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Moguls of Real Estate
Vivid and detailed, Moguls of Real Estate aims to preserve for posterity the business biographies of five of the most successful leaders of the real estate industry in India - KP Singh of DLF, Niranjan Hiranandani of Hiranandani Constructions, Sushil Ansal of Ansal API, Shapoor Pallonji Mistry of Shapoorji Pallonji & Co. Ltd. and Irfan Razack of Prestige Group. The book examines their lives closely and reveals how they overcame obstacles, forged their own management philosophies and revolutionized the business world. It celebrates their larger than life ambition, inspired leadership and hard work. The book traces the growth - including the highs and lows - of the Indian real estate market and is as much for general readers as for those particularly interested in the Indian real estate industry.
290 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2007
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April 13, 2021
Book: Moguls Of Real Estate
Author: Manoj Namburu
Publisher: Roli Books (1 October 2007)
Language: English
Format: Kindle Edition
File size: 813 KB
Text-to-Speech: Enabled
Print length: 270 pages
Price: 243/-
Often, how a particular industry shapes up depends on government’s schemes and intercessions – principally done through new sector-specific policies as well as fine-tuning older ones to better suit the varying business environment. While the government’s role is imperative, it is the market circumstances, geopolitical episodes, socio-economic changes in population and the element of time itself that are elementary in the fruition of industrial sectors, particularly so, in the case of developing economies like India.
Given that real estate is a major industry across the world, there has been a constant focus in many countries to have more transparency in the sector through regulations and technology.
India too has seen many policies in recent years but certain milestones are spread over decades. Standing at the dawn of a new century, it’s meaningful to remember the milestones that have had a long lasting impact on India’s real estate industry.
The Real Estate Industry is at the center of India’s growth story. The sector is thriving with massive unmet demands, accelerating prices and increasing foreign investments, growth, expansion, buy-outs and deals are its buzzwords. Favourable demographics and rapid economic development are driving the growth of the sector, making the country an attractive destination for property investors.
Realizing its potential, the Indian government has positively introduced reforms, thereby enhancing the sector and drawing great interest from global developers and investors.
The annals of the Indian real estate market do have their heroes. These men and women beheld the larger picture, and then proceeded to add their own ineffaceable brushstrokes.
What distinguishs them from their vague contemporaries is a profound understanding of what makes this sector tick. Many of them have become myths in their own lifetime by developing and putting up modern landmark buildings and sprawling integrated townships.
How did they go about their business?
What were the dares they faced and how did they manage to overcome them?
Did they have a vision when they started out?
What consequence has globalization had on their business enterprises?
What, in a few words, have been the ‘mantras’ of their achievement?
All the five biographies featured in this volume provide fascinating answers to these and other related questions.
Coming from totally different backgrounds, each of them has achieved phenomenal success through sheer persistence. It certainly has not been ‘roses all the way’ for them.
The author makes an exceptionally proportionate amalgamation of the lives of India’s real estate tycoons – KP Singh (DLF), Niranjan Hiranandani (Hiranandani Constructions), Sushil Ansal (AnsalAPI), Shapoor Pallonji Mistry (Shapoorji Pallonji & Co Ltd) and Irfan Razack (Prestige Group).
The vision and knowledge of these legends are a true representation of India’s real estate story.
At the same time, the book takes a wide look at on hand issues and strategies prevailing in the real estate sector.
The author Manoj Namburu lays out for us, in this book, a journey embarked upon by India’s real estate Moguls. It’s interesting to analyse these demonstrations and reflect upon whether there is mind and message behind their lives, struggle and efforts.
To begin with, the growth of the industry in the early years of the country’s independence was rather random and often driven largely by those who came to be known as ‘fly-by-night operators’.
To make matters worse, many of them were mixed up with insalubrious characters like smugglers and gangsters. The very term ‘builder’ came to symbolize something menacing. So much so that many self-respecting developers avoided using it to describe themselves.
The government of the day did not visibly help matters by trying to take matters in its own hand and banning all private property development, chiefly in the residential sector in various cities across the country. While this primarily helped in providing reasonably priced housing to the middle and lower middle classes, the unbridled corruption in most housing boards soon unfavorably impacted the worth of their construction and rendered them unproductive.
Not only that, they were totally disparate to the task of coping with the mushrooming demand for housing.
It is against this backdrop that the emergence of these real estate pioneers has to be viewed.
The opening chapter talks of Kushal Pal Singh. Beginning his career as a Cavalry Officer in the Indian Army and later inheriting his father-in-law’s real estate business, KP Singh of DLF went on to appear as India’s largest developer, thanks to a series of ‘turning points’ that included chance meetings with people like Rajiv Gandhi and alliance with corporate honchos like GE’s Jack Welch and George Hoddy.
