Mumbai: Vijaypat Singhania, the former chairman and managing director of Raymond Group, died on Saturday in Mumbai. He was 87.
His son Gautam Singhania confirmed the death on X, writing: “With profound grief and deep sorrow, we inform the passing of Padma Bhushan Dr Vijaypat Kailashpat Singhania.” He called his father a “visionary leader, philanthropist, and an inspiring personality, whose legacy will continue to guide and inspire generations.”
Born in 1938, Vijaypat Singhania led Raymond Group from 1980 to 2000. Outside textiles, he was known as an aviator he set a world record for the highest altitude reached in a hot air balloon and completed a 23-day microlight flight from London to Delhi in 1988. The Government of India gave him the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award in 2001 and the Padma Bhushan in 2006. The Indian Air Force had appointed him Honorary Air Commodore in 1994, and he was named Sheriff of Mumbai the same year he received the Padma Bhushan.
In 2015, he transferred his entire 37% stake in Raymond Group to Gautam. The decision set off a long and public family dispute.
That dispute was still unresolved when Vijaypat died. In March 2024, Gautam posted a photo on social media appearing to show the two together at JK House, which some interpreted as a reconciliation. Vijaypat quickly denied it. He said he had been on his way to the airport on March 20 when Gautam’s assistant called asking him to stop by. He initially refused, but Gautam intervened, telling him it would take only five minutes.
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“I went most reluctantly, not realising that it was for an ulterior motive of taking my photograph with Gautam to send a wrong message to the media,” he told Business Today. “Soon after, I started receiving messages over my photo with Gautam on the Internet, claiming we had made up, which was totally false.” He said it was the first time in a decade he had entered JK House, and that another visit was unlikely. Vijaypat Singhania also wrote several books, including accounts of his aviation adventures and an autobiography.