While Indian business tycoons and industrialists like Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, Narayana Murthy, Ratan Tata, etc have amassed a monumental amount of wealth in recent years, there was one man, who at the peak of his career, was wealthier than all these business leaders, but ironically, lives in a rented apartment today.
We are talking about textile magnate Vijaypat Singhania, the former chairman of the Raymond Group, who was once counted among the wealthiest and most influential businessmen in India. However, Singhania, now 86, witnessed a dramatic reversal of fortune, that led him from once being one of the richest men in the world, to living in a rented apartment home.
Born into the affluent Singhania family, Vijaypat Singhania served as the chairman and managing director of the Raymond Group for two decades (1980–2000). Vijaypat took over the reins of the family business after the demise of his uncle, G.K. Singhania, and soon transformed the company into a global leader in textile and fashion industry.
Singhania reportedly faced pushback from his cousins, who wanted to take control of the Raymond Group after G.K. Singhania’s demise, however, this wouldn’t be the only family discord he would have to deal with.
A bitter family feud erupted when Vijaypat Singhania decided to divide the business between his two sons, Madhupati Singhania, and Gautam Singhania.
Madhupati moved to Singapore to distance himself from the long-running family feud while Vijaypat Singhania transferred his entire 37% stake in Raymond Group to his younger son and then-chairman of the group, Gautam Singhania, in 2015. Soon, the relationship between Singhania and his younger son soured to the point that Gautam ousted his father from the family home, essentially leaving him penniless.
In an candid interview, Vijaypat Singhania revealed how he faced financial and personal challenges after the much-publicized fallout with his son, and how his once-lavish lifestyle was now a distant memory in his old age.
Notably, beyond his achievements in the business space, Vijaypat Singhania is also a renowned aviator, who was inspired by J.R.D. Tata. A trained pilot, Singhania was once considered a successor to Narayana Murthy as Chairman of the Governing Council at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) until 2012.
Vijaypat Singhania has received multiple honors for his achievements in aviation and business, including the Padma Bhushan– India’s third highest civilian award– in 2006, and the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award for his aviation exploits in 2001. Additionally, in 1994, the Indian Air Force (IAF) made him an Honorary Air Commodore, while Mumbai city named him the 2006 Sheriff of Mumbai.
Beyond the trials and tribulations he faced due the family feuds, Vijaypat Singhania is widely recognized from making Raymond a household name in India and abroad, and transforming the family business into a global powerhouse in the textile and fashion industry space.
