death_date nationality ethnicity birth_date education alma_mater death_place other_names spouse image name occupation death_cause native_name_lang birth_place known_for wealth religion native_name article_title
13 february 1983 sri lankan sinhalese 17 february 1938 royal college , colombo queens ' college , cambridge straits of malacca philip upali wijewardene lakmini ratwatte upali wijewardene -lrb- 1938-1983 -rrb- . jpg upali wijewardene businessman aircraft mishap si matara , sri lanka richest 1980s person in sri lanka in the 1970s -- 3.2 billion us theravada buddhism උප ල ව ජ වර ධන upali wijewardene

upali wijewardene

philip upali wijewardene -lrb- ; 17 february 1938 -- 13 february 1983 -rrb- was a sri lankan business magnate .
considered one of 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 .
