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History has witnessed numerous riches to rags stories. Several billionaire tycoons have in the past have fallen into the oblivion after bankruptcy. Well, here we bring a 'riches to rags' story of an Indian-born billionaire, whose net worth was over Rs 18000 crore, and who even owned multiple flats in Burj Khalifa apart from several luxurious villas across Dubai. He was one of the wealthiest men globally. However, fate took a cruel turn and he had to sell his Rs 12478 crore company for just Rs 74.
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Heartbreaking 'Riches To Rags' Tale of Indian-born Billionaire
The heartbreaking 'Riches to Rags' tale is of Indian-born businessman BR Shetty. Shetty once owned several companies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He was once counted among the wealthiest persons in the globe and was ranked on the Forbes list of India's 100 richest people in 2015 and secured the 42nd rank in the list in 2019.
However, the man who lived a life of prime luxury made a critical mistake that ruined him.
BR Shetty's Journey To Being Billionaire
BR Shetty or Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty was born on August 1, 1942, to a middle-income family in Udupi, Madras Presidency, then British India (now Karnataka, India). He began his career as a medical representative. Reportedly, at the age of 31, Shetty came to Dubai with just $8 to his name in 1973 in search of better opportunities. Initially, he began working as a door-to-door salesman, selling medicines.
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In a short time, Shetty built some good contacts with wealthy and influential people. A few years later, he established the New Medical Center Health (NMC), which was UAE's first private healthcare provider company, in Dubai.
The hospital was managed by Shetty's wife Chandrakumari Shetty, who was the only doctor in the clinic, at the time.
Currently, NMC is the largest private healthcare provider in the UAE with over four million patients annually across 45 facilities spread over 13 cities and 8 countries, including UAE, KSA, Oman, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Colombia, and Brazil. NMC is the first healthcare company from the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC). It is also the first company from Abu Dhabi to be listed on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange and was part of the coveted FTSE 100 index.
Apart from NMC, Shetty also founded the UAE Exchange during the late 70s after observing that Indian expatriates living in the UAE faced difficulties in sending money to their families back in India. He established the UAE Exchange which dealt with remittance, foreign exchange, and bill payment services. In 2016, 800 offices were opened in 31 countries. Later in 2003, Shetty founded NMC Neopharma, a UAE-based pharmaceutical manufacturing company. Notably, it was inaugurated in Abu Dhabi by the then-president of India, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.
Shetty's Net Worth
Shetty's wealth swelled for his diversified and successful business ventures, which ranged from health, and finance to capital investment and real estate. At one point in time, Shetty'd net worth was $3 billion (around Rs 20,000 crore).
The business tycoon lived a luxurious life and owned private jets and a fleet of Rolls-Royce vehicles. He also bought two entire floors in the lavish Burj Khalifa, apart from several luxurious villas.
Shetty's Downfall
However, in 2019, US-based short-seller Muddy Waters Research levelled allegations against Shetty's companies. In its post on X (formerly Twitter), it revealed that Shetty's firm owed a $1 billion debt which was kept a secret from the company's investors. Further, in its report, Muddy Waters Research alleged that Shetty had hidden the debt from his investors and defrauded them by exaggerating cash flow figures. Following that, the shares of Shetty's companies went into free fall, forcing him to sell his Rs 12,478 crore company to the Israel-UAE consortium for just Rs 74.
In 2020, Shetty resigned from his board position. The same year on April 8, NMC Health went into Adminstration in the United Kingdom due to concerns over corporate governance and a share price in free fall. In the same month, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank filed a criminal complaint against NMC Health with the UAE Attorney General’s Office. A few days later, the Central Bank of UAE ordered the freezing of Shetty’s bank accounts and the blacklisting of his firms.
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Shetty is also under investigation in India, with agencies initiating a probe to identify potential risks to Indian banks.