This chapter has been divided into the following subsections:
1) Destined for Glory
2) Matrimony through Army Network
3) From Army to Business
4) First Management Lessons
5) Fresh Innings – Real Estate Beckons
6) Land Acquisition Challenges
7) GE – Jack Welch Effect
8) Cancellation of Licence
9) Family Matters
10) Sudden Transition
11) DLF Project Propel IT to No. 1 Spot
Chapter Two talks about the exploits of Niranjan Hiranandani. Hiranandani as a young boy saw and met many affluent and renowned businessmen, patients of his father, the famed ENT specialist Dr LH Hiranandani, which triggered the hunger in him to imitate them. His superseding enthusiasm to work on a large canvas saw him creating one of India’s most graceful and prestigious townships called Hiranandani Gardens in Powai, Mumbai.
This chapter has been divided into the following sections:
1) ‘A Signal from God’
2) Early Learnings in Life
3) Successful Debut
4) Family Affairs
5) Jewel in the Crown
6) Working Style
7) Contribution to Real Estate and Society
8) Tested Mettle
9) Secret of Brand Success
Chapter Three focuses on the life of Sushil Ansal. One can practically trace the intensification of India’s capital and the National Capital Region (NCR) in Sushil Ansal’s biography as his group went about constructing more than a few landmark high-rise buildings in the heart of New Delhi, as also its first mall, ‘Ansal Plaza’, and residential and commercial complexes in Gurgaon and Noida.
This chapter has been divided into the following sections:
1) Trekking to Success
2) Family Background
3) Creating Brand Ansal
4) Looking Out Overseas
5) Dealing with Boom and Bust
6) Surviving a Downturn
7) Strategy and Properties
8) Vision of World-class Townships
Chapter Four deals with the story of Shapoor Pallonji Mistry, a story that is is quite different, as he hails from a reputed 142-year-old family firm – the oldest involved in the construction industry in Mumbai. It was an interesting experience to learn first-hand how Shapoor plans to literally take the company to new heights with India’s tallest residential building – ‘Imperial Towers’ at Tardeo, Mumbai.
This chapter has been divided into the following sections:
1) Chip off the Old Block
2) Building on Sound Foundation
3) Shapoorji Sr’s Vision
4) Boosting Sales
5) Worthy Son and Successor
6) Shapoor Breaks New Ground
7) SPCL’s Dream Projects
8) All-India Presence
The concluding section deals with the similarly enthralling tale of Bangalore’s polished and savoir-faire real estate Mogul, Irfan Razack, who has given a discrete facelift to this IT-driven city by putting up more than a few gorgeous and commercially thriving landmarks like ‘UB City’, the Forum, Prestige Acropolis, Meridian, Monte Carlo and Angsana Spa.
This section has been divided into the following chapters:
1) Bangalore’s Leading Mogul
2) Growing-up Years
3) The Magic of Shantiniketan
4) First Steps as a Developer
5) Bangalore: From Boom to Bust
6) Surging Ahead
7) Values and Beliefs
8) ‘Set and Go for Your Goals…’
9) An Ambitious Roadmap
Nevertheless, all said and done, in India, the real estate sector still remains for the most part fragmented with an enormous number of regional players operating across the country.
Conversely, the realty business today requires discipline, policies, control, governing bodies and processes. It needs a more strategic approach with greater focus on security, environmental issues, quality ratings and greater accountability from developers. over time, only developers who value quality in their projects will thrive while others will be weeded out of the system, making the realty market a more organized segment.
Hopefully, the influx of funds will result in bringing in professional management teams into the system and help developers in India devise improved processes, systems and standard operating procedures.
Some other factors driving the real estate boom are soft interest rates on home loans, tax incentive on home loans and the uptrend in the Indian economy. With the metros reaching a saturation point, developers are now shifting their focus to the tier-two and tier-three cities.
Here the population translates into different employee segments with different kinds of workplace and housing needs.
Consequently, the desire of middle-class Indians to own their own homes is no longer a distant dream.
In such a background, it is indeed fascinating to dig dep into the aforestated group of entrepreneurs, who have made a remarkable fortune in the subcontinent, and in the process have built the country’s strongest real estate brands.
Their vision has put the Indian real estate market on the world map as a popular destination for global companies.
It is only apposite that we give a round of applause and recognize the inputs of the sculptors of India’s real estate landscape.
Grab a copy if you choose.
Author: Manoj Namburu
Publisher: Roli Books (1 October 2007)
Language: English
Format: Kindle Edition
File size: 813 KB
Text-to-Speech: Enabled
Print length: 270 pages
Price: 243/-
Often, how a particular industry shapes up depends on government’s schemes and intercessions – principally done through new sector-specific policies as well as fine-tuning older ones to better suit the varying business environment. While the government’s role is imperative, it is the market circumstances, geopolitical episodes, socio-economic changes in population and the element of time itself that are elementary in the fruition of industrial sectors, particularly so, in the case of developing economies like India.
