You can’t be the King of Good Times when 17 banks try to hound you down for not having repaid loan worth Rs.9,091 crore. With a Hyderabad court issuing a set of non-bailable warrants and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) having already registered a money laundering case against Mallya, the king has certainly fallen on hard times and his appeal is fast fizzing out.
The quagmire that the founder of Kingfisher Airlines finds himself in is mostly his making, with a little favour from the banks who extended loan to him despite its negative credit ratings and net worth. It is now well established that the lending institutions in India fall for the extremely wealthy individuals and lend them money to “recapitalise those who already have massive net worth, often without real collateral”.
Mallya’s Extravagance Didn’t Stop Despite Mounting Debt
There’s something very audacious about Vijay Mallya. The State Bank of India (SBI) declared Mallya and two of his companies ‘wilful defaulters’ in November 2015. Three months later, in February 2016, Mallya went on to buy a team (Barbados Tridents) in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) for 13.5 crore and agreed to pay salaries of the players (an estimated Rs. 5 crore annually). Long before that, the United Bank of India named United Breweries (Holdings) Ltd (UBHL) as a wilful defaulter.
Only days after Mallya bought a team in CPL, the Punjab National Bank (PNB) declared UBHL as a wilful defaulter. Within few months, he committed Rs. 3 crore to the Kingfisher Ultra Derby. In the same year, he organised a lavish birthday party in Goa and flew in pop star Enrique Iglesias. The estimated fee for his appearance is about Rs. 3.40 crore.
How Much is Vijay Mallya Worth?
For the time being, let’s forget the considerable leeway that the banks had offered to Mallya, and focus on the assets he still manages to cling on to. The Attorney General of India, Mukul Rohatgi, had informed the Supreme Court that Mallya’s overseas assets are “far in excess to loans taken by him”. As the investigative agencies examine whether any of the loans extended by the banks were utilised for building overseas assets, let’s get a fair idea of what’s the worth of Vijay Mallya.
Assets of Vijay Mallya
When Vijay Mallya was nominated to the Rajya Sabha for the second time in 2010, he had disclosed his movable assets, which he claimed to be close to Rs. 615 crore. More than five years have passed since then and there is likely to be more than a cosmetic change in that figure.
Overseas Properties of Vijay Mallya
Mansion in Sausalito, California: Considered as one of the most prominent properties in Sausalito, this property in 6 Bulkley Avenue was bought in 1987. He reportedly bought the 11,000 sq. ft mansion for $1.2 million.
Mabula Game Lodge, Johannesburg: In the 90s, he acquired one of the finest game reserves in South Africa. Located near Johannesburg, 25,000-acre Mabula Game Lodge was bought for $6 million. He owns a 99.5% stake in the game reserve.
Keillour Castle, Perthshire (Scotland): The castle, located in Perthshire, was acquired by Mallya in 2007. According to Steve Hindy, the co-founder of Brooklyn Brewery, the four-storey stone castle was decorated with suits of armours, swords and medieval artifacts.
Le Grande Jardin, France: Mallya purchased this luxury property on the Island of Sainte-Marguerite in September 2008. While there was a competition among celebrities and Russian billionaires for acquiring this property, Mallya emerged as the winning bidder owing to his “special” relationship with the French government. At the time of the purchase, the property was priced between $53 and $61 million.
Trump Plaza Condo, New York: In September 2010, Mallya bought a penthouse in Trump Plaza for $2.4 million. It is the most expensive tower of its kind in New York. Some of the famous residents of this 37-storey residential tower include Donald Trump, Beyonce and Bruce Willis.
Tewin village, Hertfordshire (England): This is where the erstwhile ‘booze billionaire’ is expected to be staying after he left India on 2 March. This “country home” is among his most recent real estate purchases.
Vijay Mallya’s Properties in India
Kingfisher House, Mumbai: The sprawling 17,000 sq. ft. property in Vile Parle was put on auction on Thursday. The base price for the property has been set at Rs. 150 crore.
Kingfisher Villa, Goa: This holiday home at Sinquerim is believed to be worth Rs. 90 crore.
Devika, New Delhi: Mallya owns a house on Sardar Patel Marg in New Delhi.
Niladri, Mumbai: He owns a sea-facing bungalow on one of the most expensive locations in Mumbai – Napean Sea Road.
Kunigal Stud Farm: Mallya has a horse farm in Karnataka’s Tumkur that’s spread across 400 acres. It is reportedly the oldest stud farm in India.
UB City, Bangalore: UB City, with a total built-up area of 1.6 million sq. ft, is the biggest commercial property project in Bangalore. Four years ago, a private equity giant Blackstone had reportedly offered Rs. 550 crore to buy out the prime office and retail real estate blocks
Luxury Cars and Other Assets
The man, who has an innate love for superlatives, is also the owner of about 240 vintage cars and the retinue includes Porsches, Bentleys and Ferraris. Although the days of ‘Indian Princess’ and Indian Empress’ are over, the liquor baron still owns Kalizma – a vintage motor yacht built in 1906. He also owns a Force India Formula 1 team and retains a roughly 32 per cent stake in United Breweries, whose net worth at current market value is Rs. 6800 crore. However, this ‘often-pious’ gentleman, who is incidentally a follower of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and the Art of Living movement, is now being called the ‘King of Bad Debts’, and rightly so.
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