Kushal Pal Singh ( or K.P. Singh as he is known) was born on August 15, 1931, at Bulandshahar in Uttar Pradesh, Today he presides over closely held DLF group, One of India’s largest real estate developer with an estimated land bank of 3,000 acres (12 km2) in prime city locations. Singh, who owns 99.5% of parent DLF Universal with his family, is worth $10 billion as per Forbes. The company plans to go public in the year 2007.
After graduating in Science from Meerut College, he went to UK to study Aeronautical Engineering. While pursuing engineering in UK, K.P. Singh was selected to the prestigious Indian Army, by British Officers Services Selection Board, UK. He joined the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun and was later on commissioned into The Deccan Horse-a renowned cavalry regiment of The Indian Army.
In 1960, K.P. Singh joined American Universal Electric Company, a joint venture between Universal Electric Company of Owosso, Michigan and his family. Thereafter, K.P. Singh promoted another company, i.e. Willard India Limited in collaboration with ESB inc of Philadelphia for manufacturing automatic and industrial batteries in India and became its Managing Director.
In 1979, K.P. Singh joined DLF Universal Limited. When American Universal Company merged with DLF Universal Limited, K.P. Singh became the Managing Director of the new company. K.P. Singh had the vision to buy land in Gurgaon, which was then a barren village on the outskirts of Delhi. He had the foresight to saw the untapped potential of the place and today Gurgaon is one of the real-estate hotspots of the country. Presently, DLF has 100 million square feet under development in residential, commercial and retail projects all over the country.
Kushal Pal Singh also held a number of professional positions in India. He was the President of the ASSOCHAM (Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India) and the PHD Chambers of Commerce & Industry. K.P. Singh is also the recipient of the ‘Delhi Ratna’ Award for his valuable contribution to Delhi.
In 2006 DLF is planning to go on a public issue, which is expected to make Kushal Pal Singh India’s richest man.