Given that real estate is a major industry across the world, there has been a constant focus in many countries to have more transparency in the sector through regulations and technology.
India too has seen many policies in recent years but certain milestones are spread over decades. Standing at the dawn of a new century, it’s meaningful to remember the milestones that have had a long lasting impact on India’s real estate industry.
The Real Estate Industry is at the center of India’s growth story. The sector is thriving with massive unmet demands, accelerating prices and increasing foreign investments, growth, expansion, buy-outs and deals are its buzzwords. Favourable demographics and rapid economic development are driving the growth of the sector, making the country an attractive destination for property investors.
Realizing its potential, the Indian government has positively introduced reforms, thereby enhancing the sector and drawing great interest from global developers and investors.
The annals of the Indian real estate market do have their heroes. These men and women beheld the larger picture, and then proceeded to add their own ineffaceable brushstrokes.
What distinguishs them from their vague contemporaries is a profound understanding of what makes this sector tick. Many of them have become myths in their own lifetime by developing and putting up modern landmark buildings and sprawling integrated townships.
How did they go about their business?
What were the dares they faced and how did they manage to overcome them?
Did they have a vision when they started out?
What consequence has globalization had on their business enterprises?
What, in a few words, have been the ‘mantras’ of their achievement?
All the five biographies featured in this volume provide fascinating answers to these and other related questions.
Coming from totally different backgrounds, each of them has achieved phenomenal success through sheer persistence. It certainly has not been ‘roses all the way’ for them.
The author makes an exceptionally proportionate amalgamation of the lives of India’s real estate tycoons – KP Singh (DLF), Niranjan Hiranandani (Hiranandani Constructions), Sushil Ansal (AnsalAPI), Shapoor Pallonji Mistry (Shapoorji Pallonji & Co Ltd) and Irfan Razack (Prestige Group).
The vision and knowledge of these legends are a true representation of India’s real estate story.
At the same time, the book takes a wide look at on hand issues and strategies prevailing in the real estate sector.
The author Manoj Namburu lays out for us, in this book, a journey embarked upon by India’s real estate Moguls. It’s interesting to analyse these demonstrations and reflect upon whether there is mind and message behind their lives, struggle and efforts.
To begin with, the growth of the industry in the early years of the country’s independence was rather random and often driven largely by those who came to be known as ‘fly-by-night operators’.
To make matters worse, many of them were mixed up with insalubrious characters like smugglers and gangsters. The very term ‘builder’ came to symbolize something menacing. So much so that many self-respecting developers avoided using it to describe themselves.
The government of the day did not visibly help matters by trying to take matters in its own hand and banning all private property development, chiefly in the residential sector in various cities across the country. While this primarily helped in providing reasonably priced housing to the middle and lower middle classes, the unbridled corruption in most housing boards soon unfavorably impacted the worth of their construction and rendered them unproductive.
Not only that, they were totally disparate to the task of coping with the mushrooming demand for housing.
It is against this backdrop that the emergence of these real estate pioneers has to be viewed.
The opening chapter talks of Kushal Pal Singh. Beginning his career as a Cavalry Officer in the Indian Army and later inheriting his father-in-law’s real estate business, KP Singh of DLF went on to appear as India’s largest developer, thanks to a series of ‘turning points’ that included chance meetings with people like Rajiv Gandhi and alliance with corporate honchos like GE’s Jack Welch and George Hoddy.
This chapter has been divided into the following subsections:
1) Destined for Glory
2) Matrimony through Army Network
3) From Army to Business
4) First Management Lessons
5) Fresh Innings – Real Estate Beckons
6) Land Acquisition Challenges
7) GE – Jack Welch Effect
8) Cancellation of Licence
9) Family Matters
10) Sudden Transition
11) DLF Project Propel IT to No. 1 Spot
Chapter Two talks about the exploits of Niranjan Hiranandani. Hiranandani as a young boy saw and met many affluent and renowned businessmen, patients of his father, the famed ENT specialist Dr LH Hiranandani, which triggered the hunger in him to imitate them. His superseding enthusiasm to work on a large canvas saw him creating one of India’s most graceful and prestigious townships called Hiranandani Gardens in Powai, Mumbai.
This chapter has been divided into the following sections:
1) ‘A Signal from God’
2) Early Learnings in Life
3) Successful Debut
4) Family Affairs
5) Jewel in the Crown
6) Working Style
7) Contribution to Real Estate and Society
8) Tested Mettle
9) Secret of Brand Success
Chapter Three focuses on the life of Sushil Ansal. One can practically trace the intensification of India’s capital and the National Capital Region (NCR) in Sushil Ansal’s biography as his group went about constructing more than a few landmark high-rise buildings in the heart of New Delhi, as also its first mall, ‘Ansal Plaza’, and residential and commercial complexes in Gurgaon and Noida.
