Lalit Modi was born in a wealthy and successful business family. His father is Chairman of , a Rs.40 billion business empire which was founded by his grandfather, Raj Bahadur [8] (Founder of town ). He attended boarding schools like Bishop Cotton School in and others in . He disliked school, and often ran away. After his schooling, he was determined to continue with his studies in the United States . He scored well in the SAT and chose to skip the school-leaving examinations, which were required for entrance to colleges and universities in . Subsequently, he gained a place at in Durham , North Carolina , United States .[9] Modi had claimed the top slot as the highest tax payer in the country for the 2009- 2010 fiscal. He paid Rs 8 crore in the first half of the current fiscal. [10]

Personal and family life

He is currently married to Minal, who he met while he was a student in the US and she was already married and a friend of his mother. She was nine years his senior and was then living in with her family. Minal got a divorce, and she and Lalit were married in despite his family’s initial disapproval. [9]

Modi has had two children named Ruchir and Aliya from his marriage with Minal. Son Ruchir lives in Mumbai with Modi and studies at the American School of Bombay. Aliya currently studies in Switzerland. Minal has a daughter named Karima from her earlier marriage. Karima is married and lives in London presently. Karima has a daughter named Arya. [9]

Lalit and his family sometimes travel in a private 13-seat Bombardier Challenger 300 jet. [11] He claims to have purchased it in 2008 for $20 million (Rs. 96 crore) but the DNA (newspaper) has reported that the aircraft is owned by somebody else, and its Rs. 3 lakh/hour operating fees are paid for by the IPL .[12]