Dr. Vijay Mallya

Trivia

• He is a keen yachtsman and aviator and has won many trophies on professional car racing circuits.
• Dr. Mallya is an avid sportsman
• Dr. Mallya holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Calcutta in India and an honorary Doctorate in Business Administration from the University of California, Irvine.
• Mallya was ranked as the 962nd richest person in the world and the 42nd in India with a net worth of US$1.2 billion.
• In May 2007, United Breweries Group announced the all-cash acquisition of scotch whisky maker Whyte & Mackay for 595 million pounds (approximately Rs 4,819 crore). In 2005 he took over Millennium Breweries Ltd (formerly known as inertia industries ltd), which owned the two premium beer brands named SANDPIPER and ZINGARO
• Mallya took over as Chairman of the United Breweries Group in 1983. Since then, the group has grown into a multi-national conglomerate of over sixty companies with an annual turnover which has increased by 439% to US$1.2 billion in 1998-1999
• In 2005, Vijay Mallya established Kingfisher Airlines. At present, the airline connects 32 cities.
• Mallya co-owns F1 racing team Force India (earlier Spyker). Mallya and the Mol family from The Netherlands bought the Spyker F1 team for 88 million euros. The team changed its name to Force India F1 from the 2008 Season.
• Mallya's United Breweries sponsors the East Bengal and Mohun Bagan football clubs in Kolkata
• Mallya's flagship firm UB Group owns the Royal Challengers Bangalore team in the Indian Premier League. He won this team in an auction by paying US$111.6 million for the team. The Royal Challengers Bangalore team includes players like Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Jacques Kallis, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Zaheer Khan, Mark Boucher,Sunil Joshi and Dale Steyn.