitaladministrationattheUniversityofWisconsinMadison.

He'smadesomeaggressiveacquisitions.HisManipalEducationandMedicalGlobalownsandoperatesuniversitycampusesinMalaysia,
Antigua,DubaiandNepal.Itownsandoperatesachainof15hospitalsinIndiaandoverseas.Weestimatethatallofthesetogetherwill
putPai'swealthatRs10,200crore,or$1.5billion.

SixthonourlistisVGSiddhartha,whosefamilyownedcoffeeplantationsinChikamagaluruandexportedthecoffeetheygrew.
Siddharthawasn'tkeenonthelaidbacklifeofacoffeeplanter,soearlyinlife,hefocusedonthestockmarket.Someofthemoneyhe
earnedwasusedtobuymorecoffeeplantationsandby1995,hehadbecomeIndia'sbiggestcoffeeexporter.Bythemid1990s,hehad
beguntowonderhowhecouldaddvaluetohiscoffee.

OnavisittoSingapore,hehappenedtoseepeopleinacafesippingbeerandbrowsingtheinternet."Ithoughtthiswasanideathatcould
workinBengaluruasthecityhadjustbeguntoseetheemergenceofsoftwarecompanieswithyoungprofessionals,"Siddharthasays.
Thefirstoutletcameupin1996onBrigadeRoadinBengalurutodaythereare1,650acrossthecountrynoothercafechaincomes
anywhereclose.Siddharthaalsoownsandmanagesmorethan15,000acresofcoffeeplantationsandhasmajorinvestmentsintech
companies,includingMindtree.

The7thrichestisalsoperhapsthebiggestpropertydeveloperinsouthIndiatodayIrfanRazack.Hisgreatgrandfatherhadmovedto
BengalurufromKutch.Theentrepreneurialstoryofthisfamilybegannotwithrealestate,butwithasmallstoreformen'sclothingon
Bengaluru'sCommercialStreet.Razack'sfatheropenedthestore,PrestigeHouseforMen,in1957.Razackjoinedthatbusinessafter
finishingcollege.

Theinterestinrealestatestartedin1981,whenthefamilysolditsancestralpropertyonInfantryRoad.Encouragedbythemoneythey
madeandthelearningsfromthatexperience,thefamilystartedbuyingandsellinglandinBengaluru.In1985,thegovernmentbroughtin
taxrulesthatmadelandtradingdifficult.SothefamilymovedtorealestatedevelopmentunderacompanythattheycalledPrestige
EstatesProjects.PrestigebecameoneoftheearlycompaniestoexploittherealestateboomthatfollowedthegrowthoftheITsectorin
Bengaluru.Irfan,astheeldestofthebrothersinthefamily,leadsthecompanyandhisstakeisvaluedatoverRs4,560crore.

AtNo8onourlistisDrDeviShetty,thecardiacsurgeonwhofoundedthehealthcareventureNarayanaHrudayalaya.Shettywasbornin
MangaluruandresolvedtobeadoctorwhenhisfifthgradeteachertoldtheclassthataSouthAfricansurgeonhadjustperformedthe
world'sfirsthearttransplant.HereceivedaMaster'sdegreeinsurgeryfromMysoreUniversityin1982andthentrainedincardiacsurgery
atGuy'sHospitalinEngland.HereturnedtoIndiain1989tosetuptheBirlaGroup'scardiachospitalinKolkata,theBMBirlaHeart
ResearchCentre.In1989,heperformedthefirstneonatalheartsurgeryinthecountry,onaninedayoldbaby.Heservedasthepersonal
physicianofMotherTeresa.

DrShettyreturnedtoKarnatakainthe1990stosetuptheManipalCardiacCentreinBengaluru.In2000,heestablishedNarayana
Hrudayalaya,amultispecialtyhospitalontheoutskirtsofBengaluru,withthevisionthathealthcarecostscouldbedramaticallyloweredby
adoptingeconomiesofscale.

