Born in New Delhi in 1964 to a doctor mother and an engineer father, he landed in the United States when he was barely a few months old. In the childhood he dreamt of becoming an astronaut.
"I saw Neil Armstrong land on the moon and could not forget it," he says. His childhood dream was shattered when the NASA rejected him. "Our greatest glory lies not in never falling but rising every time we fall." he quotes a Chinese proverb.
He took the failure in his stride and went on to write a saga of triumph, which will be hard to emulate in near future. Besides his ambitions in the space he is a very successful information technology entrepreneur, telecom and medical technology tycoon known the world over. To top it all he is seeking the republican nomination to the senate from his home state of Illinois. In case he succeeds in his latest foray he will be the first ethnic Indian in US Senate.
His academic achievements are no less mind-boggling. Dr. Kathuria has got a Bachelor’s degree in science and a MD from Brown University. With his inclination towards outer space, he studied Space Exploration along with Economics and Business in the College. He received an MBA and a Master’s degree in public management from Stanford.
He combined his knowledge of computers and medicine to promote Health Cite. Health Cite is a Company, which serves as a single point of contact between physicians, vendors, retailers, pharmacy companies, and customers. He established the New World Telecom, which operates telecom and Internet projects all over the world. Medical Oasis Inc was co founded by the Kathuria group and has become a premier chain of diagnostic imaging centers in the US. The company was formed according to Kathuria to provide medical practioners with the opportunity to enhance their patients satisfaction, services and revenues by adding diagnostic imaging as well as screening services to existing medical practices. The company has negotiated favorable equipment vendor financing agreement for $100 million with Banco Popular that allows the company to build, develop and manage approximately 50 diagnostic imaging centers."
Kathuria co-founded Ushafone, a mobile telephone service company licensed to serve full one third of India’s population. X-Stream Networks, Inc. was co-founded by Dr. Kathuria and pioneered the free I.S.P. concept. X-Stream Networks, Inc. merged with Liberty Surf and went public on the Paris Stock Exchange for U.S.D. 2.9 billion in March 2000. LiveDoor Inc. is a large Japanese I.S.P. that he co-founded." X-Stream Network Inc. is one of the fastest-growing Internet service providers (I.S.P.) in the world.
Kathuria along with Walt Andersen and others set out on ambitious plan of commercializing the space with help of Russians. They formed the MirCorp and wanted to make the Mir Space station a tourist destination. The idea however was shelved because the Russians backed out, as the project was too expensive. Kathuria, however, did not give up and was instrumental in sending Denis Tito into Space as the First Citizen explorer in worlds first privately funded manned space program. At present the cost of a privately funded launch is a whopping $20million.
He himself wants to be up there one day to fulfill his childhood dreams but of course only when the costs come down. MirCorp is a joint venture between Rocket & Science Corporation (R.S.C.), Energia and Gold & Appel. His net worth runs in into a few billion dollars.
After his immense success in the financial world, he wants to set his mark on the public life, by seeking a republican nomination for the elections to the senate. On his appearance as a bearded and turbaned Sikh, he says that it is my identity that sets me apart from the rest and it shall work in my favour. But it seems that it is not going to be easy sailing for him though, keeping in mind the hate campaign the Sikhs faced in the US due to their looks after the September 11 attacks.
"I want to give back to the country what it has given to my family. Don't be fooled by my turban and my beard. I am an American first", he assured an Illinois gathering.
The specific reasons for the republicans in choosing him are his appearance and the ethnicity. They want to improve their sagging image amongst the ethnic groups. If Illinois' Indian-Americans and other ethnic minorities voted Republican instead of Democrat, the senate seat being given up by Peter Fitzgerald could stay in Republican hands.
But Mr. Kathuria believes his election could have an impact far beyond Illinois. "Putting someone like me into office sends a strong message to the rest of the world that the Republican Party is reaching out."
The Indian American community in general and the Sikhs in particular reeling under the post september11 hate campaigns shall find a strong political voice in Dr. Kathuria and his bearded and turbaned appearance shall go a long way in dispelling false notions from the biased American minds. But besides the 12000 strong Indian ethnic minorities in Chicago he will need the support of people living in far-flung areas of Illinois also where his identity and background may serve as a handicap. For the elections he is spending 3 million dollars and is trying to raise another 3.5 to 4 million dollars for the primaries to be held in next March. Money in any case is no problem for this billionaire who is said to be the richest amongst those in race for the Senate.
Dr. Kathuria, still a bachelor says that his hobby is to look for a wife. I should be spending one third of the time looking for a wife that I spend on starting companies. Dr. Kathuria is chasing three birds at a time. Looking for an opportunity to travel in the space, entry into the US senate and choosing a life partner. It is to be seen which one he kills first.
