BR Shetty: Legacy, Influence, and Opportunity in the Bunt Community

I remember sitting once at the Dubai Airport on my way to Manchester in 2018. My uncle, who worked at Emirates, arranged for me to be in the first-class lounge. I was still a student then. Two people sitting in the same booth—who I deduced were Americans based on their accent—were talking about the Giving Pledge and how Dr. B.R. Shetty and his wife were now a part of that list. I usually don’t eavesdrop on conversations. That’s a lie. I’m a people-watcher; of course I eavesdrop and pretend not to. But I zone out in the first ten seconds if it’s not interesting. Shetty pulled me back in. The last name was the same as my own. I knew all about Dr. B.R. Shetty even then, even though he didn’t know I existed.

My grandfather called him Raghurama, and my grandmother was friends with his brother. If we ran into his brother, my grandmother would leave our company and disturb him with a “Sachanna,” and they’d share a laugh before he introduced her to whoever he was talking to. When she returned, she would obviously tell us his name and who he was, but it was tailored to, “He’s BR Shetty’s brother.”

Then she’d tell me the story of how she was flying alone with me when I was barely 45 days old, and BR Shetty held me for a minute. But I’m not here to talk about how my grandparents knew Raghurama before he was known as BR Shetty. I am neither here to talk about what happened in the past five years with his company nor what people have labelled his "downfall." I am here to talk to you about the impact a man and his wife had on a community—and the effects of his fame. This is not a trace of his life either; there is enough information out there about him.

But cut back to me at that airport: this man and his wife, with the same last name as mine, were now a part of a world list. He was one of the handful of Indians on there. A list that had names like French, Gates, Buffett, and Nilekani. He was on the list before a Rothschild and before Stephen Schwarzman.

Now, I have met BR Shetty at a distance maybe twice after 45-day-old me met him. But I have never spoken to him at length to know him enough to have an opinion on what he’s like to those closest to him. From what I remember, he’d always had a smile and humbly spoke to anyone that spoke to him.

Again, this is not a study of how great or bad of a person he is—but how he had an impact on the Bunt community and the weight of his name that had garnered a fame like no other.

The Simple Genius

He was, in plain words, a genius. Don’t look up videos of him after 2019. But if you dig deeper into his interviews and how he spoke of his solutions—he was a simple genius. He didn’t confuse, neither did he try to convince you of a solution. He simply stated a problem he observed, and that he had found a solution and served it on a platter. His growth trajectory is not a result of luck in any way. He was professionally a pharmacist, and his wife a doctor.

Women at the Heart of the Empire

We cannot leave her out of the equation. She was the doctor between the two. When he started his one-room clinic, she was key. But if you hear him carefully—sure, he talks about his brother—but he is heavily influenced by the women in his life: his mother, his sisters, his wife, his daughters. His mother advised him and he heeded that advice in the best way he knew—he was entrepreneurial and solution-based about it. He speaks of his mother enforcing the importance of community. He talks about making things convenient—and he did!

He founded NMC as a healthcare entrepreneur. He knew healthcare. He pursued it. His wife was a doctor and that added to his knowledge. But BR Shetty was a man who listened—and you can tell he did. Because when he speaks of his companies, he’s not pitching. He’s not on Shark Tank. He’s not selling you the next unicorn he believes will make him rich. He tells you that he found a man who was finding it difficult to send money home to India from the UAE for a medical expense, and BR Shetty heard it and learned the problem. He explains to you the problem statement like he has studied it carefully: it takes seven hours at the bank to even wire money and you have to travel through a desert in the 1970s when he landed in UAE. So in 1980, he founded UAE Exchange.

Community First: The Adam Sandler Model

If you trace the origin of all his enterprises prior to his ventures being umbrella’d, you’ll find it was a solution to a problem he heard. But again, I am not here to trace his genius business acumen or how he expanded and grew to be the billionaire. He had an impact on his own community—and it was loud. He heeded his mother’s advice and his priority was always his family. You will hear from those in his hometown of Kaup the phrase “BR Shettr aarna kutumba’n mith kandher” meaning he brought his family up. He didn’t leave anyone behind. He was almost like Adam Sandler in all his movies—if I eat, my friends eat. If I’m making a film, I’m putting my friends in it. BR Shetty was the same. If he ate, his family ate. If he was starting an enterprise, he was bringing his community along.

If you talk to those from the Bunt community on the job market between the 1980s to the early 2000s, you will hear that BR Shetty granted them an audience in Bangalore or Udupi, and he gave them their shot at—in BR Shetty’s words—greener pastures.

