Upali Wijewardene

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Upali Wijewardene
Born (1938-02-17)17 February 1938
Matara
Died 13 February 1983(1983-02-13) (aged 44)
Straits of Malacca
Cause of death
 Aircraft mishap
Residence Colombo, Cinnamon Gardens (Sinhala:කුරුඳු වත්ත), Sri Lanka
Nationality Sri Lanka Sri Lankan
Other names Philip Upali Wijewardene
Ethnicity Sinhalese
Education Royal College, Colombo
Occupation Chairman of Upali Group (Kandos, Upali Air, Upali Mazda, Upali Newspapers)
Known for Richest Person in Sri Lanka in the 1970s–1980s
Religion Theravada Buddhism
Spouse(s) Lakmini Ratwatte

Philip Upali Wijewardene (Sinhala:උපාලි විජයවර්ධන) (17 February 1938 - 13 February 1983) was a well-known businessman in Sri Lanka who established the Upali Group which had interests in a variety of enterprises, including the domestic air line named Upali Air. Wijewardene acquired his wealth within a very short timespan, 20 years, and was among the top 10 wealthiest people in the world at the time. His venture was the first multi-national business in Sri Lanka which Insight Magazine UK said was achieved "largely through bravado and wit". Wijewardene died on February 13, 1983 when his private Learjet disappeared soon after leaving Malaysia to return home.

Life and career

Early life

Wijewardene was 18 months old when his father died, so was brought up by his mother Anula Kalyanawathie Wijewardene. He attended Royal College, Colombo and later graduated from Queen's College at Cambridge University in England. Returning to Sri Lanka, Wijewardene became a management trainee at Lever Brothers where he was in charge of soap processing. He left Levers to venture out on his own and founded the Upali Group of Companies during the mid 1960s.

Comics

Wijewardene entered the medium of comics with Chithra Mithra in February 1981 because it offered a large market to begin a publication without advertising and allowed him to test his printing presses. Within a few months, the magazine reached a circulation of 200,000 eclipsing its competitors Sittara (100,000) and Sathuta (75,000). Media initially described the magazine as "romance, booze, money, travel, dreams, adventure, wild women" crammed into 16 pages. It quickly expanded into 32 pages with a different story on every page. Editor Janaka Ratnayake noted that the publication had "many topics–romance, detective, sci-fi, heroes, two pages built around movie stars, and almost a page of pen pal" (1993). All the stories were serialized and in black and white with a spot of one color.[1]

The comic magazine fell apart after Wijewardene's death and ceased publication in 1986 with a circulation of 15,000. Ratnayake cited the failure of the magazine to Wijewardene's early death, sub-standard printing quality of the paper due to unskilled mechanics and competition from other magazines.[1]

Horse Racing

The name Upali Wijewardene was synonymous with "The Sport of all Kings", Horse Racing. He was the Chairman Board of Stewards of the Sri Lanka Turf Club and was a keen turfite, who raced in Sri Lanka and England, where he won the "Royal Ascot" with "Rasa Penang" ridden by the world famous jockey Lester Piggott.

In 1980 he also won the Singapore Derby at the Bukit Timah Race Course in Singapore and the Perak Derby at the Perak Turf Club in Malaysia with his horse, named "Vaaron". He raced "General Atty" too and won many races in England. He flew to all these countries where his horses were racing, in his private aircraft. He made it a point to fly from Newmarket to Nuwara Eliya to watch his horses and ponies racing there too.

He would land in Katunayake Airport and make a quick tarmac change to his private helicopter to fly to Nuwara Eliya. Wijewardene was responsible for reviving pony racing and thereafter, horse racing during the time there was a lull in racing

A British journalist, Matt Miller, described him in Insight Magazine: ‘Largely through bravado and wit, Philip Upali Wijewardene parlayed a bankrupt confectionery plant into Sri Lanka’s only multi national business group and one of Asia’s leading cocoa based products conglomerates. Intriguingly he accomplished his overseas empire-building at a time when his country strictly prohibited the export of currency. And now the 43-year-old commodity wizard (this was 1981) has started what could be Upali's Third Plan... He would be willing, he says with uncharacteristic restraint, to become Sri Lanka's president someday’.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lent, John (2001). Illustrating Asia: Comics, Humor Magazines and Pictures Books. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-2471-7. 

External links

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