Tatparanandam Ananda Krishnan (Tamil: . ; born 1938) is amalaysian businessman and philanthropist of Sri Lankan Tamil origin.

Nicknamed A-K, he is currently estimated to have a net worth of US$9.6 billion[1] according to Forbes' latest annual list of wealthiest people, making him the second wealthiest in Southeast Asiabehind Robert Kuok, and number 89 in the world. Ananda Krishnan shuns public exposure and is known to maintain a low profile for a person of his stature. Ananda Krishnan was born in 1938 in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur's "Little India" to Tamilparents, who were Sri Lankan immigrants. He studied at Vivekananda Tamil School in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur and furthered his studies at Victoria Institution, Kuala Lumpur. Later, as a Colombo Plan scholar, he attended the University of Melbourne, Australia for his B.A. (Honours) degree majoring in political science. During that time he boarded in the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn. Following that, Krishnan obtained a Masters in Business Administration at Harvard University, graduating in 1964. Anada Krishnan has 2 daughters and 1 son. His son, Ven Ajahn Siripanyo, is a Buddhist monk. Krishnans first entrepreneurial venture was a Malaysian consultancy MAI Holdings Sdn Bhd. He set up Exoil Trading, which went on to purchase oil drilling concessions in various countries. Later, he moved into gambling (in Malaysia). In the early part of the 1990s, he started diversifying into the multimedia arena. Currently, he has business interests in media (Astro), satellite (MEASAT), oil and gas (Bumi Armada, Pexco), telecommunications (Maxis, Aircel). He owns stakes in Tanjong Public Limited Company, an investment holding company with subsidiaries involved in power generation (Powertek), gaming (Pan Malaysian Pools), leisure (Tropical Islands, TGV Cinemas) and property. He first came to prominence by helping to organize the Live Aid concert with Bob Geldof in the mid-1980s. In the early 1990s, he began building a multimedia empire that now includes two telecommunication companies - Maxis Communications and MEASAT Broadcast Network Systems - and has three communication satellites circumnavigating the earth. He also effected the purchase of 46% of Maxis Communications, the country's largest cellular phone company, from British Telecomand AT&T for $680 million - raising his stake to 70%. Maxis has more than Ten million subscribers, with around 40% market share in Malaysia. Recently, Maxis has acquired Aircel, Tamil Nadu's largest cellular phone company and has spread to rest of India. Maxis is also under negotiation to buy over and expand an Indonesian cellular phone company.[7] In an agreement between Astro and India's Sun Network, Ananda plans to produce TV channels which cater to the Indian market, especially Tamil diaspora in countries such as US and Europe. Ananda also plans to offer TV services featuring Web-based interactivity. Ananda Krishnan owns stakes in TVB.com and the Shaw Brothers movie archives.

Ananda is also planning to launch TV channels to cater to the Indian market and is revising the agreement between Astro and Indias Sun Network. TV services featuring Web-based interactivity are also in the proposal placed by him. Ananda Krishna is a significant stake-holder in Tanjong Public Limited Company an investment company. The subsidiaries of the company include Power Generation (Powertek) Gaming (Pan Malaysian Pools) Leisure (Tropical Island and Tanjong Golden Village (TGV)). MEASAT currently has 2 communication satellites navigating the earth, and offers 30 television channels and 16 radio channels. The 3rd satellite is said to being launched but is yet to be confirmed. His satellite TV operations now include Indonesia, India, Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam and Taiwan. Apart from that, Ananda Krishnan owns substantial shareholder-ship in Tanjong Plc, which interest in entertainment industry like Tanjong Golden Village Cinemas. Ananda's strength lies in his ability to appreciate and take advantage of new technology discoveries and make them work in his way. His intelligent, vision and leadership has enabled him to continue leading the pack in the Malaysian's rich-list for many years. In his course of life, he has been contributing huge sums of energy and money for the charity and foundations. He has donated as much as RM160 millions towards developing and providing education opportunities for Bumiputra in Malaysia. He has a hobby of collection of modern arts. He has homes in Kuala Lumpur London and south of France. Ananda Krishnan also owns a farmhouse in Australia. He is a very private person and shies away from public exposure when it comes to his personal life. He maintains a very low-profile lifestyle unusual for a person of his stature. He has a spiritual son who is a monk. He is a businessman. Before he went into multimedia arena, he went on purchasing oil drilling concessions in various countries, and then went into gambling sector in Genting, stud farm in Aus and running a Hollywood cartoon studio. He started diversified into multimedia in 90s. The well-known part is the owner of ASTRO and MAXIS. Others like operating MEASAT (Malaysia satellite), Aircel (India Telecommunication). What surprised me again is that Tan Sri. Krishnan owns Tanjong PLC, which provides us TGV theatres. He is just so fantastic!

