Kalanithi Maran is an Indian media magnate, best known for his role as chairman of the Sun Group. He owns a cricket team, a movie production company, a newspaper, a weekly, an FM radio station, and a DTH service. From 2010 until 2015, he owned a sizable portion of the Indian airline Spice Jet.
Quick Facts
- Full Name : Kalanithi Maran
- Birth Date : 24 July 1964
- BirthPlace : Chennai, India
- Profession : Entrepreneur
- Nationality : Indian
- Zodiac : Leo
- Height : 1.73 m
- Weight : 75 kg
- Eye Color : Black
- Hair Color : Black
Life & Career
Kalanithi Maran was born on 24th of July 1964 in India. Don Bosco School in Egmore, Chennai, was where he received his formal education. He received his bachelor’s degree in business from Loyola College in Chennai. The University of Scranton awarded him a master’s degree in business administration when he completed his studies.
In 1990, he founded Poomaalai, a monthly VHS news magazine in Tamii. Due to piracy, the firm was shut down in 1992. Maran founded Sun TV in 1993 with a $86k bank loan. The Bombay Stock Exchange listed Sun TV in 2005. US President Barack Obama congratulated him for creating jobs in the United States.
ERNST & YOUNG and CNBC have both given Maran Young Businessman honors. Forbes Magazine dubbed him as the Television King of Southern India. In year 2010, Maran was also named News Television Entrepreneur of the Year, which was a great achievement to him.
Sun Network, Sun Direct DTH, Spicejet, Suryan FM, Red FM, Sun Pictures, Dinakaran, Tamii Murasu, Kunkumam, Sun 18, and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League are all controlled by Maran. Maran purchased Spice Jet, India’s most profitable airline, in 2010.
On April 14, 1993, he launched Sun TV, which is still in operation today. He became a billionaire on April 24, 2006, when Sun TV was launched on the Bombay Stock Exchange after raising $133 million for 10 percent of the company’s share capital, pushing him into the billionaire club.
The former US President Bill Clinton invited him to a roundtable discussion, and he was one of just a few individuals who attended. In 2010, he had a net worth of $4 billion, making him the 17th richest Indian and the highest-paid business leader in the country.
Maran and his partner, Kavery, were classified as the highest-paid Company executives in the category of Indian executive compensation charts, receiving a total salary package of 62 crores (US$8.7 million) apiece.
Personal Life & Relationships
In addition to being the grandson of former Tamil Nadu chief minister Karunanidhi and the son of former Union Minister of India Murasoli Maran, Kalanithi Maran is a member of the Indian Parliament. His younger brother, Dayanidhi Maran, served as a minister as well.
Kalanithi Maran is married to Kavery, who is a Coorg local, and the couple has a daughter named Kaviya, who was born to them in year 1992. She is often seen in the business activities of her father.
Net Worth
Kalanithi Maran is a multibillionaire with a net worth of $2.6 billion USD. Maran’s total pay at Sun TV Network is $ 11437448 as Executive Chairman.
- 2021 – $2.6 B
- 2020 – $1.6 B
- 2018 – $5.2 B
- 2016 – $2.2 B
- 2014 – $2.2 B
- 2012 – $2.6 B
- 2011 – $3.5 B