Upali Wijewardene

Philip Upali Wijewardene (17 February 1938–13 February 1983: Sinhala: උපාලි විජේවර්ධන) was a Sri Lankan business magnate and entrepreneur. In 1983, Wijewardene had a net worth of US $50 million. He was the founder and chairman of Upali Group, the first multi-national business in Sri Lanka. Upali Group has businesses in the US, UK, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong. The Upali Group diversified from confectionery to electronics, automobile manufacturing, publishing, print media, leisure, and aviation. It developed many brands, including Kandos, Delta, Unic, Upali Air, Upali Mazda and Upali Newspapers, which Insight Magazine UK said was achieved "largely through bravado and wit."

Upali Wijewardene was presumed dead on February 13 February 1983, when his private Learjet disappeared soon after leaving Malaysia en route to Colombo over the Straits of Malacca.