Putting a price to ultra-rich family feuds

Mega-mansions, business jets, stake in companies and globe-toting — wealth is wow! But it can also drive in distrust and ugly litigations within the family. And sometimes, we can just put a price-tag to it. Here are some of the recent big bad family fall outs that left corporate India guessing...

Ambanis’ great divide

At stake: Rs 90,000 crore empire

Nothing can be bigger than the property feud between the India’s richest — Mukesh Ambani and his brother Anil Ambani. The dispute was settled after their mother intervened and arranged a de-merger. In 2005, following the split, Mukesh got Reliance Industries and the petrochemicals business, while Anil got Reliance Infocomm, Reliance Energy and Reliance Capital. While business feud continued and suits stretching to Rs 10,000 crore filed between the duo, the brothers are rarely seen speaking to each other.

Towering trouble for Raheja heirs

At stake: Rs 11,000 crore

Three months after real estate tycoon Gopal Raheja’s demise, the battle for his Rs 11,000 crore estate reached the Bombay High Court, with his two daughters and estranged son citing two different Wills, one drawn up in 2012 and the other five years earlier. In a revised will, Gopal Raheja had divided his stake in K Raheja Group equally between daughters Sonali and Sabita, leaving nothing for son Sandeep.

Hiranandani’s sibling rivalry

At stake: Rs 1,400 crore

Construction magnate Niranjan Hiranandani’s  daughter Priya Hirandanis-Vandrevala sought arbitration in 2009, claiming that her father and brother violated a business association agreement involving commercial rights to real estate projects. She asked for compensation of approximately Rs 1,400 crore, thereby raising business split speculations. The father and brother made a counter claim that the fight caused them to lose out on business opportunities.

Elder Pharma’s bitter pill

At stake: Rs 1,800 crore

The family of Elder Pharmaceuticals founder Jagdish Saxena, who died in 2013, has been embroiled in a battle for control of his personal and business assets. The dispute has pitched Anuj Saxena, the younger son who heads Elder Healthcare against the rest of the family — Alok Saxena, the older son, who is chairman and MD of Elder Pharmaceuticals, their mother Sneh and their sister Shalini.

Painting trouble for Mafatlals

At stake: Paintings worth Rs 50 crore

The Mafatlal family is no strangers to the courtroom. Sheetal Mafatlal, estranged wife of industrialist Atulya Mafatlal, had a theft complaint lodged against her (in 2011) by the Mafatlal family for several missing paintings, then valued at Rs 50 crore. After the dispute was resolved, the Bombay High Court allowed Sheetal to retain the paintings she was accused of stealing.

Singhania’s inheritance of loss

At stake: Unassessed

The four children of Vijaypath Singhania’s (chairman emeritus of Raymond Ltd) elder son Madhupati Singhania recently filed a case in the Bombay High Court challenging a ‘family settlement’ their parents and grandfather entered into in 1998, whereby their parents had given up theirs as well as their children’s rights over the ancestral properties. Singhania’s grand children sought their claim on the Raymond brand, ancestral properties, real estate and other movable and immovable assets of the group. 

# 'At stake' figures are estimated approximations, may not be accurate.