Hailing from one of the oldest business families of Kolkata, R P Goenka came to be known as the country's 'takeover specialist' who made his mark in diverse businesses, ranging from tyre to music.
The Goenka family's root in the city goes as far back as 1820 when Ramdutta Goenka came here from Rajasthan and started business with the British East India Company. By 1900s, the family established themselves in diverse businesses.
Born on March 1, 1930, Rama Prasad Goenka, better known as R P Goenka, was the eldest son of Keshav Prasad Goenka and Rukmini Devi.
R P Goenka, graduated from Presidency College in Kolkata and did his management course later from Harvard University, joined the family business.
After a division of assets among his three brothers, he set up RPG Enterprises in 1979 with a total turnover of around Rs 100 crore.
The 'takeover specialist' acquired one large company after another during the 80s, expanding the group's footprint across several businesses - tyre, carbon black, transmission, pharmaceuticals, IT, power generation, music, etc.
The major companies included in his empire are CEAT, CESC, Spencer's Retail, Saregama, KEC International, RPG Life Sciences and ICML.
