Who is Keshub Mahindra? The 99-year-old billionaire linked to India's auto sector and one of its worst tragedies

After scions and proteges that took India's conglomerates towards expansion for decades, innovative startup founders have emerged as young billionaires from the country. From Falguni Nayar who founded Nykaa when she was almost 50, to Nikhil Kamath who became a billionaire at 35, Indian entrepreneurs show that one can get rich at any age.

While social media savvy Anand Mahindra is well known, his uncle Keshub Mahindra has emerged among India's newest billionaires at 99.

Marched on as eras changed

Although he led the Mahindra conglomerate as chairman for 50 years till 2012, Keshub Mahindra only crossed the billion-dollar mark a decade after stepping down.

The chairman emeritus is a second-generation industrialist, who joined the Mahindra and Mahindra group founded by his father and uncle in 1947, and became chairman in 1963.

He oversaw the rise of the Mahindra empire, which was later led by his nephew, along with the growth of India Inc and its auto sector.

Shaped Mahindra's legacy

The Wharton College, Pennsylvania graduate, led the transformation of Mahindra from an assembler for the Willys Jeep, to India's homegrown car manufacturer.

By the time he handed over reins to Anand Mahindra in 2012, the company was known for iconic models such as Bolero and Scorpio.

But Keshub Mahindra also faced turbulant times, despite being honoured by Ernst and Young's lifetime achievement award in 2007.

Blemished by a tragedy

Just years later in 2010, he was convicted for rash and negligent acts that led to deaths in the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984.

The non-executive director of Union Carbide India, was awarded two years in prison with a fine, but secured bail.

Two years after the setback, he stepped down as Mahindra chairman, and now just before becoming a centenarian, Keshub Mahindra is a billionaire once again.