When wealthy fathers and sons waged war over the money

When wealthy dads and their boys wage war, you can bet your last dollar that even when the reasons vary, it's mainly about the money.

The Sethias are the latest dad-son duo whose relationship is rumoured to be at crossroads. Here's a reckoner to those fathers and sons who took opposing paths, when money was the route to discontent.

Nirmal Sethia and Rishi Sethia

Rumour is the tea baron and banker Nirmal Sethia disapproves of his son Rishi's alleged profligacy and his choice of life partner ( Queenie Singh). Papa Sethia is said to have excluded Rishi from his inheritance except for a sum of three million pounds and a London apartment. Not bad for most people, but paani-cum-chai for a tea heir.


Rishi Sethia

Vijaypat Singhania and Madhupati Singhania

The Raymond patriarch and aviator can negotiate turbulence in the skies, but not in his own home. Vijaypat Singhania and the children of his estranged son Madhupati are in a legal dispute over share of assets. Be sure that father and son won't be seen in a hot air balloon together.


Vijaypath Singhania

Gopal Raheja and Sandeep Raheja

The tale of Gopal Raheja, the late real estate tycoon, and his son Sandeep has had several twists and turns . But as of now, Sandeep has the controls of the empire, believed to be worth Rs 12,000 crore. Sandeep and his siblings remain in a legal dispute. Blood may be thick, but not thicker than cement.


MAM Ramaswamy and MAMR Muthiah

In 1996, Ramaswamy the chairman of the Chettinad group, adopted Muthiah, then in his 20s. Over the years, Muthiah became the managing director of the group.But then fat her and son differed over the approach to business, even though with Muthiah at the helm, the company's flag ship brand Chettinand Cements grew from Rs 400 crore to Rs 4,000 crore.

This year, Ramaswamy disowned Muthiah, and is paranoid that Muthiah wants to see him dead.


MAM Ramaswamy


Bhai Mohan Singh and Parvinder Singh

Clashes over business methods also drove a wedge between the founder of Ranbaxy and his late son Parvinder Singh. Parvinder did not mind bringing in professionals from outside the family at senior positions in the company. This did not go down well with his father. But Parvinder sidelined him. The saga had a tragic ending when Parvinder died at age 56 of cancer.




(Pics : BCCL, Pal Pillai, Shantanu Das)