Kushal Pal Singh Net Worth 2025

Kushal Pal Singh
Kushal Pal Singh in 2024
Born	(1931-08-15) 15 August 1931 (age 93) Bulandshahr, United Provinces, British India (now in Uttar Pradesh, India)
Alma mater	Meerut College
Occupations	Businessman army officer (retired)
Spouse	Indira Singh
Children	3, including Rajiv Singh
Relatives	Chaudhary Raghvendra Singh (father-in-law)
Military career
Allegiance	India
Service / branch	Indian Army
Years of service	1951-1960[1][2]
Rank	Captain
Unit	The Deccan Horse[1]
Website	DLF.in

Kushal Pal Singh (born 15 August 1931) is an Indian billionaire real estate developer and retired military officer.^[3][4] Singh was the chairman and CEO of the Indian real estate company DLF, founded by his father-in-law Chaudhary Raghvendra Singh, until 2020.^[5][3][6][7] DLF holds an estimated 10,255 acres (42 km²) of land, with about 3,000 acres (12 km²) in Gurugram, called DLF City.

He was ranked the 8th richest person in the world in Forbes 2008.^[8] His autobiography, named Whatever the Odds: The Incredible Story Behind DLF, was published in 2011; Jack Welch spoke at the launch.^[9] According to Forbes India Rich list of 2024, he is the 7th richest person in India with an estimated net worth of US$25 billion.

In October 2024, Singh was ranked 12th on the Forbes list of India's 100 richest, with a net worth of $20.5 billion.^[10]

Kushal Pal Singh was born on 15 August 1931 in Bulandshahr, United Provinces, British India.^[11] His father, Chaudhary Mukhtar Singh, was a reputed lawyer in Bulandshahr. After graduating in science from Meerut College, Uttar Pradesh, he pursued aeronautical engineering in London, England.^[12] Singh's uncle was in charge of the stables at the then-Viceregal Lodge, which is now Rashtrapati Bhavan, and during Singh's visit to his uncle, he unexpectedly met the then-Viceroy of India, Lord Wavell, who suggested he pursue riding.^[13] His father then sent him to England, hiding from Singh that he incurred financial debt to get him there.^[13]

The riding skills Singh learned at the Viceregal Lodge enabled him to interact with British high society and also led to a romantic relationship with a British woman named Julie.^[13] While playing polo in near Windsor, Singh met an officer of the Indian Army who attempted to convince him to join a cavalry unit in the army.^[13] According to Singh, he was torn between settling in London with Julie or pursue a military career in India; however, after being allowed to take the Indian Military Academy entrance exam in England, and later the Indian government agreeing to pay for his journey back to India, Singh decided to join the army.^[13] He was later commissioned into the Deccan Horse regiment.^[4] In 1954, as an army officer, Singh led the Deccan Horse in the 1954 Republic Day parade.^[4] Singh later resigned from the army, stating that he wanted to work with his father-in-law, Chaudhary Raghvendra Singh, in his company, DLF, which was then known as Delhi Land & Finance and was founded in 1946.^[4][14]

After resigning from the army, Singh, together with another retired army officer, initially entered the stud farm business.^[4] He also started a battery company; however, the venture was unsuccessful and the losses from sustained from it caused Singh's creditors to take him to court.^[4] In 1960, Singh joined American Universal Electric Company and, after its merger with DLF Universal Limited (DLF) in 1979, he took over as the managing director with Chaudhary Raghuvender Singh.^[15][16] However, in 1975, Singh almost sold his shares in DLF for 25 lakhs after a decision made by his father-in-law Chaudhary Raghvendra and apathy regarding the real estate sector due to bureaucratic red tape, but Singh at the last minute declined to do the transaction, keeping his shares.^[17] In 1976, the Government of India introduced the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 (ULCRA) to grow low-income housing and set limits for the ownership of vacant urban land.^[14] The law recived backlash from from people who had already invested in the urban land, including Singh, who took over a dormant DLF to attempt to secure exemptions for investors while studying the city’s limitations.^[14] He identified the Old-Gurgaon Road as a key link between Delhi's southern area and Haryana, a that had not passed the ULCRA.^[14] DLF used the relaxed land acquisition laws as Singh revitalized the company, starting with its 30 acres and rapidly acquiring land from local landowners and farmers.^[14]

Singh constructed numerous earthquake-proof office buildings, apartments, shopping malls and leisure facilities in Gurgaon. While he was the chairman of DLF, the company went for an initial public offering (IPO) in 2007 and made about US$2.24 billion, one of the largest IPOs in India. Market capitalisation of the company increased to $24.5 billion, making Singh and his family one of the richest clans in the world.^[18]

Singh was also one of the initiators for General Electric’s (GE) entry into India during the 1980s.^[19] His initial work with GE involved bringing their gas turbines to India for infrastructure projects and later expanded to advising GE in other industries.^[4] Singh also had a key role in establishing India’s first inter-state gas pipeline project, the HBJ (Hazira, Bijeypur, Jagdishpur) pipeline, which was launched in 1986.^[4]

• Decoration of Officer of the Order of Saint Charles, on 4 October 2010, conferred by Prince Albert II of Monaco for his contributions as Honorary Consul General of Monaco in Delhi for the previous two decades.^[20]
• Padma Bhusan award, on 26 January 2010, conferred by the Government of India.^[20]
• Recognition by Forbes magazine as the richest real estate baron and eighth richest person in the world, on 24 March 2008.^[21]
• The Samman Patra Award, in 2000, conferred by the Government of India for being one of the top taxpayers of Delhi region.^[22]
• Delhi Ratna Award, conferred by the Government of Delhi for his valuable contribution towards the development of Delhi.^[23][22]
• A special award conferred by NDTV at the Indian of the Year Award in 2008 for contributions towards India's economic growth.^[24]
• In 2011 he received the Entrepreneur of the Year award at The Asian Awards.^[25]
• Singh and Aparna Jain's book Why the Heck Not? was published in November 2024.^[26]

In April 2016, Singh's name featured in the list of high-profile names released in the Panama Papers, a set of 11.5 million confidential documents created by the Panamanian corporate service provider Mossack Fonseca. Singh's son, wife, daughter Pia and her husband Timmy Sarna all set up offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands through Mossack Fonseca, and are named in the Panama Papers.^[27]

Singh is married to Indira Singh, the daughter of Raghvendra Singh,^[3] the founder of DLF Limited. K.P. Singh has one son, Rajiv Singh, and two daughters, Renuka Talwar and Pia Singh.^[28]

Singh's son, Rajiv, succeeded him as the chairman of the DLF group in 2020.^[29] Rajiv's wife Kavita Singh became an advisor to DLF Commercial Developers Ltd in November 2002. She was also appointed Advisor to DLF Universal Ltd. on 1 June 2011, with a retainership fee of Rs 250,000 per month and other benefits. Rajiv and Kavita have two daughters, both of whom work for the company.^[30] K.P. Singh's elder daughter Renuka is married to G.S. Talwar, a non-executive director at DLF Ltd. Their son, Rahul, has joined DLF India Ltd as a "senior management trainee." K.P. Singh's younger daughter Pia Singh is a full-time director with DLF.^[18]