Mallya loses billionaire tag; net worth down to $800 mn

Liquor baron Vijay Mallya, often referred to as ‘King of good times’, has lost his billionaire tag as ‘bad times’ in his aviation business have dragged down his networth to below the USD 1 billion mark. According to Forbes magazine’s India rich list released today, Mallya is now ranked 73rd with a fortune of USD 800 million (about Rs 4,285 crore), a sharp plunge from 49th place last year with a fortune of USD 1.1 billion. However, Mallya ranks well above Naresh Goyal of Jet Airways, who has been ranked by Forbes at 94th position with a fortune of USD 600 million. ‘King of good times is having nothing but bad times lately. His (Mallya’s) Kingfisher Airlines, weighed down by what is believed to be USD 2 billion in debt, had its license suspended in October.