Ananda Krishnan net worth: Ananda Krishnan, Malaysian billionaire ...

Tan Sri Ananda Krishnan, one of Malaysia most influential and wealthiest individuals, died on Thursday at the age of 86. T Ananda Krishnan was a billionaire tycoon with an empire stretching from telecommunications to oil and gas. No cause of death was disclosed.

In a tribute posted on X, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Krishnan’s “contributions to the corporate world, philanthrophy and society will definitely be remembered,”

In the past few days, Ananda Krishnan made it to the headlines again because of his son Ajahn Siripanyo, who gave up the world's riches and spoils to become a Buddhist monk. Once married to a Thai princess, Ananda spent most of his later years living in Europe.

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Born on April 1, 1938 in the capital Kuala Lumpur's Brickfields locality, Ananda Krishnan was a Malaysian businessman and philanthropist. Notably, Brickfields is also known as 'Little India' due to a high percentage of Indian residents and businesses.

Krishnan was son of a civil servant who moved from Sri Lanka to then British Malaya, he grew up in Kuala Lumpur. Ananda then studied at the University of Melbourne and graduated with a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1964.

According to Forbes, his business empire spans across telecom, satellites, oil, gas and real estate industries. He also owns Aircel, the now-bankrupt phone company that once sponsored Indian Premier League (IPL) team Chennai Super Kings.

Krishnan, who spent his time between Malaysia and France, survived three children. His only son is a Buddhist monk in Thailand, while his two daughters are not involved in his business.

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According to Forbes, Ananda Krishnan was a self-made tycoon. A former oil trader, he rose to become one of the country’s prominent dealmakers.

He kept a low-profile but become internationally known in the mid 1980s when he helped finance the Live Aid concert organized by rock star Bob Geldof, according to Reuters. The twin concerts in London and
Philadelphia, which attracted more than 150,000 spectators and 1.5 billion television viewers, raised $70 million for famine victims.

As a young entrepreneur, he first set up a business consultancy before venturing into oil trading and then the gambling sector. In the 1990s, he diversified into multimedia ventures.

His interests ranged from oil and gas to telecommunications. He held a substantial stake in oil field services provider Bumi Armada Bhd through Objektif Bersatu and investment firm Usaha Tegas.

Ananda Krishnan founded Malaysia’s second-largest mobile operator, Maxis Bhd, and the dominant broadcasting and media company Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd, reported The Variety. In 2007, he led the buyout of Malaysian telecom firm Maxis and relisted it two years later.

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Ananda was a founding director of state oil firm Petronas and was close to Mahathir Mohamad, selling the former prime minister the idea of building the iconic 88-storey Petronas Twin Towers in the early 1990s.

He gained some notoriety after being charged by India in 2014 for alleged corruption in helping Maxis take control of Aircel in 2006. Maxis denied any wrongdoing. The court case is ongoing.

Ananda made most of his wealth during the 1980s and 1990s that made him closely associated with former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed, The Edge Malaysia reports.

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Ananda Krishnan was Malaysia's sixth wealthiest person with a net worth of $5.1 billion, according to Forbes. He donated tens of millions to art, education, sports and humanitarian causes in Malaysia through his privately owned holding company, Usaha Tegas, and its three main listed subsidiaries: cell phone operator Maxis, satellite TV and entertainment company Astro All Asia Networks and Tanjong, which is active in gaming, power generation and property.

Besides Maxis, Krishnan also had stakes in cable TV operator Astro and oilfield services provider Bumi Armada, which earlier this month said it’s exploring a potential merger with state-owned shipping company MISC’s offshore energy business, as per Forbes.