Mr. Raj Rajaratnam, who together with his Galleon Fund is one of the biggest shareholders of John Keells Holdings (JKH), has been ranked No.262 in the Forbes Magazine’s list of 400 Richest Americans.

Rajaratnam, a self-made billionaire, has a net worth of US$ 1.8 billion according to the respected Forbes publication.

Now 51 years old, he is married with three children, and has substantial investments in some well known companies other than JKH listed on the Colombo bourse.

He took a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Sussex in the UK before taking a MBA from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

His father who was a senior Singer executive here later ran the Asian operation for the multinational from New York.

Rajaratnam had an early career as an investment banker in Needham & Company of which he became President in 1991, the Forbes Rich List said.

Six years later he founded the hedge fund Galleon group, "making big bets on healthcare and technology companies" and today manages US$ 7.5 billion across six funds.