Buzz By The Bay: 'Within Minutes, They Killed Everyone,' Says Ex-Blackstone India Chairman Akhil Gupta, Recalls Narrow Escape During Mumbai 26/11 Attacks - VIDEO

Mumbai: Former Blackstone India Chairman Akhil Gupta has revealed his narrow escape during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, saying a last-minute change in plans saved his life.

While speaking on Buzz by the Bay, Gupta recalled that during his time at Blackstone, he had planned to meet a client for dinner at the Tiffin restaurant inside Mumbai’s Oberoi Hotel after signing a deal. However, a change in plans after he cut short a gym session due to knee pain led him to meet colleagues elsewhere instead.

Gupta explained, "Since I was travelling, I went to the gym for 90 minutes, but then I finished 30 minutes as my knees started to hurt. So I changed my dinner plans."

He added that they left the area around 8.30 pm, shortly before terrorists attacked the Oberoi-Trident hotel and other parts of Mumbai, killing 160 people. "Within five to ten minutes, they killed everyone at Tiffin. That suddenly shook me up," Gupta said.

Further adding, he said, "I really woke up that day. Anything can happen, and I started to ask myself what’s important in life."

During the 26/11 attacks, ten terrorists had carried out coordinated attacks in several areas across the city, killing more than 160 people, which included top Mumbai Police officials like Hemant Karkare, Vijay Salaskar, Ashok Kamte and Tukaram Ombale.

The attacks were launched at Taj Mahal Hotel, Trident Hotel, Oberoi Hotel, Nariman House, Colaba Causeway and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.

Gupta Calls Himself 'Not Ambitious'

During the conversation with Buzz by the Bay, Gupta also revealed that many opportunities in his life came through 'serendipity' rather than ambition. "If I did not meet Mukesh at Stanford, I would not come to Reliance."

He further added, "I had no CV to be the founding CEO of a Reliance refinery business and oil and gas telecom, but Dhirubhai and Mukesh gave that to me," adding that "a lot of things in my life is not out of ambition, it's just serendipity."

Struggles At Stanford University

Gupta also spoke about his years of financial struggles at Stanford University and surviving on just one meal a day before his friendship with Mukesh Ambani. "I didn’t have the money, and I was actually eating only one meal a day till Mukesh Ambani and I got to know each other. He started buying the groceries, and I started with the cooking," he said.

Views On Money, Recalls Lessons From Parents

Gupta also spoke on wealth, success and the pursuit of happiness, and said that financial achievement alone cannot bring fulfilment. Recalling lessons from his parents, he said he was taught that while money should never be a constraint in life, it should also never become a person's core value. "My father used to say that money should never be constrained in your life, but money should never become a value in your life either", adding that, "The moment money becomes a value in your life, you're on the wrong trajectory."