Preity Zinta least wealthy among IPL team owners (Photos)

Wednesday, April 23, 2014 - newsfirst.lk

Bollywood actor Preity Zinta, who is the most prominent and significant shareholder in the Kings XI Punjab cricket team, is the least wealthy among the eight team owners in the Indian Premier League (IPL) according to Wealth-X, which tracks ultra-high-net-worth individuals.

Ms Zinta’s estimated net worth of $30 million, or Rs. 183 crore (at 61 rupee per dollar), is a mere 0.14 per cent of that of India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, whose wealth was pegged at $21.2 billion or Rs. 1.29 lakh crore. Mr Ambani owns the Mumbai Indians team, which is the defending IPL champion. He is the chairman and managing director of global energy conglomerate Reliance Industries.

Mr Ambani’s estimated net worth of $21.2 billion is almost 10 times the personal fortune of media baron Kalanithi Maran, who owns the Sunrisers Hyderabad team, Wealth X noted. Mr Maran has an estimated net worth of $2.2 billion and is in second spot among the richest IPL team owners, according to Wealth-X.

“Collectively, the eight ultra-high-net-worth individuals on the Wealth-X list control $25.17 billion of the $935 billion wealth in India,” the Singapore-based consultancy noted.

At number three is UB Group chairman Vijay Mallya, who has an estimated wealth of $640 million. Mr Mallya is locked in a bitter fight with creditors of his grounded premium airline Kingfisher. The airline also owes over Rs. 7,000 crore to banks.

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who co-owns the Kolkata Knight Riders team, has a net worth of $600 million, while GM Rao, the owner of Delhi Daredevils, has an estimated wealth of $270 million, Wealth X said. Mr Rao is the founder chairman of GMR Group, a global infrastructure developer, which has built the Delhi and Hyderabad airports.

Manoj Badale, the promoter of Rajasthan Royals cricket team, has an estimated wealth of $160 million.

The wealth of ousted BCCI chief N Srinivasan, who owns Chennai Super Kings team, has been pegged at $70 million. Mr Srinivasan is also the managing director of India Cements Limited.

The 2014 IPL season is currently underway in UAE.