On May 3rd, 2025, Uganda lost Rajiv Ruparelia—a young entrepreneur who, though born into wealth, earned his own reputation as a hard worker, people-first leader, and lover of life. He brought unapologetic energy, charisma, and what many, including his parents, siblings and friends, called ‘good chaos’ to everything he touched—from business to personal relationships.
On the morning of May 3rd, 2025, Uganda lost one of its most promising business leaders—Rajiv Ruparelia, the vibrant and passionate Managing Director of the Ruparelia Group, in a tragic road accident. At just 35, Rajiv’s life and career were a bold fusion of legacy, ambition, and relentless work ethic. More than just the son of billionaire tycoon Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia LLD (Hon. Causa), Rajiv emerged as a business general in his own right, commanding one of East Africa’s largest and most diversified family-owned conglomerates.
From Leaky Roofs to Boardrooms: A Grounded Beginning
Rajiv often spoke candidly about his upbringing, seeking to demystify the perception of a silver-spoon childhood. On The Cedric Live Show in June 2019, he recalled, “I don’t think people really know the house we lived in prior to the fancy house… We used to have leaks in our own house. We used to have buckets to collect water.” Born in Uganda in 1990, Rajiv was a third-generation Ugandan of Indian descent. His family’s story, marked by expulsion and resilience, laid the emotional and strategic foundation for the empire he would one day help steer.
He traced his roots with pride: “We’ve been in Uganda since 1902… my dad’s family is from Kabatoro (in Kasese)… and my mom is from Kamuli,” he told Cedric. Even as a toddler, Rajiv remembered playing with neighbourhood children and riding bikes along Buganda Road. “We really didn’t know what we had. The biggest thing we had was probably better toys. But we always shared whatever we had.”
Groomed on the Construction Site
Rajiv’s leadership was forged early. In what he described during his final interview with Simon Kasyate in 2022 as a “clever way” of parenting, his father Sudhir introduced him to business by taking him along to work: “He would go to the construction sites, and he would take us with him. We’d see him managing people, managing materials… and we absorbed more than he knew.” His first assignments were humble—lugging sand with a child’s spade—but the lessons were lifelong.
He began cutting his teeth on real projects during school holidays. “I remember KPS [Kampala Parents School] was my first project,” he said. “Then we were also building the CMI headquarters in trade for the land we got at Mulago.” These projects were his foundational training in systems, supervision, and commitment to detail.
Disruption by Design
Rajiv’s path was far from linear. Educated at some of the UK’s top institutions—Dragon School, Dean Close, and Regents College London—he described his academic life as a mix of discovery, rebellion, and persistence. Diagnosed with dyslexia, he refused to let the challenge define him. “I struggled to read and write long essays… but I told my parents, just because I failed accounting once doesn’t mean I’ll fail again.” He quietly switched from Business Administration to Finance and Banking, graduating with a 2.1 and narrowly missing a first class. “There’s no sympathy in this world. You are who you are,” he said.
His teenage years were equally formative. From fights against racism at school to entrepreneurial stunts like launching Club Sway at 17, Rajiv embraced risk early. “Most of the big promoters today in the bar industry came from Sway,” he told Kasyate. He juggled school, club operations, and tutoring with military precision: “I had my daily, weekly, and monthly activities. I organised myself to plan them in such a way.”
Family Life and the Bond He Had with His Parents
Throughout his life, Rajiv Ruparelia remained deeply anchored in the love, guidance, and partnership he shared with his parents, Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia and Jyotsna Ruparelia. Though he was born into one of Uganda’s wealthiest families, Rajiv never took that privilege for granted. His reflections on his upbringing consistently revealed a family dynamic built on love, trust, and high expectations.
Speaking on The Cedric Live Show, Rajiv recalled the foundational role his mother played:
“I think Mom, my mom, played a big role in our upbringing. She’d make sure that the kids were organised well… She’d organise our tuition, sports, cooking classes, science experiments… It wasn’t just traditional learning. It was learning about what the world is about.”
He also credited her for instilling discipline and nurturing his diverse interests, from academics to sports. Despite her strictness, especially around issues like education, Rajiv fondly appreciated her steadfast belief in his potential, even when it came after moments of defiance. On more than one occasion, he defied her judgment, such as when he switched his degree without telling her, but ultimately proved her fears unfounded by excelling.
His relationship with his father, Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia, was both professional and deeply personal. In an emotional toast delivered at his sister Sheena’s wedding in 2016, Rajiv described their bond with rare vulnerability:
“A lot of people think it’s just a father and son relationship, but it’s not that. We have something way greater. We have a connection. We have a bond. A lot of parents wish they could bond like me and you, trust me, and we both see it too. We have something inseparable.”
He continued, reflecting on the complexities of their dynamic:
“We fight, we argue, we scream at each other. But one thing is, we both complement one another… What we’re going through is not easy.” He admired his father’s human-centred leadership style, saying, “You don’t forget a single person. From the cleaner to top management… That’s what I admire about you—the way you handle people and the way you love people.”
