Raj Rajaratnam found guilty of insider trading
12th May 2011

Sri Lankan Raj Rajaratnam, founder of hedge fund The Galleon Group, was found guilty on 14 counts of insider trading and could face up to 15 years in jail when he is sentenced on July 29, reports Reuters. Ironically, Rajaratnam who was once feted for his philanthropy in supporting Tamils and those effected by the Tsunami of 2004 was charged by Indian New York Federal Prosecutor, Preet Bharara. Rajaratnam was found guilty on five counts of conspiracy and nine counts of securities fraud. He is thought to have had a web of insider tipsters, from executives at companies Intel Corp to Rajat Gupta, once head of McKinsey & Co and former board member of Goldman Sachs. Rajaratnam's company Galleon at its peak has $7 billion under management but was wound down in 2009 following his arrest.

About Raj Rajaratnam

Raj Rajaratnam was born on June 15, 1957 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. According to the newspaper The Island he attended S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, though other sources say he attended S. Thomas' Preparatory School, Kollupitiya. He moved to England to study engineering at the University of Sussex. He earned an M.B.A. from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1983.

Rajaratnam started his career as a lending officer at the Chase Manhattan Bank where he made loans to high-tech companies. He joined the investment banking boutique Needham & Co. as an analyst in 1985, where his focus was on the electronics industry. He became the head of research in 1987 and the president in 1991, at the age of 34.At the company's behest, he started a hedge fund - the Needham Emerging Growth Partnership - in March 1992, which he later bought and renamed 'Galleon'.

According to Forbes magazine, Rajaratnam is a Tamil self-made billionaire hedge fund manager. He was the 236th richest American in 2009, with an estimated net worth of $1.8 billion. He was the 262nd richest American in 2008, with an estimated net worth of $1.5 billion. As of 2009 he was the richest Sri Lankan-born individual in the world. His hedge fund was valued at $3.7 billion in 2009, down from a peak of $7 billion in 2008. Galleon was wound down without losses in October 2009 after Rajaratnam's arrest.

Raj Rajaratnam is married with three children and lives in New York.

[Excerpt from Wikipedia]