BR Shetty: Selling drugs one step at a time to become a dollar billionaire, before I could enjoy it, I went bankrupt because of debt

Once rich and broke, buying all the apartments on the 100th and 104th floors of the world's tallest building in Dubai, Indian billionaire B. R Shetty now suffers empty-handed.

Coming up from 2 empty hands

According to Forbes, in 2019, the fortune of Indian billionaire Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty was worth about $3.15 billion. Born in Karrnataka state, he is credited with establishing the hospital operating company NMC Health and the financial services company Finablr.

In the early 1970s, at the age of 28, Shetty left India for Abu Dhabi to find a job, taking with her a bank loan that the family had borrowed for her sister's wedding, a degree in pharmacy and just seven years. USD in pocket.

Later, Shetty became a pharmacist and worked some part-time jobs like handing out leaflets. With a salary of $135, he was able to pay the rent, send it home and save.

In 1975, the Middle Eastern country wanted to improve the quality of its health system, making it accessible to more people at a lower cost. Shetty used up all her savings to open a small clinic with a drug service called New Medical Centre.

The company's business "rised like a kite and met the wind", along with the oil and gas exploration activities in Arabia helped Shetty take advantage of great opportunities. He became the health care provider for divers and therapists, transporting patients from the rigs from the sea to the mainland.

After only 6 years, NMC Health has expanded its drug distribution activities to drug stores in Abu Dhabi and collected a huge amount of money. In 2012, NMC was the country's first company listed on the London Stocks Exchange.

At its peak, NMC became the largest medical service provider in the UAE with the main businesses being hospitals, emergency and distribution centers, pharmaceutical manufacturing, scientific research, and food. . Moreover, the company's 2014 revenue reached $640 million and they own a system of 11 large hospitals spread across the Middle East.

Besides, Shetty is also a famous figure in the financial world. When business took off in the 1970s, seeing Indians still waiting in long lines to send money home, he founded the UAE Exchange - a money transfer network that charged lower and faster fees than banks. . In 2015, British company Travelex acquired UAE Exchange for $1.2 billion.

Shetty was a very quick-witted person, he saw opportunities to make money anywhere. When he saw the need to eat from patients increased, he founded Foodlands restaurant and developed into a restaurant chain with its own supply department. When employees needed a haircut, he also opened a barber shop.

Luxury lifestyle

In addition, he is also known for "splashing money", organizing lavish parties, bragging about his love of supercars and buying an apartment at Burj Khalifa - the tallest skyscraper in the world. According to Economics Times, he spent $25 million to buy all the apartments on the 100th and 140th floors of this building.

In 2011, as cosmetics brand Nivea marked its 100th anniversary with a series of parties around the world, he also hosted a private celebration party in his Burj Khalifa apartment. The event is held on the entire 100th floor of the tallest building in the world. The billionaire was very proud of being a Nivea ice cream salesman when he first arrived in Abu Dhabi.

In an interview with Arabian Business, he said: "Can you believe it? An ordinary Nivea salesman is holding a grand 100th anniversary party at the tallest building in the world. , with 100 distinguished guests. It's a story that will go down in history."

Shetty is also very proud to own the legendary Rolls-Royce Phantom. According to CarToq, he also owns a Mercedes-Maybach S600 limousine and was one of the first buyers in the world. In addition, Shetty also owns a collection of vintage cars, including a Morris Minor 1000 made in 1961.

Shetty even paid US$4.2 million to own 50% of a private jet from billionaire Omani Puthan NC Menon in 2014 and millions more for an airline company in both 2015 and 2016. .

Billionaire "falling off the horse"

On August 6, 2019, Muddy Waters, a research firm known for exposing accounting frauds in China's public companies posted on Twitter that it would soon publish a report on a investment firm based in the UK the next day. When posting this announcement, an interesting development occurred that caught the attention of Muddy Waters. Accordingly, NMC Health's stock dropped - this was a signal that something was wrong in the company and that's when Block decided to dig into NMC.

Four months later, on December 17, 2019, Muddy Waters published a report that caused a chain of reactions that shocked the entire UAE. Accordingly, the Muddy Waters side has released a report revealing NMC's complicated equity arrangements, sparking fraud allegations and revealing more than $4 billion in hidden debts.

It was discovered that checks for $100 million were issued by this company without the board's knowledge. In addition, the company's top executives have all resigned or been fired. Shetty then stepped down as director and non-executive chairman of NMC Health in February 2020. He also faced fraud and forgery charges in Abu Dhabi.

According to court filings reported in the media, NMC Health owes Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank $963 million, Dubai Islamic Bank $541 million, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank $325 million, and Standard Chartered Bank. $250 million and Barclays $146 million. Following the release of the report on November 26, shares of companies owned by BR Shetty fell more than 60% from previously recorded levels. In addition, the US Depository Receipt, an instrument equivalent to shares traded on Nasdaq, has lost 98.99% of its value since Nov.

At the age of U80, BR Shetty had to take on a huge debt that almost his fortune could not be saved. He even faced the risk that the building built for 45 years would be lost.

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