Dr. Vijaypat Singhania is an Indian businessman and pilot. He is the former chairman and managing director of textile company Raymond Limited. In 2005, at the age of 67, he set a new world record for the highest altitude in a hot air balloon.
Wiki/Biography
Vijaypat Singhania was born on Tuesday, October 4, 1938 in Kanpur, United Provinces, British India (now Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India), and he is 85 years old as of 2023. His zodiac sign is Libra. He completed his entrance examination from GNK Higher Secondary School, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He joined Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics, Bombay, in 1954 and graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1959. He served for some time as Postgraduate Professor of Management at the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′ 9″
Hair color: salt and pepper (semi-bald)
Eye color: black
family
Vijaypat Singhania was born into a family of Marwari industrialists.
Parents and siblings
Vijaypat Singhania’s father’s name is Lala Kailashpat Singhania. He is a businessman and manages the Raymond Group business in Mumbai. His brother’s name is Ajaypat Singhania.
Kailashpat Singhania, father of Vijaypat Singhania
wife and children
Vijaypat Singhania’s wife’s name is Asha Devi Singhania.
Vijaypat Singhania and Asha Devi Singhania and their sons
He has two sons Madhupati Singhania and Gautam Singhania and a daughter Shefali Singhania Ruia. Madhupati Singhania works in a consulting firm and Gautam Singhania is the Chairman and Managing Director of Raymond Limited. Shefali Singhania serves as Director of AB Color Private Limited. In 1998, Madhupati Singhania separated from her family and moved to Singapore with her wife and children.
Vijaypat Singhania and his son Gautam Singhania
Vijaypat Singhania’s daughter Shefali Singhania Ruia
other relatives
Vijaypat Singhania’s grandfather was Lala Kamlapat Singhania (1884-1937), the founder of the JK organization.
Vijaypat Singhania’s grandfather Lala Kamlapat Singhania
religion
Vijaypat Singhania follows Hinduism. He was a devotee of Lord Tirupati Balaji.
address
He lives at 59, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mumbai, Maharashtra, 400026.
Profession
Business
After teaching at Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS), Mumbai, he worked as a manager at JK Chemicals, a part of JK Organization.
In 1980 he became Managing Director and Chairman of Raymond Ltd. During his tenure with the company, he made Raymond one of the best apparel brands in India. Before Vijaypat became managing director, the company used to produce only woolen textiles. Later, apart from woolen textiles, Vijaypat also started selling synthetic fabrics and denim garments. The company expanded when Vijaypat introduced steel, fly ash and cement into the business.
In 1996-1997, the company suffered financial losses due to the economic recession, which affected the profits of steel and cement companies. In 2000, he appointed his younger son Gautam Singhania as chairman of Raymond Ltd, while Vijaypat stayed with the company as chairman emeritus and held a non-executive role before leaving the company in 2015.
aviation
In 1988, he flew an ultralight aircraft alone from London’s Biggin Hill Airport to New Delhi’s Safdarjung Airport in 23 days, making him the new Guinness World Records holder in the ultra-speed endurance category. In 1994, he won the gold medal in the international round-the-world flight competition organized by the International Aeronautical Federation. His round trip to Montreal took 56 hours and 4 minutes and passed through 9 countries in 23 days.
Vijaypat Singhania with a Cessna 441 Conquest II aircraft painted as a tiger
By 2003, Vijaypat Singhania had more than 5,000 hours of flying experience. In 2005, at the age of 67, he set a world record by flying a hot air balloon at an altitude of 69,000 feet.
This shows the world that we are not bullock cart drivers but we can compete with the best in the world. “
dispute
family struggle
In 2015, Vijaypat Singhania handed over the business to his younger son Gautam Singhania. After transferring all its shares worth Rs. Vijaypat paid Rs 1,000 crore in compensation to Gautam and the grandchildren of his eldest son Madhupati Singhania filed a case in the Bombay High Court. According to sources, they claimed that under the 1988 agreement, Madhupati and his wife were supposed to receive equal shares in Raymond’s company, but that was not actually given to them. In 2017, Vijaypat was not allowed to stay in JK House, which he had hoped to stay as it was part of his agreement with Gautam. Thereafter, he filed a case against Gautam Singhania claiming that he had rights over the JK House property.
Awards and Honors
- Ph.D., London Institute of Technology, Bombay
- Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award (2001)
- Padmasambhava (2006)
Vijaypat Singhania receives the Padma Shri from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam
Favorites
- Food: Pomfret, Caviar, Gushtaba
Facts/Trivia
- In 1994, he was appointed as an Honorary Air Commodore by the Indian Air Force.
- On December 19, 2005, he was appointed as the Commissioner of Police of Mumbai.
- In 2005, he published Angel in the Cockpit: The True Story of a Death-Destroying Flight Across 5,000 Miles of Land and Sea, describing his journey from England to India in an ultralight aircraft over 23 days.
- In 2013, he established a school called Dr.Vijaypat Singhania School in Pardi, Valsad district, Gujarat, India.
- In 2021, he published an autobiography called “An Incomplete Life: An Autobiography.”
- His net worth is Rs. He lost Rs 12,000 crore when he handed over his business and property to his younger son Gautam Singhania.
- He got his inspiration for flying airplanes from Howard Hughes and JRD Tata.
- From 1991 to 2002, he served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA).
- He follows a non-vegetarian diet.
- As of 2023, he has flown more than 5,000 hours.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education