The Mysterious Disappearance of Sri Lankan Billionaire Upali Wijewardene

If the disappearance of Upali Wijewardene had not happened, Sri Lanka would be in a better place than it is today.

Theewari Dulandiya
2 min readSep 8, 2024
Upali Wijewardene at Insight Magazine in May 1981 (Image courtesy of The Archives)

“My philosophy is to do what you know how to do well and from this I mean you must have the knowledge right all the way through…” — Philip Upali Wijewardene.

Sri Lanka is a small island country located in the Indian Ocean. Only a few people managed to take the name of Sri Lanka to the world. Upali Wijewardene was one of them.

Back then, Upali Wijewardene was a business magnet in Sri Lanka. Had he been lucky enough to live this far, his name would have been on the list of the richest people in the world.

Despite his privileged family background, he was a self-made man who became a millionaire by age 26. His Upali Group was the first multinational business in Sri Lanka.

The Upali Group covers a wide range of products and services. It comprised well-known brands such as Kandos, Delta, Unic, Upali Air, Upali Mazda, and Upali Newspapers.

Upali Wijewardene disappeared off the face of the earth in his early forties. The news startled all Sri Lankans. Even today, some people believe that Upali Wijewardene is still alive somewhere.

However, it is unfortunate for all Sri Lankans to lose such an enthusiastic entrepreneur to the country.

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Theewari Dulandiya

Hello! After three-plus years of writing about true crime, I'm excited to announce that I've created my first crime-related newsletter, Crimewatch Chronicles.