Raj Rajaratnam: Net Worth, Family, and Galleon Scam, Explained
Raj Rajaratnam was a prominent Wall Street hedge fund manager. What’s his net worth now and what do we know about his wife and family?
Dec. 8 2021, Published 10:19 a.m. ET
Raj Rajaratnam was a prominent Wall Street hedge fund manager. He founded the Galleon Group hedge fund, which managed more than $7 billion in assets at its peak. However, he was later accused of insider trading and sentenced to 11 years in prison. What’s his net worth now and what do we know about his wife and family?
Raj Rajaratnam
Founder Galleon Hedge Fund
Net worth: $1.3 billion (estimated)
Rajaratnam was born in Sri Lanka and was among the most prominent Sri Lankan Americans. Currently, Chamath Palihapitiya of Social Capital, who’s also known as the “king of SPACs,” is among the famous names on Wall Street with a lineage to Sri Lanka.
Raj Rajaratnam is married to Asha Pabla.
Rajaratnam is married to Asha Pabla. The couple led a lavish life before the scam broke out and Rajaratnam was sentenced in 2011. Although Rajaratnam was sentenced to 11 years, he was released in 2019 under a new law passed by President Donald Trump.
Celebrity Kim Kardashian lobbied for the law under which those accused of nonviolent crimes could be released from prison before the term if they had a terminal illness or they were over 60 years old.
Raj Rajaratnam still has a substantial net worth.
Before he was convicted, Rajaratnam had a net worth of $1.3 billion. He had to spend millions on legal expenses. While his current net worth isn't known, he's likely still a billionaire.
What's the Galleon scam?
Rajaratnam was accused of insider trading at Galleon. Under the laws, trading based on insider information is illegal. Usually, in insider trading, a person acts on materially sensitive non-public information to derive illegal profits.
Raj Rajaratnam paid millions to get insider information.
Rajaratnam paid millions to get insider information on companies including Intel, Goldman Sachs, Hilton, and Google. For example, in October 2007, Galleon had a short position on Intel. However, after Rajaratnam was informed by his friend Rajiv Goel that Intel’s earnings would be better than expected, he asked the team to square off the short position and instead add long positions.
Later in his testimony, Goel said that in 2003, Rajaratnam gifted BMWs to two female Intel employees who had leaked insider information to him.
Raj Rajaratnam also paid former McKinsey employee Anil Kumar.
Former McKinsey employee Anil Kumar was among those who leaked non-public information to Rajaratnam. While Kumar and Rajaratnam were in touch in the early 2000s, he only started to provide inside information after 2004.
Kumar routed the payments he received from Rajaratnam through an account that he opened in his housekeeper's name, who was employed to take care of his sick child. At first, he was allegedly paid quarterly, but later it changed to a quarterly payment.
Raj Rajaratnam is writing a book.
Rajaratnam is set to release a book titled Uneven Justice: The Plot to Sink Galleon. The book is 240 pages and will launch in December. According to The New York Post, the book will also talk about Rajat Gupta, the tainted former Goldman Sachs board member.
While not much is known about Rajaratnam's private life now, he should be back in action soon when he releases his book. Rajaratnam gave an interview on Dec. 8 and some people think that he told multiple lies.