Vijay Mallaya is one of the most influential and powerful personalities of Indian aviation sector. He is the Chairman of United Breweries which has its popular liquor brands by the name of McDowells and Kingfisher. He is also the serving chairman of Kingfisher Airlines and Force India Formula One Team.
Vijay Mallaya is known for its exquisite and larger than life image. He is always in the spotlight of the media for good or bad reasons. According to Forbes, his estimated worth of value is about $1.4 billion.
Early Life:
Vijay Mallaya was born to well-known industrialist, Vittal Mallaya who founded United Breweries (UB) Group. He completed his graduation from a reputed college in late 60s. He then goes on to expand the business of his father to different countries like Dubai and UAE. He is survived by four children.
He became the chairman of UB group in 1983 and under his leadership UB Group has expanded and diversified its business interests in variety of fields such as life and medical care, sports, technology, leisure, engineering and chemicals.
Kingfisher Airlines
In 2006, Vijay Mallaya founded the Kingfisher Airlines that connected more than 30 cities and within a short span of time, the airlines carved a special position for itself in the Indian aviation sector. The kingfisher airlines were the first airline in India that would operate with the new aircrafts. The company was also the first in India to order an Airbus A380.
Kingfisher Airlines is amongst the few airlines in world that have been given a five star status by Skytrax. At present there are only 6 airlines to have achieved this feat. The company today operates to more than 71 international and domestic destinations. The company is the sponsor of F1 outfit of Force India which is also -owned by Vijay Mallaya.
The company went ahead to acquire the Air Deccan for an undisclosed amount. The Air Deccan was then rebranded as Kingfisher Red that would be the low cost arm of Kingfisher Airlines. This no frill airlines would only serve drinking water and a magazine, Cine Blitz to its customers.
Other Interests and Investments
Apart from having an airlines and Formula One team in his hat, Dr. Vijay Mallaya has an IPL franchise of Bangalore Royal Challengers and he also has a major stake in the East Bengal and Mohun Bagan football clubs of Kolkata.
Vijay Mallaya is also an active participant in the Indian politics. He joined the politics in 2000 as the president of Janta Party. Today he has become a Rajya Sabha MP.
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