Dr. Lalit Khaitan, Chairman & Managing Director Radico Khaitan
Lalit Khaitan, the 80-year-previous chairman of Radico Khaitan in Delhi, has lately been recognised as India’s latest billionaire by Forbes. Thanks to a exceptional improve of over 50% within the shares of his publicly traded firm this 12 months, his estimated web value has soared to a formidable $1 billion. This surge will be attributed to his important 40% possession stake within the firm.
Who Is Lalit Khaitan?
Lalit Khaitan serves because the chairman of Radico Khaitan, a famend firm recognised for producing quite a lot of alcoholic drinks equivalent to Magic Moments vodka, 8 PM whiskey, Old Admiral brandy, and Rampur single malt.
Khaitan was a teetotaller till his father acquired the Rampur distillery enterprise in 1972 for a worth of Rs 16 lakhs. His father GN Khaitan was a lifelong teetotaller who belonged to a conventional Marwari household.
Lalit Khaitan Education
Khaitan obtained his schooling at esteemed establishments equivalent to Mayo College in Ajmer and St. Xavier’s College in Kolkata. He earned a Bachelor’s diploma in Engineering from BMS College of Engineering in Bangalore and accomplished a Managerial Finance & Accounting course at Harvard, USA.
Formerly recognised as Rampur Distillery & Chemical Company Ltd, Radico Khaitan underwent a reputation change. In the early Nineteen Seventies, GN Khaitan, the daddy of Lalit Khaitan, acquired the struggling firm.
In 1995, the distillery was handed right down to Khaitan from his father when GN Khaitan distributed the household companies amongst his 4 sons.
“From class 9 onwards, I was very clear that I wanted to be in the liquor trade,” Moneycontrol quoted Lalit Khaitan as saying in an interview with Fortune in 2020. “[Then] our market capitalisation was about Rs 5 crore. Today, it’s over Rs 5,000 crore.”
Originally established as a bottling plant specialising in bulk alcohol manufacturing, Radico Khaitan confronted challenges in its early levels. In response to the enterprise difficulties, Lalit Khaitan, with the help of his son Abhishek, opted to diversify into the manufacturing of branded drinks.
“Either go bankrupt or create our brands. That is when I took the call to start our brand,” the youthful Khaitan informed Fortune.
8 PM whiskey was launched in August 1998.
Presently, Radico Khaitan stands as one of many main producers of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), distributing its manufacturers throughout greater than 85 nations.
According to Forbes, the corporate’s profitable strategy to broadening its vary of premium manufacturers has yielded important dividends.
Radico Khaitan Products
Currently, it contains Morpheus brandy, After Dark whisky, Rampur single malt, 1965—Spirit of Victory rum and Jaisalmer luxurious craft gin, amongst others.
Lalit Khaitan is the recipient of a number of honours, together with a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ by the UPDA (Uttar Pradesh Distillers Association), with which he was honoured in 2017.
He additionally received the ‘Inspirational Lifetime Achievement Award’ at Alcobev 2008 held by Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies.