This chapter has been divided into the following sections:
1) Trekking to Success
2) Family Background
3) Creating Brand Ansal
4) Looking Out Overseas
5) Dealing with Boom and Bust
6) Surviving a Downturn
7) Strategy and Properties
8) Vision of World-class Townships
Chapter Four deals with the story of Shapoor Pallonji Mistry, a story that is is quite different, as he hails from a reputed 142-year-old family firm – the oldest involved in the construction industry in Mumbai. It was an interesting experience to learn first-hand how Shapoor plans to literally take the company to new heights with India’s tallest residential building – ‘Imperial Towers’ at Tardeo, Mumbai.
This chapter has been divided into the following sections:
1) Chip off the Old Block
2) Building on Sound Foundation
3) Shapoorji Sr’s Vision
4) Boosting Sales
5) Worthy Son and Successor
6) Shapoor Breaks New Ground
7) SPCL’s Dream Projects
8) All-India Presence
The concluding section deals with the similarly enthralling tale of Bangalore’s polished and savoir-faire real estate Mogul, Irfan Razack, who has given a discrete facelift to this IT-driven city by putting up more than a few gorgeous and commercially thriving landmarks like ‘UB City’, the Forum, Prestige Acropolis, Meridian, Monte Carlo and Angsana Spa.
This section has been divided into the following chapters:
1) Bangalore’s Leading Mogul
2) Growing-up Years
3) The Magic of Shantiniketan
4) First Steps as a Developer
5) Bangalore: From Boom to Bust
6) Surging Ahead
7) Values and Beliefs
8) ‘Set and Go for Your Goals…’
9) An Ambitious Roadmap
Nevertheless, all said and done, in India, the real estate sector still remains for the most part fragmented with an enormous number of regional players operating across the country.
Conversely, the realty business today requires discipline, policies, control, governing bodies and processes. It needs a more strategic approach with greater focus on security, environmental issues, quality ratings and greater accountability from developers. over time, only developers who value quality in their projects will thrive while others will be weeded out of the system, making the realty market a more organized segment.
Hopefully, the influx of funds will result in bringing in professional management teams into the system and help developers in India devise improved processes, systems and standard operating procedures.
Some other factors driving the real estate boom are soft interest rates on home loans, tax incentive on home loans and the uptrend in the Indian economy. With the metros reaching a saturation point, developers are now shifting their focus to the tier-two and tier-three cities.
Here the population translates into different employee segments with different kinds of workplace and housing needs.
Consequently, the desire of middle-class Indians to own their own homes is no longer a distant dream.
In such a background, it is indeed fascinating to dig dep into the aforestated group of entrepreneurs, who have made a remarkable fortune in the subcontinent, and in the process have built the country’s strongest real estate brands.
Their vision has put the Indian real estate market on the world map as a popular destination for global companies.
It is only apposite that we give a round of applause and recognize the inputs of the sculptors of India’s real estate landscape.
Grab a copy if you choose.
Read
October 10, 2019Good to gain a certain level of understanding of Real estate in India and the companies like DLF, SP, Prestige, Ansal. Along with these companies one also gains undertanding of the laws, economy and politics of the cities.
August 10, 2025
Considering the current real estate boom in India, the book provides insights on the history of 5 of the largest real estate companies in India. It throws light on the challenges, opportunities, innovations and lobbying done by the promoters to transform the sector. While 1 of the 5 companies has already gone bust currently, the book throws light on how the other companies were able to survive by innovative methods like joint development programs, honoring contracts even during boom/bust cycles, convincing landowners who sold to the company to provide loans to the same company and the ability to raise capital by strong connections. The opening up of the Indian economy also provided tailwinds to the sector which benefitted these companies.
July 6, 2023
Generic Hagiography towards a few prominent builders in India, almost feels like an extended interview from what you might expect from a Business Today or Forbes article.
Absolutely no mention of any controversy (panama papers, anyone) or wrongdoing while these 'stalwarts' all made their billions in the murkiest industry in India, all while following 100% transparency and ethics. Haha, Right.
Absolutely no mention of any controversy (panama papers, anyone) or wrongdoing while these 'stalwarts' all made their billions in the murkiest industry in India, all while following 100% transparency and ethics. Haha, Right.
March 31, 2021
Good to know about the Real estate barons of India. I found the story of Niranjan Hiranandani very interesting of how he has contributed to the skyline of Mumbai as I reside in mumbai. DLF story was also quite interesting. Being from the Real estate sector, this book is a must read.
January 15, 2021
Good biography on the real estate barons of India
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews