Upali Wijewardene

Who was Upali Wijewardene?

Philip Upali Wijewardene was a well-known businessman in Sri Lanka who established the Upali Group. At the time of his death, Wijewardene had branched into newspapers, confectionery and even started a domestic air line named Upali Air. He died on February 13, 1983, when his private Learjet exploded in mid air. Young Upali acquired all his wealth within a very short span of time - 20 years,one of the early success stories in the world. He entered a business career after leaving Lever Brothers, and later went on to own Upali Air. He owned 1 helicopter, 1 Lear jets for his personal use and the air line was later expanded with many planes and was on the top of the 10 wealthiest people in the world at the time. He was featured in the Insight Magazine UK: "Largely through bravado and wit". His venture was the first Multi-national business in Sri Lanka.

His death took place on February 13, 1983, when his private Learjet exploded in mid air after he was returning home from Malaysia where he had prominent business interests including cocoa processing factories and thousands of acres of cocoa and palm oil estates. Mr. Upali Wijewardene was in his mid-30s when he was flying in his own private Jet, Helicopters while managing a Multinational business Empire.