Raj Rajaratnam

Sri Lankan-born Raj Rajaratnam, who has a sizable stake in the Colombo stockmarket particularly John Keells Holdings through his Galleon Group hedge fund, is the 262nd richest man in the United States, according to the latest Forbes list of the 400 Richest Americans.

US Business magazine Forbes, said Mr Rajaratnam, 51 and with a net worth of $1.8 billion, studied engineering at the University of Sussex in England, then the MBA at Wharton 1983. His early career was at investment banking boutique Needham & Co where he became president in 1991. He founded hedge fund Galleon Group making big bets on health care, technology companies, Forbes said. The company today manages $7.5 billion across six funds.