Upali Wijewardene
Philip Upali Wijewardene (Sinhala:උපාලි විජයවර්ධන) (17 February 1938 - 13 February 1983) was a well-known businessman in Sri Lanka who established the Upali Group. At the time of his death, Wijewardene had branched into newspapers, confectionery and even started a domestic air line named Upali Air. He died on February 13, 1983, when his private Learjet exploded in mid air. Young Upali acquired all his wealth within very short span of time 1 year(at the age of 32, one of the early success stories in the world. he entered business career after leaving Lever Brothers. Also He owned more than 3 Learjets later he expanded and 2 Helicopters, He was on the top of 10 wealthiest people in the world at the time. He was mentioned in the Insight Magazine UK: ‘Largely through bravado and wit" His venture was the first Multi-national business in Sri Lanka.