Vijay Mallya, the former owner of Kingfisher Airlines and chairman of United Breweries Group, has witnessed a decline in his wealth. Mallya was accused in a bank loan default case exceeding Rs 9,000 crore. He has been residing in the UK since 2016, fighting extradition to India.
Networth and assets
Mallya, who inherited the chairmanship of United Breweries at 28 and expanded into aviation, beverages, and real estate, was famously known as the “King of Good Times.” His net worth, estimated at $750 million by Forbes in 2013, was reported by The Independent UK to be around $1.2 billion in July 2022. However, this reported increase in net worth stands in stark contrast to his ongoing legal battles and the collapse of Kingfisher Airlines.
Mallya owns a lot of luxury assets despite facing financial difficulties. He reportedly owns a penthouse in New York’s Trump Plaza, acquired for $2.4 million in 2010, along with three other luxury condos in the same building, two of which were jointly purchased with his daughter, according to IndiaToday. Further, he has the Le Grande Jardin estate on the Island of Sainte-Marguerite near Cannes, France.
Difficulties of Mallya
Kingfisher Airlines plunged into severe financial distress in 2012 due to mounting debts, a downfall which Mallya attributes to the 2008 global financial crisis. His legal troubles escalated in 2017 when the Supreme Court of India found him guilty in a case related to the defunct airline, specifically for transferring $40 million to his children. He was subsequently sentenced to a four-month jail term and fined Rs 2,000 (£21) for a 2017 contempt of court case.
While the Indian government initiated extradition proceedings in 2017, the 69-year-old businessman consistently denies any wrongdoing and continues to contest his extradition. In a recent podcast with Raj Shamani, Mallya asserted his innocence, stating, ” You may call me a fugitive for not going to India post March, but I didn’t run away. I flew on a prescheduled visit. Fair enough, I didn’t return for reasons that I consider are valid… so if you want to call me a fugitive, go ahead. But where is the ‘chor’ (thief) coming from? Where is the ‘chori’ (theft)?” His legal battle and public denial of theft remain central to his ongoing saga.