Sudhir Ruparelia

Sudhir Ruparelia
Official potrait of Sudhir Ruparelia
Born (1956-01-17) 17 January 1956[1]
Kabatoro, Kasese, Uganda[2]
Residence Kampala, Uganda
Nationality Ugandan
Ethnicity Asian Ugandan
Education A-Levels (United Kingdom)
Occupation Businessman, entrepreneur, investor
Years active 1986 - present
Net worth US$800 million (2015)[3]
Spouse(s) Jyostna Ruparelia (m. 1977)[2]
Children Meera, Rajiv, Sheena

Sudhir Ruparelia (born 17 January 1956) is a Ugandan business magnate and investor. He is the chairman and majority shareholder in the companies of the Ruparelia Group.[4] His investments are mainly in the areas of banking, insurance, education, broadcasting, real estate, floriculture, hotels, and resorts.

According to Forbes in 2015, he was the 27th wealthiest individual in Africa, with an estimated net worth of US$800 million.[3]

Background

Ruparelia was born in Kabatoro, Kasese District in the Western Region of Uganda to an upper-middle-class family.[2] His great-grandfather reached Mombasa, Kenya in 1897 and set up a trading store there before coming to Uganda in 1903. His grandfather was born in Uganda in 1918 and his father in 1932. Ruparelia has two sisters and one brother. He attended Bat Valley Primary School in Kampala, from P1 to P6, then Jinja Main Street Primary School in Jinja for P7 and Jinja Secondary School. In 1971, he joined Kololo Senior Secondary School.

He moved to the United Kingdom with his parents in 1972 at the age of 16, when the dictator Idi Amin expelled all Asians from Uganda. He returned to Uganda in 1985, with US$25,000 earned from several casual jobs including working in supermarkets, factories, and butcheries. Ruparelia started selling beer and spirits imported from Kenya. In 1989, beer importation was banned to encourage local brewing of alcohol and he realised he could not make beer. But since his customers, who were mainly foreigners, paid him in foreign currency, he started Crane Forex Bureau, the first in Uganda. With his profits, Ruparelia ventured into other businesses, including forming Crane Bank in 1995. Later, he organized his businesses under the umbrella of the Ruparelia Group.[2]

Personal life

Ruparelia is married to Jyotsna, and they have three children: Meera (married to Ravi Kotecha in 2014) is the eldest, Rajiv is his only son, and Sheena is the younger daughter. Meera and Rajiv hold senior positions in the conglomerate.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Kanaabi, Michael (2011). "From A Cab Driver, He Now Owns A Business Empire". New Vision Mobile. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Online, Monitor. "Ugandan Asians: The making of Ruparelia Group". The Daily Monitor. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Africa's 50 Richest: #27 Sudhir Ruparelia". Forbes. 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  4. ↑ Ruparelia Group. "The Companies of the Ruparelia Group". Ruparelia Group of Companies. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  5. ↑ LifeStyle, Richest. "Sudhir Ruparelia Net Worth: The Richest Man in Uganda". www.richestlifestyle.com. Retrieved 18 November 2014.

External links

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