*GREAT GOANS* * *
By: Radharao F.Gracias * * This last week, saw the death of Gracias Saldanha, undisputedly the richest Goan, in the world. At the time of his death, he was ranked 69thon the list of richest Indians, with a net worth of 805 million dollars, according to Forbes. No other Goan figures, in the list. He was low profile and not surprisingly, there was very little mention of him, in the Goan media. At the time of his death, he was Chairman Emeritus of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, a company, headquartered in Bombay, he founded with his pension fund in the year 1977. The company now, has drug manufacturing units in Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Goa and elsewhere. Glenmark has a presence in ninety five countries of the world. Saldanha earlier worked, with leading pharmaceutical companies like Abbott Laboratories and E Merck and was an MSc from Bombay University, with a diploma in management studies from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai. His Business Profile reads: “Gracias Saldanha is another reclusive billionaire. This 70-year-old is the owner of Glenmark, one of India’s top pharmacy firms where he has clocked over four decades. The real difference between him and other pharmacy billionaires is his quest for drug discovery. He is betting big money not just on generic drugs, but also ensuring that he can find some new stand-alone products. This is a risky, expensive bet and could determine the kind of legacy he leaves the industry. His other push is acquisitions, with the latest being a Czech drug firm last year. Very little is known about his personal interests, but it is believed that he has a fondness for art and is also a collector of antiques.” Besides, pharmaceuticals Saldanha’s other interest was horse raising and “Game to Remember” a horse owned by him, won the upper division of the confucious plate, for horses, five years and over in Bangalore the day he died. Gracias Saldanha made the health of the nation, his priority and wealth followed. Saldanha hails from Saligao (where else? The village seems to have an uncanny ability to produce great men), and he still owns his ancestral house. Glenmark is now headed by his son Glen Saldanha. As Saldanha bloomed in Mumbai, the second richest Goan in the world, is flying high in Malayasia. Anthony Francis Fernandes, is the fifteenth richest man in Malayasia, with a net worth of 650 million dollars according to Forbes. Tony, as he is generally known, is the son of Dr.Steven Fernandes from Carxeta, Velim, Salcete, who married a Malacca Kristeng (descendants of christians from the former Portuguese colony of Malacca, where the body of St.Francis Xavier was initially buried after he had died in Sancian, China). Tony studied at Eton and later graduated from Epsom College. After working for Virgin Atlantic and Warner Music Group, he decided, to start a budget, no frills airline. He was advised by the Malayasian Government, to take over Air Asia, the heavily indebted and failing airline. Pulling all his resources, after mortgaging his house he took over the airlines and as others laughed at him, turned it around and today it is the most successful airline in South East Asia. He is also into hoteliering and has started a hotel chain, Tune Hotels which like his airlines is a no frills concept, with hotels in Malayasia and Indonesia. True to his Goan roots, he is into sports and is president of the ASEAN Basketball league. He is also into Formula car racing and is the owner of Lotus Racing F1 Team. And he has done something that every Goan should be proud of. He is now the chairman of Queens Park Rangers (QPR) holdings having purchased sixty six percent of the shares. He thus becomes the first Goan to own a football team in the English Premier League, which is an incentive for Goans to shift their allegiance from Manchester United to QPR. Fernandes has been honoured by King of Malaysia with title Tan Sri <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malay_title>, Dato' Sri<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malay_title> and also by the government of France <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France> with the Legion d'Honneur <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legion_d%27Honneur> Order. In 2011, Tony Fernandes was awarded a CBE <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBE> or Commander of the Order of the British Empire "for services to promote commercial and educational links" between Malaysia and the UK. He has won innumberable awards including the 2010 Forbes Asia Businessman of the Year. From the success of these two Goans, it is evident, that a Goan has to go out, to go on. And, it is equally clear, that one can achieve huge wealth through honest hard work, something which cannot be said about the super rich in Goa, who have amassed huge wealth, in one of two ways, namely, rampant destruction of the environment through dubious mining or real estate activity. And these are classified, as the patriotic Goans.