A fleet of Mercedes and BMWs lined up at the 20-storey IL Palazzo in Malabar Hill on Sunday as acquaintances visited the residence of ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala to pay their last respects. He passed away on Sunday early morning in Mumbai. He was 62.
One of the richest men in the country, in one of his last public appearances -- at the launch of Akasa Air, the country's newest airline, which he co-founded with former Jet Airways CEO Vinay Dubey -- was seen sitting in a wheelchair.
"He was brought in dead at 6.45-7am, probably with a cardiac arrest. He had other medical complications such as heart disease, diabetes and he was on dialysis," physician and intensivist Dr Pratit Samdani of Breach Candy Hospital Trust, who was treating him, told Business Today. The investor had been seeking treatment for the last 15 years, he confirmed.
The funeral procession of veteran investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, which was scheduled to start at 5.30 pm, has been delayed to 10.30 pm, instead, according to the buzz outside Jhunjhunwala's residence. This is because some of his family members and friends, who are travelling from out of city, have not yet landed.
His final journey was scheduled to begin from his duplex residence on the 16-17th floor of the 20-storey building in IL Palazzo in Malabar Hill.
He will be taken to the Banganga Crematorium, a little more than two kilometres away from his residence which is close to Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde's Nandanvan bungalow.
By 5.30 pm, it was a sea of white at the basement of the building as cars continued milling in to drop off the who's who of the business world.
Union Minister Smriti Irani, who had tweeted about losing a brother, was mingling with the guests.
Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekharan, dressed in a blue full-sleeve shirt and beige trousers, made a quick exit after paying respects to the departed.
Indian Hotels Company MD & CEO Puneet Chhatwal, dressed in a white kurta and pyjama, spoke to the media persons about how he will miss Jhunjhunwala's positivity, optimism and sense of humour.
Motilal Oswal Group Chairman Raamdeo Agrawal made a quick exit in his Audi, while well-known equity investor Vijay Kedia, dressed in khaki slacks and a white shirt, was also seen talking to the other attendees.
Given the sobriquet 'Big Bull' of the stock markets after Harshad Mehta, Jhunjhunwala owned a portfolio of 32 stocks worth Rs 30,000 crore
He was also chairman of Hungama Media and Aptech, as well as a director of Viceroy Hotels, Concord Biotech, Provogue India, and Geojit Financial Services.
Born in a middle-class family on July 5, 1960, Jhunjhunwala first entered the stock market with just Rs 5,000 in 1985. He was in college at that time. In its latest estimate, Forbes pegged his net worth to be around $5.5 billion.
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