Raj Kundra
Raj Kundra | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Raj Kundra 9 September 1975 |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Spouse | Kavita Kundra (2005–2007) Shilpa Shetty (2009–present) |
| Children | One daughter with first wife, one son with Shilpa Shetty |
| Website | rajkundra.net |
Raj Kundra (born 9 September 1975)[citation needed] is a British Indian businessman who also has interests in both cricket and mixed martial arts. He is married to Shilpa Shetty, the Bollywood actress.
Life
[1] His ancestors came from Punjab.[2] He left school at the age of 18 and in 2004 was ranked by SUCCESS magazine as the 198th richest British Asian. As of 2009[update], Kundra was Chief Executive Officer of Essential General Trading LLC, which was described in a press release as being "a Dubai-based international trading company dealing in precious metals, construction, mining and green renewable energy projects". He was also at that time involved in the financing and production of Bollywood movies.[2]
A college drop-out, Kundra galloped to the good life. His father started out as a worker in a London cotton factory but went on to do bigger things like buying drug stores. At 18, his father asked him to get serious about his career, says a newspaper article. Kundra ventured out and struck gold in Nepal. He bought pashmina shawls, sold them to all major fashion houses in Britain and made his first millions. Then he got into diamond trading in Dubai
Kundra married Shilpa Shetty, a Bollywood actress, on 22 November 2009.[3] Their son was born on 21 May 2012.[4]
Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra are loving parents to Viaan but Raj Kundra has definitely not been loving enough to his first born, his daughter Deleena on whose birth he gifted her mom and his first wife Kavita Kundra with a divorce notice. Raj ended their marriage in November 2006, just weeks after Kavita Kundra had given birth to their daughter Deleena, who was born on September 9.
Kundra had earlier been married to Kavita, and the couple was going through a difficult marriage. Kavita claims that Shilpa Shetty broke the marriage, and that Kundra began to insist on a divorce[5] after meeting Shilpa Shetty. Shilpa Shetty said in an interview that she is not a marriage-breaker.[6] Raj Kundra and Kavita Kundra have a daughter, and Raj Kundra says that he does not meet the daughter after his "dirty divorce" because he does not wish to confuse the child about a father who is in “her life and yet not being in her life”.[7]
Kundra is involved with a charitable organisation called the Shilpa Shetty Foundation.[1]
Indian Premier League
In 2009 Kundra and Shetty invested in the Indian Premier League cricket team Rajasthan Royals using an offshore company based in Mauritius as the vehicle for doing so. The couple hoped to use Shetty's image and status as a "global brand" as a means of boosting the image of the team through merchandising and media exposure, as well as attracting sponsors.[1][2]
Betting allegations
As a follow-up to the IPL 2013 Match fixing controversy, which started with the arrests of Raj Kundra's team Rajasthan Royals' players S Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila, the Delhi Police interrogated Kundra for about 11 hours on June 2013. As quoted by the Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar on June 06, 2013, Mr. Kundra had admitted to betting through bookie Umesh Goenka and also that he had lost huge amount by betting on his own team. The Delhi Police also seized his passport as part of the investigation, and he was told not to leave the country as he might be questioned on this further.[8][9] It should be noted that Kundra is a close friend[10] of Vindoo Dara Singh, who was arrested for betting on IPL matches in May 2013. Kundra and Shetty are also accused for the crime but it is not yet been proved against them. If it is proved against them both the teams Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings can be removed from IPL. b
Super Fight League
Kundra and Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt together launched India's first professionally organized mixed martial arts fighting league — the Super Fight League - on 16 January 2012.[11]
References
- ^ a b c Shah, Gouri (11 February 2009). "It's not about getting the best players, but making the weakest stronger" (PDF). Mint. Delhi. Retrieved 2011-12-27.
- ^ a b c "Rajasthan Royals agrees to take strategic investment from Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty". London: Blenheim Chalcot. 3 February 2009. Retrieved 2011-12-27.
- ^ "Thank god, I'll marry only once: Shilpa". The Times Of India. 30 November 2009.
- ^ "Shilpa Shetty gives birth to a baby boy". Rediff. 21 May 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
- ^ http://nriinternet.com/ENTERTAINMENT/Producers/A_Z/K/Raj_Kundra/
- ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-505102/I-didnt-break-anyones-marriage-Unrepentant-Shilpa-Shetty-answers-ex-wife-accused-stealing-man.html
- ^ http://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/man-of-the-match-112072100061_1.html
- ^ Times News Network (6 June 2013). "Raj Kundra confesses to betting in IPL: Delhi Police". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
- ^ Sengupta, Subhajit and Tewari, Vinay (6 June 2013). "Raj Kundra has admitted to betting in the IPL, says Delhi Police chief". IBNLive.com. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ http://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/man-of-the-match-112072100061_1.html
- ^ Olivera, Roshni. "Ready for the Super Fight League?". The Times Of India. Mumbai. Retrieved 2012-01-19.