Lalit Khaitan, the 80-year-old chairman of Radico Khaitan in Delhi, has recently been recognised as India’s newest billionaire by Forbes. Thanks to a remarkable increase of over 50% in the shares of his publicly traded company this year, his estimated net worth has soared to an impressive $1 billion. This surge can be attributed to his significant 40% ownership stake in the company.
Who Is Lalit Khaitan?
Lalit Khaitan serves as the chairman of Radico Khaitan, a renowned company recognised for producing a variety of alcoholic beverages such as Magic Moments vodka, 8 PM whiskey, Old Admiral brandy, and Rampur single malt.
Khaitan was a teetotaller until his father acquired the Rampur distillery business in 1972 for a price of Rs 16 lakhs. His father GN Khaitan was a lifelong teetotaller who belonged to a traditional Marwari family.
Lalit Khaitan Education
Khaitan received his education at esteemed institutions such as Mayo College in Ajmer and St. Xavier’s College in Kolkata. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from BMS College of Engineering in Bangalore and completed a Managerial Finance & Accounting course at Harvard, USA.
Formerly recognised as Rampur Distillery & Chemical Company Ltd, Radico Khaitan underwent a name change. In the early 1970s, GN Khaitan, the father of Lalit Khaitan, acquired the struggling company.
In 1995, the distillery was passed down to Khaitan from his father when GN Khaitan distributed the family businesses among his four 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 production, Radico Khaitan faced challenges in its early stages. In response to the business difficulties, Lalit Khaitan, with the assistance of his son Abhishek, opted to diversify into the production of branded beverages.
“Either go bankrupt or create our brands. That is when I took the call to start our brand,” the younger Khaitan told Fortune.
8 PM whiskey was launched in August 1998.
Presently, Radico Khaitan stands as one of the leading producers of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), distributing its brands across more than 85 countries.
According to Forbes, the company’s successful approach to broadening its range of premium brands has yielded significant dividends.
Radico Khaitan Products
Currently, it includes Morpheus brandy, After Dark whisky, Rampur single malt, 1965—Spirit of Victory rum and Jaisalmer luxury craft gin, among others.
Lalit Khaitan is the recipient of several honours, including a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ by the UPDA (Uttar Pradesh Distillers Association), with which he was honoured in 2017.
He also won the ‘Inspirational Lifetime Achievement Award’ at Alcobev 2008 held by Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies.
