Subrata Roy was considered as one of the most notable people in business in India's history. The reason behind it is his iconic conglomerate, Sahara India Pariwar, which has been one of the most prominent and successful names in India. From real estate, electric vehicles, sports, media and entertainment, Subrata made Sahara India a renowned brand in India by excelling in almost every sector that he went in.
However, it was on November 14, 2023, when the iconic businessman, Subrata Roy passed away at the age of 75. The renowned businessman was admitted to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital & Medical Research Institute after a constant decline in his health. Despite doctors' continuous efforts, Subrata Roy couldn't cope with the health complications and at 10:30 pm, he breathed his last after a series of complications like hypertension, diabetes, and metastatic malignancy started taking over his body.
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As soon as the news of Subrata Roy's sudden demise hit the headlines, the entire business industry started mourning his loss. While almost everyone knows about the late businessman's professional journey as an entrepreneur, a series of things still need to be known about him. So, without further ado, let's get into the details of some of his most unknown facts.
Sahara India Pariwar's founder, Subrata Roy was born on June 10, 1948, in Araria, Bihar. Talking about his family background, Subrata's father, Sudhir Chandra Roy and his mother, Chhabi Roy were from a rich landlord family, Bhagyakul Zamindar. As per multiple reports, Subrata completed his schooling at Kolkata's famous Holy Child Institute. To pursue higher studies, Subrata went to the Government Technical Institute to pursue Mechanical Engineering.
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After completing his graduation in mechanical engineering, Subrata Roy started doing a series of different works. At the age of 30, he only had Rs. 2000 with him as he was struggling in life. The entrepreneur needed clarification about his future and was going through one of the hardest phases of his life. During that phase, Subrata applied for a loan of Rs. 5000 from the State Bank of India, but the latter declined his request.
It was in 1976 when Subrata Roy joined a struggling company named Sahara Finance that used to run a chit fund. After spending some time in the company, Subrata understood that there was a big loophole in the company's financial model. After taking over the company in 1978, he introduced a brand-new financial model that turned out to be quite effective and profitable. After getting some profits, Subrata was intelligent enough to dive into multiple sectors to turn his company into a renowned conglomerate.
Well, the entrepreneur succeeded in making Sahara India Pariwar one of the largest conglomerates in India. From launching a Hindi-language newspaper, Rashtriya Sahara, in 1992 to introducing Sahara TV in 2000, Sahara even entered into the automobile sector with Sahara Evols in 2019. The company achieved significant success in almost every sector. In 2004, Time Magazine revealed that Sahara India Pariwar was the second-largest employer in India after Indian Railways. For the unversed, Subrata Roy had a workforce of more than 1.2 million employees and 9 crore plus investors and depositors across the country back in 2004.
Subrata Roy was married to Swapna Roy, and the couple has two sons, Sushanto Roy and Seemanto Roy. The couple met each other through a common friend when they were studying in Kolkata. Only a few people know that Subrata was an average student while Swapna was a university topper. However, even then, when Subrata opened up about his feelings to Swapna, the latter agreed, and they started dating.
After dating each other for seven long years, Subrata and Swapna got married. When the duo got married, Subrata Roy was in the initial phase of his business, but it was Swapna's constant support that helped him build Sahara India Pariwar.
Subrata Roy’s wife, Swapna Roy, is the name behind the management of the media and entertainment sector. She has been actively working as a board member of Sahara One Media and Entertainment. Although the couple has been frequently seen at Bollywood gatherings and prominent business events, but Swapna prefers to keep her personal life away from the media spotlight.
For the unversed, many years back, Swapna Roy and Subrata Roy featured in a romantic music video produced by SaReGaMa. The video reportedly portrayed their love story, and Swapna even lent her voice to the heartfelt melody. Unfortunately, there are no traces of the video on the internet. Apart from working as one of the board members of One Media, Swapna has also worked as a philanthropist for years.
It was on April 1, 2013, when Subrata Roy's conglomerate, Sahara India Pariwar, entered into the books of Guinness World Records after they opened 315 outlets in 10 different Indian states on the same day. It was a mammoth success for the conglomerate, which was among India's biggest conglomerates.
It was in 2014 when Subrata Roy and Sahara India Pariwar found themselves at the target of a series of legal woes and controversies over their financial irregularities. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) directed Sahara India Pariwar to refund billions of dollars to their investors.
SEBI also accused the group of securing funds through financial instruments that were subsequently deemed illegal. It was a major blow to one of India's largest conglomerate's success and image in people's eyes. Things went from bad to worse when Subrata Roy was arrested in 2014. However, the latter was granted parole and released in 2016.
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According to multiple reports, Subrata Roy's net worth is around the estimated sum of Rs. 1000 crores. With years of work at Sahara India Pariwar and even after giving a lot of money on SEBI's command to the investors and depositors, Subrata still managed to create a wealth of this magnitude, which indeed speaks volumes about his intelligence as an entrepreneur.
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After the untimely demise of Subrata Roy, all eyes are on Sahara India Pariwar to know who will be their new leader. For the unversed, the conglomerate is worth Rs. 2.59 lakh crores, and if the early reports are to be believed, Subrata had not named his wife or children as his successor to claim the Sahara India Pariwar.
Due to the legal cases in the past, Subrata Roy's wife, Swapna Roy and their sons, Sushanto and Seemanto, took the citizenship of Macedonia to escape from India. As a result, they'll not be able to claim Sahara India Pariwar worth Rs. 2.59 lakh crores. Only time will tell, who will be the next leader of Sahara India Pariwar.
What are your thoughts on Subrata Roy's inspirational success as an entrepreneur and the empire he created with his conglomerate, Sahara India Pariwar? Let us know.
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