Malaysian billionaire Ananda Krishnan died in Switzerland last week at the age of 86, of a lung illness.
He was the force behind the Usahas Tegas Group (UT), a sprawling conglomerate. UT had interests in telecommunications, media, property, gaming and stud farming. The Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, which was once the tallest building in the world, was his brainchild.
Krishnan’s rise was improbable. He was raised in middle-class circumstances in an outpost of the British empire. British Malaya, though the leading supplier of rubber and tin, was often confused with the Himalayas in those days.
Krishnan was born to a Hindu family in 1938 in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur’s Little India. His father was a low-level civil servant. His family were Ceylon Tamils, a community that had a prominent role in the colonial administration.
The young man won a scholarship to attend university in Australia. In 1959, Australia was different to the diverse society of today. The White Australia policy was in place. This was an immigration policy that restricted migration to people of European descent. Even Italians and Greeks faced discrimination.
Despite these obstacles, Krishnan was blessed with an unshakeable drive. As a student at Melbourne University, he sold encyclopaedias for pocket money. His enthusiasm was boundless. He outsold his peers with a simple strategy: he knocked on more doors than anyone else. He figured that selling encyclopaedias was a numbers game. The more doors that he knocked on, the higher his chances of success.
See also: Forest City manages to attract family offices; Johor continues to attract investments
The other thing that he gained in university was a taste for risk. Many of his friends’ fathers were active in the Melbourne horse racing scene. On weekends, his friends used to take him to watch the races. Krishnan saw the passion for betting among the students. He ran a small betting operation.
Krishnan’s best bet may have been his education. He had the good fortune to study at Harvard Business School for his MBA. This qualification is common today, but was rare in Asia in the 1960s. Most companies were run by accountants.
His studies proved to be propitious, not just for the skills that he learnt. He met a future Saudi Oil Minister at Harvard. The minister was a useful contact who introduced him to oil trading.
See also: Malaysian Royal Commission recommends probe against Mahathir
Krishnan operated an oil trading operation that flourished in the 1970s. Oil prices fluctuated wildly in the 1970s. It rose five-fold between 1970 and 1974. It then collapsed before the 1978 oil shock.
Krishnan was on top of these extravagant moves. He had the connections and the insight. The connections with the Saudis proved to be a godsend.
Commodity trading is an ancient practice. The ancient Romans traded silver and copper. It was a business full of volatility. By the mid-1980s, Krishnan felt that the future lay in a new industry — satellite television.
Krishnan met Bob Geldof, a washed-out Irish singer, in 1984. The shaggy-haired Geldof was arranging a concert to raise money for famine victims in Ethiopia. The concert was going to be held in Wembley stadium and beamed to over 100 countries.
Krishnan saw the vast potential in arranging satellite coverage of the concert. He invested US$2 million, which was instrumental in the event’s execution. Krishnan’s company was appointed as organisers for the event.
The titans of 1980s music like Elton John, Freddy Mercury and Bono performed to a jiving crowd. Over 200 million people watched the event. Live Aid raised GBP40 million, which is about GBP120 million in today’s money. The funds were used to help famine victims in Ethiopia.
Krishnan had an encyclopaedic knowledge of his businesses. He delegated tasks to his managers, but he was demanding. His main lieutenant was Ralph Marshall, a burly accountant from Ipoh. Marshall had to field calls at 3am from his boss even for minor inquiries.
Sink your teeth into in-depth insights from our contributors, and dive into financial and economic trends
Krishnan’s career was not without setbacks. In 2016, Krishnan and Marshall were charged by the Indian authorities for malpractices relating to the Indian telecom industry. This led to a US$7 billion write-down for his investment in Indian telco operator AirCel. His disputes with an Indonesian conglomerate owned by the Riadys led to criminal controversy in Indonesia.
Krishnan rarely spoke to the media. He remained a distant figure even to his employees and financiers. But his achievements will soar above us, like the Twin Towers over Kuala Lumpur.
Nirgunan Tiruchelvam is head of consumer and internet at Aletheia Capital and author of Investing in the Covid Era
