Here presenting you 19 Unknown & Interesting Facts about Vijay Mallya!!
1. Vijay Mallya is also called as “The King of Good Times” & “Liquor Baron”
2. Mallya studied at La Martinière Calcutta, one of the oldest schools in India. He also served as House Captain of the Hastings House in his Final year.
3. While studying B.Com in St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta, Mallya interned in his family’s businesses.
4. In 1983 after his father’s death, Mallya became the Chairman of UB Group at the age of 28 only.
5. After he took over the UB group, it has grown into a multinational firm with over 60 companies.
6. Notable companies like Berger Paints, Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers, The Asian Age, Cine Blitz (Bollywood magazine) were acquired by him.
7. Mallya is a tech enthusiast, Blackberry is his companion at any given time
8. He married twice.
- First to an Air India air hostess Sameera Tyabjee in 1986. Their son was Siddharth Mallya who was born on 7th May 1987. They were divorced later.
- Next in 1993, he married Rekha, a two-time divorcee. Rekha was his neighbor since childhood. They have 2 daughters namely Leanna and Tanya.
9. UB Group’s Kingfisher Beer has 50% market share in India and is available in 52 countries.
10. Mallya gifted “Kingfisher” to his son on his 18th Birthday.
11. Mallya is a linguist, he can speak Bengali, Hindi, Kannada, Konkani, Gujarati, English and French fluently.
12. Many don’t know that Mallya is a religious person. He visits Sabarimala pilgrimage every year.
13. He also makes sure that every aircraft Kingfisher airlines buys will first go to Tirupati before using it into service.
14. Vijay Mallya has deep knowledge before buying anything. He doesn’t look for branded items, he buys it if he likes it.
15. Vijay Mallya has a habit of celebrating his Birthday lavishly with his entire family.
16. He loves sports. Mallya co-owns Formula one Team Sahara Force India, RCB. He is a member of World Motor Sport Council.
17. Vijay Mallya is a member of Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament.
He is currently elected for his second tenure as MP of Rajya Sabha(2010- present). He was also the member of Rajya Sabha from 2002-2008.
18. Mallya tried his hand in Auctions also.
- He made a successful bid of £175,000 for Tipu Sultan sword in London and brought it back to India.
- In 2009, he again made Indians proud by making a successful bid of US $1.8 million for Mahatma Gandhi’s belongings in New York.
19. Mallya received an Honorary Degree of Doctorate of Philosophy in Business Administration.
Following are his other honours:
