Upali Wijewardene
| Upali Wijewardene | |
|---|---|
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| Native name | උපාලි විජේවර්ධන |
| Born |
17 February 1938 Matara, Sri Lanka |
| Died | 13 February 1983 (aged 44) Straits of Malacca |
| Cause of death | Aircraft mishap |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Other names | Philip Upali Wijewardene |
| Education | Royal College, Colombo |
| Alma mater | Queens' College, Cambridge |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Richest Person in Sri Lanka in the 1970s–1980s |
| Net worth | 3.2 billion USD (late 70s-early 80s) |
| Spouse(s) | Lakmini Ratwatte |
Philip Upali Wijewardene (Sinhalese: උපාලි විජේවර්ධන; 17 February 1938 – 13 February 1983) was a Sri Lankan business magnate. Considered one of the best known entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka, he was the founder and Chairman of Upali Group, the first multi-national business in Sri Lanka.
The Upali Group which diversified from confectionery to electronics and automobile manufacturing, publishing, print media, leisure and aviation developed many of its own brands such as Kandos, Delta, Unic, Upali Air, Upali Mazda and Upali Newspapers which Insight Magazine UK said was achieved "largely through bravado and wit".
He was presumed dead on 13 February 1983 when his private Learjet disappeared soon after leaving Malaysia en route to Colombo over the Straits of Malacca.
Born to a wealthy family from Kelaniya, his father was Don Walter Tudugalle Wijewardene who died when he was 18 months old. Upali was brought up by his mother Anula Kalyanawathie Wijewardene at the family home Sedawatte Walawwe. He had two sisters, Anoja Wijesundera and Kalyani Attygalle.
He attended Royal College, Colombo and later graduated from Queen's College at Cambridge University in England.
Returning to Sri Lanka, Wijewardene became a management trainee at Lever Brothers where he was in charge of soap processing. He left Levers following a disagreement with its Chairman. He thereafter venture out on his own after his uncle Senator Sarath Chandradasa Wijesinghe gave him substantial shares of his Ceylon Chocolates Company. Diversifying his holdings, he founded the Upali Group of Companies during the mid 1960s as he developed a conglomerate of companies.
Here he developed Kandos and Delta brands of chocolates and confectionery. Thereafter he developed Crystal, Tingle and Sikuru brands of soaps. Venturing into electronic manufacturing he developed the Unic brand of radios and air-conditioner.
An armature racing enthusiast, Wijewardene raced his mother's Opel Kapitan at the Katukurunde Races in the early 1960s. In the 1970s he established Upali Motor Company which under license assembled UMC Mazda and Upali Fiat were assembled at the Upali industrial complex in Homagama.
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Wikipedia