He was also a family man. If he hired the doctor, he offered the wife a job too or at least helped the family move together. If someone working under him had a child that needed help with education, BR Shetty helped. If his friends decided that they wanted to start their own ventures in Dubai, he supported it. Of course, a few said he sulked the first day—but he was back to being the supportive man for his community the next day. He would also help friends in other industries set up industry in the Middle East or elsewhere. They had BR Shetty’s support. Even if it wasn’t monetary, the name held weight. It was BR Shetty backed.

But it wasn’t just in the Middle East that he extended his support. BR Shetty did not forget his roots. He started ventures back home in India to allow for better opportunity. He was at every wedding of his relatives, every cradle ceremony, and made time for funerals of his friends and family. He even was known to offer to bear expenses for events when they themselves couldn’t afford it. For the Bunt community, he became like a beacon of hope. He put in words and moved mountains for the people of his community, and because of the nature of his businesses—the problem-solvers—he had garnered trust and support.

If a young man didn’t find work after graduating, someone would whisper to him, “Why don’t you ask that person to take you to meet BR Shetty?” And if BR Shetty couldn’t get you a job at his own company, he would put in a word at a friend’s to get you in. So this man — created jobs, opportunity, and paths to employment and entrepreneurship. But let’s delve into the social impact his name had.

Success has many fathers. And when BR Shetty bought two floors of the Burj Khalifa—and even before, when his success was tangible and known—many established relations with BR Shetty. This is what I mean here. Let’s get you examples.

The Social Ecosystem He Enabled

Scenario 1: The marriage mart

When it came to weddings, if it were close relatives, BR Shetty would be present. But of course, he would be. But the many fathers that came with his success would send him invites and pray that he graced their weddings. Because as we closed in on the 1980s, the Bunt community was a Vanity Fair. They wanted to be associated with big names and add legitimacy to their own success by tailoring that BR Shetty had come to their wedding. It was legitimacy but also guaranteed some sort of fame of their own.

Let’s take the example of Manju. Manju is in no way related to BR Shetty but shares a surname with him. Manju, in the 1980s, got an audience with BR Shetty through a friend who worked at NMC and BR Shetty offered Manju Shetty a job in the UAE. During this time, Manju Shetty garnered a lot of popularity back home. The phrases “BR Shetty liked him so much, that he said Manju, you have to come and work with me” were floated around. Some believed it, some didn’t. But then three years later, Manju was getting married to Anjali. And Manju invited BR Shetty even though after that one meeting with him, his meetings with BR Shetty in the UAE were zero point zero zero. But BR Shetty, if he was able and in town, would attend a wedding of the Bunt community.

And BR Shetty came to Manju and Anjali’s wedding. Two things happened here.

(1) Manju’s credibility in the market and community skyrocketed because BR Shetty came to his wedding.

(2) Anjali’s family used BR Shetty gracing the wedding as currency to marry off their second daughter to an even higher reputed family.

But let’s say after six years, Manju decided to leave working for NMC and started something of his own. The legitimacy didn’t diminish. And the sentence followed him. Even if he didn’t speak to BR Shetty, BR Shetty’s presence at Manju’s wedding had created popularity, credibility, and respect for Manju. There are many such Manjus who not just legitimised themselves by association, but it also fuelled their growth.

But within the marriage mart, BR Shetty was also famous for bringing people together. He has played matchmaker too. He has mediated matches and graced their weddings too. That led to phrases like “BR Shetty himself made the match.” Not only that, families like Anjali’s used his name as association to secure better matches. Some mothers of boys established relations like BR Shetty is the cousin of XYZ and hence connected to us—and that added a want and desire for the match to happen.

Scenario 2: The business mart

Those who were starting their businesses and ventures within the Bunt community tried their best to have BR Shetty grace their occasion of inauguration. This added credibility to the business. I mean, if BR came to this, this business had to be legit. And if in the off chance the venture failed, the phrases “Poor thing, even BR Shetty came to his inauguration,” or “He thought he was going to be very big calling BR Shetty and everything, and now look what happened.” But again, the weight of BR Shetty’s fame created legitimacy, credibility, and even agency to the business mart.

Let’s take another example of Hema. Now Hema is a man who wants to start a hotel in Dubai. BR Shetty’s picture on the wall of his hotel—from a time BR Shetty ate at his restaurant—added fame and credibility to the business and fuelled growth. “Did you know BR ate at that hotel? Maybe we should go,” was followed. Or even walk-ins of the Bunt community recognised the picture and gave the hotel their business. Whether the food was good or not (which is highly unlikely because Bunt hoteliers are the best), the credibility stayed.

Scenario 3: The dreams and opportunities mart

BR Shetty came from Kaup. A place known for its beach and lighthouse and the Marigudi temples (Hale and Posa). Kaup is on the highway that leads you from Mangalore to Udupi. Udupi, Manipal, and Mangalore are the developed cities in its vicinity. Mangalore is far. Udupi and Manipal are closer. But for any opportunity and good education, you had to go to Udupi or Manipal. And in the days he grew up, Kaup was a village. You had to go to Udupi for anything at all. Kaup is wealthy—wealthy in agriculture and greenery and just beautiful. But for a man to grow up in a village and be on the list of the Giving Pledge, be recognised by the world as a billionaire and be recognised by the Government of India with a Padma Shri is no small feat. It wasn’t even a dream here.

