Mumbai, Nov 15: Subrata Roy, founder and chairman of the Sahara India Pariwar conglomerate, passed away late Tuesday night in Mumbai. He was 75.
According to the company statement, he passed away at 10.30 pm due to cardiorespiratory arrest following an extended battle with complications arising from metastatic malignancy, hypertension, and diabetes.
Born in 1948 in Araria, Bihar, Roy started his career as a clerk before taking over the struggling Sahara Finance chit fund company in 1978. He transformed it into the mammoth Sahara India Pariwar conglomerate over the next few decades.
Under Roy’s stewardship, Sahara expanded into an empire encompassing diverse sectors including finance, real estate, media, manufacturing, and hospitality. The group’s assets included flagship newspaper Rashtriya Sahara, TV channel Sahara One, and iconic overseas hotels such as London’s Grosvenor House.
At its peak, Sahara India Pariwar was considered the second largest employer in India after the railways, with over 1 million staff. It claimed to have over 9 crore investors, reflecting Roy’s success in tapping the country’s small savings market.
However, Roy faced legal troubles in his later years over regulatory disputes regarding Sahara’s financial dealings. In 2014, the Supreme Court jailed him for failing to appear in a case involving dues payable to investors as demanded by market regulator SEBI.
Roy spent time in Tihar Jail before being granted parole. The case over alleged non-repayment to investors dented his image.
Still, Roy won praise as a visionary entrepreneur who built one of India’s largest business empires from humble beginnings. He received several honors including an honorary doctorate from the University of East London.
Of late, Roy has focused on new ventures such as electric vehicle company Sahara Evols and Edunguru online education targeting rural youth. His death leaves behind a legacy as one of independent India’s iconic self-made business tycoons.