His house in Australia:

Name:Kia Ora(means welcome) Builded by: John Towler (in 2years time) Consisting a large open deck space, a heated swimming pool, two fireplaces, beautifully landscaped gardens with stunning native plants, and breathtaking views from all sections. This multimillon dollar house won the prestigious 2006 Housing Industry Association Hunter Home of the Year Award in Australina House of the Year contest. Amazed me once again. But one thing im wondering is that whether Ananda took australia PA or not.. HE is so sucessful in making money. I wonder how he do it but somehow, people said he always know what he wants. Thats the thing. Just like Uncle Lim. Maybe this is what made Ananda a billionaire. ANYTHING that involves the media-shy T. Ananda Krishnan, the country's second-richest person after Tan Sri Robert Kuok, will always be of interest, not just to investors and the media who avidly follow his every corporate move but also to the public at large, who know precious little of the tycoon. Last Friday, stock market data showed that Maxis Communications Bhdhad pared down its stake in Maxis Bhd to 65% from 70% via several off-market deals. Ananda has a 45% stake in Maxis Communications via his investment vehicle Usaha Tegas Sdn Bhd, with Saudi Telecom Co and bumiputra shareholders owning the remaining 25% and 30% respectively. Filings with the stock exchange showed that a total of 375 million shares were sold to purchasers by CIMB Investment Bank Bhd and Credit Suisse Securities (M) Sdn Bhd or their respective affiliates in accordance with the terms and conditions of a placement agreement dated July 26. Analysts covering the stock said the stake was sold to mostly local funds. The local funds with a substantial stake in the company include theEmployees Provident Fund, with a 5.30% stake, and Skim Amanah Saham Bumiputera, with a 5.21% stake as of last Friday. They said it was hard to fathom why Ananda sold down his stake in Maxis. The most obvious reason would be the need to fund the expansion of his overseas businesses, which

include a 74% stake in Chennai-based telecommunications operator Aircel Ltd held under Maxis Communications.

It is not often one gets a picture of M'sian billionaire Ananda Krishnan. Here South East Asia's second richest man, Ananda Krishnan, is pictured attending the Allen & Co Media Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho July 11, 2012. Others invited included Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg has. - REUTERS/Jim Urquhart Aircel has been quite aggressive in the rollout of the 3G spectrum, a senior analyst with a local investment bank said. Recall that when the then listed Maxis Communications and Astro All Asia Networks plc were taken private in 2007 and 2010 respectively, the stated reason was that the high capital expenditure would preclude attractive dividends. Analysts continue to see potential in Aircel despite Maxis Communications' and Ananda's legal troubles over the sale of Aircel's shares by Indian entrepreneur C. Sivasankaran to Maxis Communications. Besides Aircel, Ananda, through Usaha Tegas, has other businesses which include leisure (TGV Cinemas, Tropical Islands Resort in Krausnick, Germany), property (owner of a 67% stake in Menara Maxis besides other property interests in various countries including Singapore), oil and gas (Bumi Armada Bhd and Pexco NV), media (Astro Holdings Sdn Bhd) and healthcare (cornerstone investor in recently listed IHH Healthcare Bhd). Of course, there would always be cynics out there who would speculate on the reason or reasons for the stake sale, especially in the highly charged political environment of today.

They would refer to the sale of his power and gaming assets, divested in early March this year and last August respectively, as a move to exit politically risky businesses. But for those who prefer to see conspiracies everywhere, they must also take note that the Maxis stake sale comes at a time when the stock market has been riding high, with the company's share price rising to a record RM6.92 on July 17. Furthermore, Ananda does have a history of making shrewd deals, including the development of the KLCC Petronas Twin Towers project in the 1990s. For whatever the reasons, there would always be speculation where deals related to the intensely private entrepreneur with roots in Kuala Lumpur's Brickfields suburb is concerned. After all, at one time, he controlled four listed entities and would control three with the relisting of Astro (the others being Maxis and Bumi Armada), expected to be sometime in October or November. Analysts believe the shareholding structure of the relisted Astro would be similar to Maxis', with around 30% stake sold to investors.