Word: mallya
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Dates: during 2003-2003
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...Already a member of India's upper house of Parliament, he's also a new and improbable leader of the Janata Party, a socialist outfit famous for its commitment to farmers and the downtrodden. Mallya is campaigning hard to establish himself as a political force in his home state of Karnataka. He's already spent time and money stumping for candidates from an affiliated party in a recent election for the state assembly, and he says he plans to field candidates of his own in future elections. Emulating his heroes-American tycoon-turned-politician Ross Perot and Italian media magnate...
...little more than 24 hours after his Goan pool party, Mallya takes the podium before a crowd in Kolar, a poor, drought-ravaged region of Karnataka. He's exchanged the heavy diamond studs for simple gold earrings and is decked out in the chaste all-white kurta and pajama of a typical Indian politician. "God has given me everything," Mallya tells the audience. "Money, big houses, fame. I want nothing more-except the chance to serve you." The crowd listens politely and begins to drift away-until the techno music starts to pound. A green laser beam projects images...
...Although Mallya may be new to politics, he's not new to the spotlight. Long one of India's most prominent businessmen, he has turned United Breweries, the company he inherited from his father, into India's dominant brewer. By aggressively acquiring smaller brands, UB now controls a 40% share of the domestic beer market, and Mallya has transformed the group's flagship brew, Kingfisher, into a label that's known from England to Australia. But with $1.2 billion in annual sales, the UB Group is more than just beer and Bagpiper, India's best-selling whisky. It also...
...this has made Mallya one of India's richest men (although he's uncharacteristically shy when it comes to discussing how much he's worth). It's a wealth that he's spent liberally, building mansions throughout the country, throwing lavish parties, buying India's most successful football teams-East Bengal and Mohun Bagan-and breeding famous racehorses...
...however, Mallya astonished everyone by deciding to enter politics. Although big business has always been a crucial source of campaign funds, politicians have traditionally maintained an air of Gandhian poverty, dressing in hand-spun clothes and driving battered domestic Ambassador automobiles. Mallya, by contrast, openly celebrates his wealth, and with his wife and two daughters in America and a son at school in England, his connection to India sometimes seems tenuous. Nonetheless, Mallya ran for an indirect election (in which votes are cast only by members of state legislatures) to India's largely ceremonial upper house of Parliament...