Raj Kundra Biography – a British-Indian Businessman and a Part time Actor
Raj Kundra is a British-Indian businessman and a part time actor, who was ranked as the 198th richest British Asian by Success. His father, Bal Krishan Kundra was a middle-class businessman and his mother Usha Rani Kundra was a shop assistant when he was a child.
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| Real Name: | Raj Kundra |
| Profession: | British-Indian businessman |
| Birthplace: | London, England |
| Spouse: | Shilpa Shetty |
| Age: | 48 |
Raj Kundra is a British-Indian businessman and a part-time actor, who was ranked as the 198th richest British Asian by Success.
His father, Bal Krishan Kundra was a middle-class businessman and his mother Usha Rani Kundra was a shop assistant when he was a child.
Kundra has had various investment interests, including cricket and mixed martial arts. He has been married to Shilpa Shetty, an Indian actress, since 2009.
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Raj Kundra Biography
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| Born |
Ripu Sudan Kundra
London, England
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| Nationality | British-Indian |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 3 |
| Website | rajkundra.net |
Table of Contents
Early life (Raj Kundra Biography)
Raj Kundra’s parents were Punjabi Hindus who migrated from Raipur, Punjab, India. His father, Bal Krishan Kundra became a bus conductor in London before running a small business. His mother, Usha Rani Kundra worked as a shop assistant.
Kundra was born and raised in London. At the age of 18, Kundra relocated to Dubai and later Nepal and started a business selling pashmina shawls to fashion retailers in Britain and made his first millions. In 2007, he moved to Dubai and set up Essential General Trading LLC, a company dealing in precious metals, construction, mining, and renewable energy projects. He was also at that time involved in the financing and production of Bollywood films.
Kundra has been married twice, first to Kavita Kundra, with whom he had a daughter. The couple later divorced. On 22 November 2009, Kundra married Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty. Kundra and Shetty have a son, born on 21 May 2012, and a daughter, born through surrogacy on 15 February 2020.
Kundra is involved with his wife’s charitable organization, the Shilpa Shetty Foundation. His book titled, How Not to Make Money was published in 2013.
The business included Satyug Gold, Super Fight League, and more recently Bastian Hospitality a restaurant chain in Mumbai.
In 2015, Kundra was among the promoters of the online and television broadcast platform Best Deal TV, an Indian television home shopping channel capitalizing on celebrity endorsements. His co-promoter was Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar.
Under the Indian government’s Startup India initiative, Kundra is set to launch India’s first live-streaming social media app, Jaldi Live Stream App which will allow professional as well as amateur streamers to livestream their content.
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. The legality of the investment was questioned by departments of the Government of India.
In June 2013, Kundra was questioned by Delhi Police with regard to the 2013 Indian Premier League spot-fixing case, which had involved the arrest of some Rajasthan Royals players, further, Delhi police gave given a clean chit to Kundra in reply to the right to information (RTI). In July 2015 a panel appointed by the Supreme Court of India imposed a life ban on their cricket-related activity on him. Further, Kundra denied the involvement and appealed to the Supreme Court of India.
Umesh Goenka, a business partner of Raj Kundra claimed in a court that he was forced to implicate Kundra in betting by Delhi Police and to save himself from physical torture and from being charged under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.
Super Fight League
Kundra and Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt launched India’s first professional mixed martial arts fighting league, the Super Fight League, on 16 January 2012.
Awards and honors
Kundra was awarded the Champions of Change Award in 2019, for his involvement with Swachh Bharat Mission. The award was conferred by former President of India Pranab Mukherjee at Vigyan Bhavan New Delhi on 20 January 2020.
Controversy
Kundra was arrested in July 2021 on charges of producing pornographic content. He was booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prevention) Act. Later on, he was granted bail in September 2021 by a metropolitan magistrate’s court.
On 3 November 2023, a film on the controversy titled “UT 69” was released, Kundra himself played the lead role and presented experiences of his days in prison.
