Kalanithi Maran is the Sun Group’s chairman and founder, as well as an Indian media mogul. He owns television channels, newspapers, weeklies, FM radio stations, DTH services, a cricket team (the Sunrisers Hyderabad), and a film production company. From 2010 to 2015, he also owned a significant stake in SpiceJet, an Indian airline.
Maran founded Poomaalai, a Tamil-language monthly magazine in 1990. On April 14, 1993, he founded Sun TV.Sun TV was listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange on April 24, 2006, after raising $133 million for 10% of the share capital, propelling him to the billionaire ranks. He was one of the few representatives at a roundtable with visiting then-US President Bill Clinton.
By 2023, he was the 77th richest Indian, worth US$3 billion, and the highest-paid business executive in India. Maran and his wife, Kavery, are the highest paid business executives in the list of Indian executive pay charts, with a package of ₹62 crore (US$7.8 million) each.
He has won Young Businessman awards from CNBC and Ernst & Young, and Forbes magazine named him the “Television king of southern India”
Life of Kalanithi Maran
Kalanithi Maran is the son of the former Union Minister of India Murasoli Maran and grand nephew of Former Tamil Nadu chief minister M. Karunanidhi. His younger brother Dayanidhi Maran was also a former minister. Kalanithi Maran married Kavery, a native of Kodagu, and has a daughter named Kaviya Kalanithi Maran (born November 3, 1991). He had his schooling with Don Bosco, Egmore, Chennai. He graduated in commerce from Loyola College, Chennai. He did his MBA from University of Scranton. As of 2023, his net worth is US$3 billion.
Kalanithi Maran lives in a bungalow on Boat Club Road in Chennai.
The house is worth around Rs 100 crore, which is enough to buy 20 three-bedroom flats in upscale Poes Garden and Nungambakkam. It was purchased from HSBC in 2001 through an e-auction and is surrounded by high walls. When the gates open, you’ll see a vast open space. He operates from the 11th floor of Murasoli Maran Towers in MRC Nagar. Kalanithi arrives at work in his Bentley (the registration number for all family cars is 1515) and is whisked to his office on the top floor by a special lift. His office is sprawling and occupies almost the entire floor.
The walls are lined with television screens, allowing him to monitor the 21 TV channels he runs in four languages (Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada). His media empire also includes 45 FM radio stations, a few periodicals, a cable distribution network, and a DTH provider. “Apart from Tamil, I don’t even know the languages in which we run the channels,” Kalanithi stated in an interview.
At Rs 25,000 per square foot, the Boat Club area in south Chennai, which covers less than 2 square kilometres, outbids even Poes Gardens, which is home to chief minister J Jayalalithaa and superstar actor Rajinikanth.
It is also the greenest real estate in the city, and it is home to the state’s wealthy elite. The Maran brothers are M Karunanidhi’s grandnephews and the sons of Murasoli Maran, the late DMK leader and Union Minister.
The Maran family owns a diverse business empire that includes media, entertainment, and aviation.
IPL & Kalanithi Maran
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a popular cricket championship hosted annually by the BCCI. The Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the world’s most profitable sports leagues, with millions of viewers worldwide. The IPL uses the T20 cricket format, which produces short, fast, and exciting games. Another major reason for the IPL’s popularity is the large number of teams representing Indian states or cities, as fans prefer to cheer for their hometown team.
Sunrisers Hyderabad is a popular IPL franchise that debuted in 2013. SRH won the IPL trophy in 2016 and finished as runners-up in 2018. SRH has a dedicated fan base, particularly in the state of Andhra Pradesh. But do you know who owns Sunrisers Hyderabad? Dive in and find out.
Owner of Sunrisers Hyderabad (2024)
Sunrisers Hyderabad is owned by SUN Group Private Limited, an Indian media conglomerate.
Kalanithi Maran is the chairman and owner of SUN Group, which includes Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The SUN Group operates several businesses, including film and television production, publishing, radio, cable television, DTH service, and broadcasting.
It includes 33 television channels in six languages, one of India’s largest DTH providers, 69 FM radio stations, including Red FM, three daily newspapers, and six magazines, in addition to the aforementioned IPL franchise.
Sunrisers Hyderabad debuted in 2013 to replace the Deccan Chargers, whose owners went bankrupt.
The SUN TV Network acquired the franchise for ₹85.05 crore per year, valid for five years. Sunrisers Hyderabad is the eighth most valuable IPL team in 2022, estimated to be worth ₹970 million.
Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2024
Sunrisers Hyderabad are well-known for participating in epic games and making dramatic comebacks on numerous occasions. SRH won the IPL in 2016 by defeating fan favorites Royal Challengers Bangalore by 8 runs. Since then, they have made the playoffs six times.
Brian Lara, a West Indies cricket legend, will coach SRH in 2023, with Aiden Markram of South Africa serving as captain.
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s home ground is the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad, Telangana. Sunrisers Hyderabad’s full squad is listed below.
Daughter of Kalanithi Maran & CEO of Sunrisers Hyderabad
Kavya Maran is the CEO of SunRisers Hyderabad. She is the daughter of Kalanithi Maran, Sun Group’s chairman and founder. According to several media reports, Kalanithi Maran and Kavya Maran co-own SRH. Kavya was appointed CEO of the SRH franchise in 2018.
Kavya Maran earned a Commerce degree from Stella Maris College in Chennai and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Warwick Business School in the United Kingdom.
According to Jan Bharat Times, Kavya Maran has an estimated net worth of around ₹409 crore. Her father, Kalanithi Maran, topped the Tamil Nadu IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2019 with a net worth of ₹19,000 crore, according to the report.
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