Before B.R. Shetty went broke, the Indian billionaire lived the high life, splurging on entire floors of the Burj Khalifa and lavish ‘Bollywood parties’
- Indian entrepreneur B.R. Shetty was once worth more than US$3 billion, but an investigation into his company revealed US$4 billion of hidden debts
- He went from a Nivea cream salesman in Abu Dhabi to the ultra-rich owner of a Rolls-Royce Phantom, a Mercedes Maybach S600 and (half) a private jet
In 2019, Forbes ranked Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty’s net worth at an estimated US$3.15 billion. The Karnataka native had helped found UAE hospital operator NMC Health and financial services firm Finablr, and had become famous for flashing his cash, throwing parties, talking about his love of fast cars and bragging about his Burj Khalifa purchases.
However, it all came crashing down earlier this year, when research firm Muddy Waters released a report revealing NMC’s complex share arrangements, sparking allegations of fraud and the disclosure of more than US$4 billion in hidden debts.
Since then the situation has snowballed, and Shetty has lost most of his wealth. He has insisted that he wants to clear his name, reported The National, claiming his signature was forged on documents and that business dealings went ahead without his approval or knowledge.
So it looks like he won’t be making any significant purchases for a while, but when he did have money, here’s how he liked to spend it …
Two floors of the Burj Khalifa
He told the news channel that he had waited for five hours to make the purchase and only the 100th floor was available, so he bought the entire floor instead of individual flats because he knew it was a “prestigious address”.
So why did the man need so many flats? Well, to throw parties, he also told the show. He said he had no intention of selling, even for a huge profit.