From his earliest memories of accompanying his father to construction sites as a boy, to becoming Group Managing Director of the Ruparelia empire, Rajiv considered his father both a mentor and an anchor. He acknowledged that Sudhir’s approach was not to sit him down for formal training, but rather to expose him to business operations by immersion:
“Instead of him consciously spending time with us, he would take us to spend time with him,” he told Simon Kasyate. “We’d see him managing people, managing materials… you’d be surprised what children absorb.”
Ultimately, Rajiv described the support and trust from his parents as a defining force in his life. Whether it was a lesson learned through parasailing as a child—“I was absolutely fearful of heights… but because you taught me it was okay, I did it. I trusted you,”—or weathering a corporate storm together during the Crane Bank saga, Rajiv always returned to the unwavering presence of his parents in his personal and professional growth.
“One thing you need to know,” he told his father in that same speech, “is we’re always by your side… and we’ll make sure whatever happens, we’ll walk out laughing.”
Leadership Anchored in Systems and Follow-Up
By 2017, at the age of 27, Rajiv was appointed Group Managing Director of the Ruparelia Group, overseeing a portfolio of 30+ subsidiaries spanning real estate, education, hospitality, finance, agriculture, and more. Under his leadership, the Group created over 15,000 new jobs, became one of Uganda’s biggest taxpayers, and championed strategic investments like Victoria University, whose student population grew from 167 to over 7,500 in just five years.
In his words to Kasyate: “It’s how to create systems that govern them, but also to make sure that you follow them all up personally… There’s not one thing I don’t follow up.” That clarity and control earned him respect not just for his surname but for his method. He introduced accountability in every arm of the business: “I have systems of follow-up. I have people whose job is just to follow up and make sure reports are given to me.”
Even in crisis moments like COVID-19, Rajiv adapted with integrity: “They said to me, ‘You stay inside. We’ll be your foot soldiers on the ground, but you coordinate everything from your house.’ I respected their decision.”
A Deep Commitment to People
Despite his high-flying title, Rajiv was deeply grounded in people management. He insisted that his team respected him not because he was the owner’s son, but because of merit: “My employees respect me not because my dad is the owner… but because on merit, I’ve trained majority of my top management myself,” he told Simon Kasyate.
He believed in empowerment, not ego: “They put me in this position,” he said of his team. During the Crane Bank saga, when his family came under intense scrutiny and legal battle, he didn’t shy away: “We never took them to court. They took us. But they were used to arm-twisting people, to blackmailing people.”
For him, relationships mattered more than wealth. “What are we besides the relationships we have with each other? Without that, we’re just lonely people,” he said.
Values Before Vanity: Lessons in Business Integrity
Rajiv was never shy about confronting uncomfortable truths. He spoke openly about the infamous Crane Bank saga, calling out what he saw as injustice: “Crane Bank needed 140 billion to survive. Why did they go and spend almost 450 billion?” His voice was among the few willing to challenge systemic abuse of power in Uganda’s financial sector.
Yet his ethos was grounded in integrity: “Don’t malice other people… if you get into something and a few things happen, everything can be corrected,” he told Kasyate. Rajiv saw leadership as a burden of example. “If anybody was taking over a business and it didn’t scare them, they would kill it… but I don’t let fear control me,” he said.
He was proud to work in the public eye, but rejected entitlement: “I didn’t choose to be born by him [Dr. Sudhir]. The only person who gave me this family was God. You can’t argue with a brick wall.”
Passionate, Playful, and Proudly Ugandan
Beyond business, Rajiv was a rally driver, a husband, and an avid learner. “I love good conversation, good dialog, and I like to learn from people. That’s one of my best forms of research,” he said. A man of both adrenaline and affection, he spoke with warmth about his wife, whom he met at 16 in a revision camp: “She kept talking and talking. I said—okay, good-looking, bonus!”
He often resisted being boxed into the stereotype of “mwana wa mugagga” (son of a rich man): “I always knew in the back of my head that eventually this will fall on my two feet, and I have to maintain that lifestyle.” To Rajiv, privilege came with responsibility, not arrogance.
Lessons From Rajiv Ruparelia’s Life
- Build from the ground up – Legacy may offer a ladder, but discipline and systems build the climb.
- Don’t fear failure – He embraced his suspensions, course changes, and closed businesses as learning curves.
- Empower your team – Respect must be earned through merit, mentorship, and trust.
- Balance courage with caution – “Sometimes I think as the brave Rajiv. Other times, I think as the coward Rajiv. Then I decide.”
- Use business to serve, not just grow – His motto “Serving to Grow and Growing to Serve” was not branding. It was belief.
Final Thoughts
In his last public reflection, Rajiv told Kasyate: “It scares me. If anybody was taking over a business and it didn’t scare them, they would kill it… But I don’t let fear control me.” And control it he did—for as long as life allowed.
Rajiv Ruparelia leaves behind a business empire in full stride, a loyal workforce, a grateful nation, and a gaping void in the heart of Uganda’s entrepreneurial future. In his short but striking life, he lived out a singular truth: Legacy is not inherited. It is earned.
May Rajiv’s Ebullient Soul Rest in Eternal Peace!