Kochouseph Chittilappilly Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography

Bio/Wiki
Full Name	Kochouseph Thomas Chittilappilly
Profession(s)	Industrialist, Writer, Philanthropist
Physical Stats & More
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Black
Career
First Book	Practical Wisdom (2005)
Awards, Honours, Achievements	• Rashtriya Samman by the Government of India for being the highest taxpayer in India • Millennium Businessman of Kerala from Business Deepika • Tourism Man of the Year from Destination Kerala (2000) • Manager of the Year from Travancore Management Association (2000) • Newsmaker of the Year by Manorama News (2011) • Tourism Man of the Year from ATTOI (2011) • Company of the Month by Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (May, 2013) • Business Excellence Award by International Promotors Association (2017) • Ranked 1867 in the list of billionaires in India (2018) • Kerala Sree Award by Kerala Government (2022)
Personal Life
Date of Birth	December, 1950
Age (as of 2023)	73 Years
Birthplace	Parappur, Thrissur, State of Travancore - Cochin, Dominion of India (now in Kerala, India)
Signature
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Kochi, Kerala
School	He did his schooling at a local church school in Cochin.
College/University	• Christ College, Irinjalakuda • St. Thomas College, Thrissur
Educational Qualification	Master of Science (Physics) from St. Thomas College, Thrissur
Religion	Christianity
Hobbies	Reading, Travelling, Listening to Music
Social Media	• Facebook • Twitter • YouTube
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Marriage Date	28 August 1977
Family
Wife/Spouse	Sheela Chittilappilly (businesswoman; managing director of V-Star Creations)
Children	Sons - 2 • Arun Chittilappilly (CEO & Managing Director of Wonderla) • Mithun Chittilappilly (Managing Director of V-Guard Industries)
Parents	Father- C. O. Thomas
Style Quotient
Car Collection	Mercedes-Benz S 350
Net Worth (approx.)	$ 1.6 billion as of 2024

Some Lesser Known Facts About Kochouseph Chittilappilly

• Kochouseph Chittilappilly belongs to an agricultural family background that his ancestors carried for generations.

• He had a learning disability, because of which his writing speed was slower than others. He faced difficulty in completing exams and remained an average student throughout his life. He also used to jumble letters very often.

• His father wanted to see him as a college lecturer or a banker.

• Kochouseph Chittilappilly dreamt of becoming an ISRO scientist but was rejected many times.

• He began his career in 1973 at a manufacturing company, ‘Telics’ that made voltage stabilizers and emergency lamps. The company was based in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochouseph worked there for 3 years as a supervisor. Due to financial constraints, he decided to start something of his own.
  

  Kochouseph Chittilappilly in his younger days with his family

• In 1977, he borrowed $1,500 from his father and established his own manufacturing unit in a garage with just 2 employees that made (continues to make) voltage stabilizers. He named this company ‘V-Gaurd Industries.’

• Over 4 decades, V-Guard Industries became the largest company to sell stabilizers in India and began producing other products like Pumps and Motors, Electric and Solar Water Heaters, Wiring Cables, UPS, and Ceiling Fans.

• In the 1980s, workers of his company declared a strike and one of its units was closed. During that time, Kochouseph Chittilappilly outsourced his production and welcomed women to work as employees in his company.

•  In 1995, his wife began an inner-wear products manufacturing company named ‘V-Star Creations.’ It is a subsidiary of V-Guard Industries.

• In 2000, he started Kerala’s first water theme park named ‘Veegaland,’ which was later renamed as ‘Wonderla’ for branding reasons. Later, it grew into the largest chain of amusement parks in India.

• He has one more business venture in Kochi that deals in the construction process of ready-made flats and apartments. This company is run by the name ‘Veegaland Developers.’

• Kochouseph Chittilappilly started a non-profit organisation named ‘K. Chittilappilly Foundation’ in 2003 that primarily works on providing shelter to homeless families, medical aid to the economically weaker sections, and sponsoring education for children. The foundation also distributes organ donation awards (in the form of cash) annually to recognize people who come forward for organ donation.
  

  K. Chittilappilly Foundation while donating cash to the needy

• He also runs another charitable trust that is named after his father as ‘Thomas Chittilapilly Trust.’ It has two sister organisations. One is an old age home to support the elderly people with daily nutrition and medical care, while the other, named ‘Shantimandiram,’ that looks after orphan and poverty-stricken children by providing them with shelter, nutrition, education, and medical facilities.
  

  Kochouseph Chittilappilly handing over sponsorship certificates to destitute children

• All his philanthropic organizations fall under ‘K. Chittilappilly Foundation,’ and are managed by Catholic nuns of ‘Nirmala Province,’ located at Kolazhy in Thrissur.

• The headquarters of V-Guard Industries in Vennala, Kerala received the Gold Leaf Award for architectural excellence in 2009-2010.

• He wrote 2 autobiographies – ‘Ormakilivathil’ (2011) and ‘Ormakalilekku Oru Yathra’ (2015). Both are written in Malayali language and have been translated into English as a single book titled, ‘A Journey Towards Hope.’
  

  Cover of the book ‘A Journey Towards Hope’

• His book, ‘Ormakilivathil’ is about the social set-up in Kerala in the 1950s, and his personal views on it, whereas ‘Ormakalilekku Oru Yathra’ is about his outlook on life where he talks about his philosophy to becoming a successful businessman.

• Kochouseph Chittilappilly donated his 1 kidney to a poor truck driver at the age of 61, making a record for being the first billionaire to donate a kidney. He did it on one condition that the truck driver’s wife would donate her kidney to someone else so that it becomes a chain. He wrote a book on this personal experience titled, ‘The Gift’ in 2016.

• He has started the ‘kidney donation chain’ in association with the ‘Kidney Federation of India’ in which one member of every kidney beneficiary would have to donate a kidney to someone else in need.
  

  Kochouseph Chittilappilly and his wife at an event promoting organ donation

• Kochouseph Chittilappilly has started the ‘Ente Veedu’ project by collaborating with a Malayalam newspaper agency, ‘Mathrubhumi,’ and built 1000 houses for the homeless. The cost spent for this project was Rs. 40 crore.

• Kochouseph Chittilappilly started and is leading a ‘Stray Dog Free Movement,’ which demands the killing of rabies-infected dogs as they have caused a shocking number of human deaths in Kerala despite the government’s rabies vaccination program. He has been on hunger strikes to push the government to pass an amendment in legislation over this issue. He also demands to free the Kerala streets from stray dogs by adopting suitable measures for their living.

• Many Animal Welfare organizations and companies that produce rabies vaccines have criticized Kochouseph Chittilappilly for not being an animal lover. In response, he once said,

• In 2023, Kochouseph Chittilappilly established one more business venture named ‘Chittilappilly Square,’ an activity park and entertainment hub in Kochi, supporting health and wellness.

• Kochouseph Chittilappilly supports euthanasia (to end a patient’s life at his will in case he/she suffers from intense pain) and believes that everyone has the right to a dignified death.

• Kochouseph shares his travel videos and philosophy on life on his YouTube channel.