Mallya expresses relief, not grief at losing billionaire tag

Mumbai, Oct 26: Strange but true,

tycoon

is not sad but has expressed relief on Friday, Oct 26 at losing his

ranking in Forbes magazine.

The US-based business magazine on Thursday said Mallya's fortune now totals $800 million, down 27% from last year. He himself has toppled 24 spots to the position of 73th richest man in India, according to the magazine.

On Friday, Mallya, the self-styled "King of Good Times" put his own touch on the news via his feed on social networking site Twitter: "Thanks to the Almighty that Forbes has removed me from the so called Billionaires list. Less jealousy, less frenzy and wrongful attacks."

"King of good times is having nothing but bad times lately. His (Mallya's) Kingfisher Airlines, weighed down by what is believed to be $2 billion in debt, had its licence suspended in mid-October after it apparently failed to address Indian regulator's concerns about its ability to operate," the magazine said.

His comments came after staff at his grounded airline agreed to go back to work on Thursday, ending a strike over not being paid for more than six months.

Kingfisher workers agreed to the management's new offer that they would receive at least four months' worth of unpaid salaries by Christmas, sending stocks up 4.59 per cent to 11.40 rupees in morning trade on Friday.

OneIndia News