Cyrus Poonawalla Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Cyrus Poonawalla

• The Poonawalla family is a pioneer of India’s horse racing and breeding industry. Cyrus’ father, Soli Poonawala, established the Poonawalla Stud Farms in 1946.
  

  An old picture of Cyrus Poonawalla at the Poonawalla Stud Farms

• When Cyrus was in his 20s, socialism grew popular in India. Bombay State Chief Minister Morarji Desai banned horse racing. Cyrus realized that horse racing had no future in a socialist society and ventured into the automobile industry.

• Cyrus and his school friend Don Patrick built a $120 prototype sports car modelled on the D-type Jaguar. They called it Cydon. Soon, they realised that commercial production of Cydon required a large investment and abandoned the idea. He kept the car as a memento.

• With the failed business, Cyrus understood that he should be making a product targeting the masses, not just India’s elite.

• One day at the farm, he had a chance conversation with the vet Dr Balakrishnan, who influenced Poonawalla to make vaccines.

• At that time, the farm’s retired horses were donated to the government-owned Haffkine Institute in Mumbai, which made vaccines from horse serum. In those days, vaccines were expensive and not accessible to the poor. Cyrus decided to develop cheaper vaccines by extracting the serum from horses himself.

• In 1966, Cyrus Poonawalla founded the biotechnology and biopharmaceuticals company Serum Institute of India (SII) to manufacture life-saving vaccines. The institute was set up the venture on a 12-acre lot that had been a burial ground for horses.
  

  Cyrus Poonawalla laying the foundation stone of Serum Institute of India , Poona (now Pune)

• At that time, India did not manufacture many vaccines and imported them at high prices.

• As he had no science background, he hired ten doctors and scientists from Haffkine.

• Within two years, SII launched its first therapeutic anti-tetanus serum and began producing anti-tetanus vaccines.

• By 1974, SII introduced the DTP vaccine, which protects children from diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis.

• In 1981, SII launched an anti-snake-venom serum for snakebites.

• In the same year, Cyrus and Poonawalla Villoo had their son, Adar Poonawalla.
  

  Young Cyrus Poonawalla with his wife, Villoo Poonawalla, and son, Adar Poonawalla (as a toddler)

• In 1989, SII began the production of its Measles Vaccine M-Vac following which it became the country’s largest vaccine manufacturer.

• Efforts of SII made India self-sufficient in the production of Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Whooping Cough vaccines in the 80s.

• A turning point in Serum’s business came in 1994 when the Serum Institute was accredited by the World Health Organization (WHO) to export vaccines from India to UN Agencies like  UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) and PAHO (Pan American Health Organization). It boosted the sales and profits.
  

  Sir Richard Attenborough with Cyrus S. Poonawalla and his wife, Villoo Poonawalla, at the time of the presentation of the BMA Gold Award in London on 18 May 1988

• By 1998 Serum Institute was exporting vaccines to over 100 countries.

• By 2000, one out of every two children in the world was vaccinated by a vaccine of SII.
  

  Dr. Stanley Plotkin, inventor of the Rubella Vaccine, along with Dr. Jal Mehta and Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla, overseeing the administration of Serum Institute’s indigenously produced Rubella Vaccine at the BJ Medical College on 25 January 2000

• SII went on to become one of the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines. It won the No.1 Biotech Company of the Year Award for four consecutive years from 2006 to 2009.
• In 2011, Poonawalla received death threats from the underworld don Chhota Shakeel, who demanded extortion money.

• Cyrus Poonawalla has also held various esteemed posts in the field of horseracing, including Chairmanships of Turf Authorities of India, Royal Western India Turf Club, Stud Book Authority of India, and Pattern Races Committee.

• He served as the Chairman of the Organising Committee of the 36th Asian Racing Conference held recently in Mumbai.

• He has long been a member of the Asian Racing Federation (ARF).

• He was the sole representative of India at the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA).

• He was also elected Vice Chairman of the Asian Racing Federation.

• In the field of horseracing and breeding, Poonawalla’s Stud Farm has been the recipient of 15 Champion Breeders Awards by the Turf Authorities of India.
  

  Cyrus Poonawalla and Indian jockey Suraj Narredu after winning in the Maj. P.K. Mehra Memorial Super Mile Cup 2024

• In 2020, the Cyrus Poonawalla Group invested $800 million to build a new factory to make COVID-19 vaccines under the leadership of Cyrus Poonawalla’s son Adar. The factory manufactured the Covishield vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University.

• With a net worth of Rs. 1,72,203 crore ($20.7 billion), Cyrus Poonawalla ranked number 6 on Forbes India’s 100 Richest 2023 list.

• Poonawalla’s assets include a major stake in the financial services firm Poonawalla Fincorp and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Pune.

• Cyrus is a cigar aficionado. In an interview, Cyrus said that as he and wife smoked alot, they liked having a huge living room in the house.
  

  Cyrus Poonawalla smoking a cigar

• He enjoys alcoholic bevergaes ocassionally.

• He is also an art connoisseur. His collection includes works by Indian painters like Tyeb Mehta, FN Souza, VS Gaitonde, SH Raza, and MF Hussain. He has also acquired works of European artists like Marc Chagall, Rembrandt, Renoir, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Van Gogh.

• In July 2017, Poonawalla purchased a pencil portrait of Mahatma Gandhi and a collection of his handwritten letters for $41,829 at an auction in London, U.K.

• Cyrus Poonawalla holds directorship in the companies Sovereign Pharma, Poonawalla Aviation, Poonawalla Investments And Industries, Adrus Estates And Properties, and Villoo Poonawalla Racing & Breeding.

• He is a designated partner in Genesis Parks and Adar Estates LLP.

• In 2024, Nationalist Congress Party disclosed receiving donations of Rs 65.6 crore from various sources, which included Cyrus Poonawalla.

• His namesake intitutes inlcude Dr Cyrus Poonawalla English Medium School and Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla Skill Development Centre.