PETALING JAYA: Billionaire Ananda Krishnan passed away on Thursday (Nov 28) at the age of 86.
Estimated to be worth US$5.8bil (RM25.7bil), Ananda Krishnan often made it to the annual Forbes' list of wealthiest people, being ranked as the third richest person in Malaysia.
Ananda founded Malaysia’s second-largest mobile operator, Maxis Bhd, as well as broadcasting and media company Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd.
Known for maintaining a low profile, Ananda was the founder and chairman of Usaha Tegas, as well as the founder of Yu Cai Foundation.
Born to a Sri Lankan Tamil civil servant, he studied at Vivekananda Tamil School in Brickfields and then later at Victoria Institution, Kuala Lumpur.
He attended the University of Melbourne, Australia for his B.A. (Honours) degree majoring in political science as a Colombo Plan scholar.
He also obtained a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, graduating in 1964.
Ananda had three children, including his only son, Ven Ajahn Siripanyo who is a Buddhist monk.
