Founder of Sahara India Pariwar, Subrata Roy passed away at the age of 75 on Tuesday due to prolonged illness.
“Saharasri ji an inspirational leader and visionary, passed away on 141h November 2023 at 10.30 pm due to cardiorespiratory arrest following an extended battle with complications arising from metastatic malignancy, hypertension, and diabetes. He was admitted to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital & Medical Research Institute (KDAH) on 12th November 2023, following a decline in health,” said the Sahara group in a statement.
Mr Roy was an eminent figure in business industry with establishments in various sectors including real estate, finance, hospitality and media.
Roy was born on June 10, 1948 and his journey began with his education in mechanical engineering from the Government Technical Institute of Gorakhpur. Before taking over the struggling chit fund company Sahara Finance, he entered into business in Gorakhpur.
He took over Sahara Finance in 1976 and by 1978 he transformed it into Sahara India Pariwar, which grew rapidly to become India’s one of the largest conglomerates.
In 1992, the Sahara group launched its Hindi language newspaper Rashtriya Sahara and took over the Aamby Valley City project in Pune. During that period the group even entered the television specas with Sahara TV that was later renamed as Sahara One.
Sahara group made international headlines during 2000s when it acquired iconic properties including New York City’s Plaza Hotel and London’s Grosvenor House Hotel.
Time Magazine also praised the Sahara India Pariwar for being the second-largest employer in India after Indian Railways with nearly 1.2 million workforce. The group even had over 9 crore investors with major part from Indian households.
However, during his numerous successes the company went through many legal challenges. In 2014, the Supreme Court ordered Mr Roy’s detention after he failed to appear before court over dispute with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
The Sahara India Pariwar Chairperson Subrata Roy faced long legal battle over this dispute and he had to spend long time in Tihar Jail but he was eventually released on parole.
His legal battles never impacted his business world. During his journey he was honoured with manh awards and an honorary doctorate in business leadership from the University of East London. He also received the Business Icon of the Year award at the Powerbands Hall of Fame Awards in London.
The India Today frequently featured him in the list of most powerful people of India.