Theheartdivisionissaidtobethelargestintheworldwith1,000bedsandperformsmorethan30majorheartsurgeriesaday.Shettyis
nowtryingtoreplicatethismodelintheCaymanIslands.ThisindustrializationofhealthcarepromptedtheWallStreetJournaltodescribe
DrShettyastheHenryFordofheartsurgery.Earlylastyear,NarayanaHrudayalayawaslistedonthestockexchange,valuingthe
companyatover$1billion.

AtNo9isAjitPrabhu,cofounderofQuestGlobal,aventurethatemergedoutoftheoutsourcingwavepioneeredbyInfosysandWipro.

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1/8/2017 Anexperienceofwealth:TalesoftheKannadigacrorepatisTheEconomicTimes

QuestwasfoundedbyPrabhuandhisfriendAravindMelligeriasanoutsourcedengineeringservicescompanyin1997.

ThetwogrewupinHubbaliinKarnataka.Melligeri'sfatherdiedyoung,whilePrabhu'sfatherusedtoleaseafruittreeforRs2adayand
mademoneybysellingthefruit.TheystudiedinaKannadamediumschool,sittingonthefloorwithslates.Melligeriwentontostudy
engineeringatKRECSurathkalandPrabhuatBVBEngineeringCollegeinHubbali.BoththenheadedtotheUSfortheirpostgraduation
andbeganworkingthere,MelligeriatFordandPrabhuatGE."ThefirsttimeIspokeEnglishwasintheUS,"Prabhu,whonowlivesin
Singapore,oncetoldTOI,QuestcountsRollsRoyce,GE,Pratt&WhitneyandAirbusamongitsclients,andisestimatedtohaveclosed
201516with$385million(approxRs2,600crore)inrevenue.Thecompanyraised$350millionfromAmericanprivateequitygiantsBain
CapitalandAdventInternationalandSingapore'sGICthatissaidtohavevaluedQuestatover$1billion.Prabhuistheprimary
shareholderinthecompanynow,MelligerihavingmovedontofocusonanaircraftcomponentsmanufacturingSEZinBelagavi.

RoundingupthelistisanotherShetty,ShashiKiran.ShettysbelongtotheBuntcommunity,traditionallyalandowning/farmingcommunity
fromDakshinaKannadaandUdupiincoastalKarnataka.BuntsarebetterknownnationallyfortheirBollywoodconnection,courtesyactors
AishwaryaRai,ShilpaShetty,SunielShettyanddirectorRohitShetty.ShashiKiranShettyisthefounderandexecutivechairmanof
AllcargoLogistics,partoftheAvvashyaGroup,India'sfirstmultinationalplayerinthelogisticssector.

Shettydidhisbachelor'sdegreeincommerceatShriVenkatramanaSwamyCollegeinMangaluruandmovedtoMumbaiforemployment.
Hestartedhiscareerinthelogisticsindustryin1978withIntermodalTransportandTradingSystemsandsubsequentlymovedtoForbes
Gokak,aTataGroupcompany.At25,ShettylaunchedalogisticsventurecalledTransIndiaFreightServiceswithRs25,000.

In1992,withtheideaofcreatinganintegratedlogisticsserviceprovider,hestartedAllcargoLogistics.Allcargoissaidtobethefirst
companyinIndiatointroducelessthancontainerload(LCL)services.In1995,AllcargobecameanagentofBelgiumbasedECULineNV,
theworld'ssecondlargestLCLfirm.Tenyearslater,Allcargotooka33.8%stakeinECU,andinthefollowingyearacquiredtheentire
company.Atthetimeofthetakeover,ECULine'srevenuewasfivetimesthatofAllcargo's.In2013,AllcargoacquiredUSbased
EconocaribeConsolidatorsandacontrollingstakeinNetherlandsbasedFCLMarineRotterdam.Today,Shetty'sbusinessisspread
across160countries,connectingseveralthousandportpoints.

In2014,ShettymadenationalheadlinesforhispurchaseoflateBollywoodactorRajeshKhanna'sfamousCarterRoadbungalowin
Mumbai,knownasVardanAashirwaad,forRs85crore,about3%ofhisestimatedwealthofRs3,040crore.

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1/8/2017 Anexperienceofwealth:TalesoftheKannadigacrorepatisTheEconomicTimes

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