Who is Raj Rajaratnam?
Billionaire Raj Rajaratnam, arrested for insider trading, is a Tamil from Sri Lanka who founded his own hedge-fund firm.
Raj Rajaratnam was arrested Friday in connection with a $20 million insider-trading case. Here are some facts about him.
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US citizen residing in New York. Born in Sri Lanka, 1957.
Undergraduate degree: University of Sussex (Britain).
MBA: Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Hedge-fund trader who started his career at Needham & Co., becoming its president in 1991. Founded Galleon Group in 1997.
Net worth: $1.3 billion. (World's 559th wealthiest person, according to Forbes.)
Background: One of the most successful businessmen among a diaspora of Tamils who left Sri Lanka to prosper overseas. After the 2004 tsunami hit Sri Lanka, he set up a local charity and urged others to contribute to rebuilding. This year he gave $1 million for the reintegration in society of Tamil fighters, whose military movement was defeated in May.
Politics: Contributed to a number of Democratic campaigns, including $30,800 to Barack Obama and $4,600 to Hillary Clinton in the last presidential election.
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