Malaysian billionaire Ananda Krishnan dies at 86

Malaysian billionaire Ananda Krishnan, whose business interests ranged from oil and gas to telecommunications, died at 86, his private investment company said.

No cause of death was given.

The tycoon shunned publicity but became internationally known in the mid-1980s when he helped finance the Live Aid concert organized by rock star Bob Geldof.

As a young entrepreneur, he set up a business consultancy before venturing into oil trading and the gambling sector. In the 1990s, he diversified into multimedia ventures.

Widely known by the nickname AK, he had stakes in companies as diverse as Malaysia’s largest telecommunications operator, Maxis, satellite broadcaster Astro Malaysia, and oilfield services provider Bumi Armada.

He also owned holdings in India’s Aircel and Sri Lanka’s SLTMobitel.

Ananda was a founding director of state oil firm Petronas and was close to Mahathir Mohamad, selling the former prime minister the idea of building the iconic 88-story Petronas Twin Towers in the early 1990s.

He was Malaysia’s sixth wealthiest person, with a net worth of $5.1 billion, according to Forbes.

While Ananda strived to keep a low profile, he gained some notoriety after being charged by India in 2014 for alleged corruption in helping Maxis take control of Aircel in 2006. Maxis denied any wrongdoing.

The court case is ongoing.

The son of a civil servant who moved from Sri Lanka to then British Malaya, he grew up in Kuala Lumpur. Ananda then studied at the University of Melbourne and graduated with a Master’s in Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1964.

As a philanthropist, he donated to Malaysia’s education, arts, sports, and humanitarian causes.
Once married to a Thai princess, Ananda spent most of his later years living in Europe.