NMC Healthcare is among the largest private healthcare networks in the United Arab Emirates and the third largest in Oman. Dr. B.R. Shetty, the founder of NMC Health, was once a billionaire and quite an influential figure in the UAE business landscape.
However, the U.S.-based financial research firm, Muddy Waters Research, accused his companies in 2019 of hiding $1 billion in debt from investors. Following these accusations, Shetty eventually saw his empire collapse, ultimately selling his company for a mere Rs 74.
Humble Beginnings
B.R. Shetty was born on August 1, 1942, in Udupi, Karnataka, and he was raised in a simple, middle-class family. In 1973, after arriving in Dubai with only $8 in his pocket, he realized his dream for a better future. He started his new life in Dubai as a traveling medicine salesman and ended up establishing, through a lot of hard work and networking, NMC Health—the first private healthcare provider in the UAE.
Peak Of Wealth And Influence
By 2019, at the apex of his fortune, B.R. Shetty had a net worth of $3.15 billion and was listed among India’s billionaires by Forbes. At the peak of his fortune, B.R. Shetty’s net worth was $3 billion (approximately ₹20,000 crore). His lifestyle reflected this with jet airplanes, Rolls-Royce cars and multiple luxury properties, including two floors in the Burj Khalifa, Dubai.
Expansion Into Pharmaceuticals
His LinkedIn bio states about his ventures, “In a subsequent step for backward integration into healthcare, Dr. Shetty set-up Neopharma in 2003. Neopharma is an ultra-modern manufacturing facility and has collaborations with multi-nationals Pfizer, Merck, Abbott Laboratories, GSK, Hetero Pharmaceuticals, and Biocon, amongst others. Recently, Neopharma acquired an antibiotic manufacturing facility in the USA.”
Role of Dr. Chandrakumari Raghuram Shetty
Dr. Chandrakumari Raghuram Shetty is a highly regarded medical expert in her own right, and was instrumental to the creation and development of NMC Health. She joined her husband Dr. B.R. Shetty on his journey when he opened his first medical center in 1975. As the company’s first in-house physician, she was instrumental in establishing the company’s clinical model and would work her way up to the prestigious Group Medical Director position at NMC Health.
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