Now BR Shetty came from a guthu, that does have its history in aristocracy pre-colonization. But as the country adapted to post-colonization, this was just a middle-income house. Hierarchical and symbolically large—but the cash flow was still not billionaire. The dreams here were to go get an education. BR Shetty opened avenues like never before. He gave people a window into what they could be—and that was fuel for the community.

Let’s take another example here of Bunty Shetty in the 1990s. Now Bunty was from Mulki. He went to a government school and his dream was to just go to St Aloysius to study. But when he saw BR Shetty’s article in the newspaper, suddenly Bunty’s dreams levelled up. He now wanted to go to Manipal and then Dubai. Bunty then saw that BR Shetty was worth $20 million at one point and suddenly Bunty’s aspirations changed—because if BR could do it with the same background he did, why couldn’t he? Bunty then saw that BR Shetty hosted a wedding for his daughter in such a way—and suddenly Bunty was planning his daughter’s wedding in grandeur he hadn’t previously imagined. Not out of blind mimicry—but because his internal ceiling had shifted. If someone from “his kind of place” could dream and do, so could he. That’s the multiplier effect of someone like BR Shetty. He didn’t just build companies. He built belief. He shifted the baseline of what was aspirational in the minds of many like Bunty.

Not a Biography, But a Reflection on Impact

This is how fame, when rooted in community service and visible success, creates a cascading network of legitimacy, hope, and ambition. In the Bunt community, BR Shetty became more than a man. He became a reference point, a signpost, a benchmark, and in many cases—a proof of possibility.

Of course, this does not mean everyone who associated with his name found overnight success. Nor does it mean everyone agreed with every decision he ever made. But what it does mean is that for decades, he represented upward mobility with dignity. He opened doors—not just to buildings, but to bigger dreams.

To many in the Bunt community, BR Shetty was not just a businessman. He was a symbol. A connector. A patron. A witness to their lives. And sometimes, that’s all people need—to be seen, remembered, and legitimised by someone who made it. Because in that small moment of recognition, a whole lineage of self-worth gets ignited.

The weight of BR Shetty’s name carried far beyond the recognition of his personal success—it became a symbol of credibility, opportunity, and trust. His name alone could open doors, not just for him but for those within his community. For many, simply being associated with BR Shetty—whether through a business venture, a wedding, or even a social gathering—offered an elevated sense of legitimacy and prestige. This weight of his name was a powerful force in shaping aspirations and social mobility, providing individuals with access to networks, opportunities, and a certain level of validation.

It became a social currency, one that could transform the fortunes of those who were fortunate enough to have it attached to their own endeavors. The name "BR Shetty" was more than just a brand—it was an endorsement of success, a promise of potential, and a mark of authenticity that carried immense value in a community where such connections were treasured. The impact of his name stretched beyond the personal and into the collective, becoming a symbol of hope and possibility for many.

While it’s impossible to ignore the challenges and controversies that can accompany a person’s journey, it is crucial for the community to remember the full spectrum of BR Shetty’s impact. A person’s life is more than just the sum of their failures; it’s also about the legacy they leave behind and the values they inspire in others.

Yes, the media often gravitates towards sensationalism, as seen in articles like the one from Times of India that famously highlighted his emotional moment of selling his company for a symbolic $1. But this should not overshadow the positive influence he had on the Bunt community and beyond. Just as anyone can go through a downturn, it’s vital that we, as a community, continue to honor and uphold the respect, aspiration, and hope he instilled in us. His contributions to social mobility, entrepreneurial spirit, and collective growth cannot be erased by a fleeting moment of hardship. It is up to us to continue the narrative he helped shape—one that celebrates his vision and the doors he opened for so many, rather than allowing the weight of a moment of weakness to define the man and his legacy.

And maybe that’s why I paused that day in the airport lounge. Not just because the man being discussed shared my last name. But because in that moment, I realised: the weight of his fame wasn’t his alone to carry. Bunts, as a community, were carrying it too—sometimes proudly, sometimes awkwardly—but always with the knowledge that one of us had reached the top. And for better or worse, that changed what we believed was possible.

Disclaimer: This was a study of impact and not personal sentiments toward Dr. B. R. Shetty. It is also important to note that his wife Dr. C. R. Shetty held equal weight but like all bunt women, was a quiet influencer.

P.S. Here's my favourite interview of him https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpVUE5UunHc&t=179s

P.P.S. I just saw that my blogs have reached 1500 readers. I am in panic mode now.