Mahashay Dharampal Gulati (MDH Spices Owner) was an Indian businessman. He was the owner and CEO of MDH (Mahshian Di Hatti Private Limited), an Indian spice company.

The 98-year-old was the face of the MDH brand. He was also referred to as the “grand old man of spices”. In 2019, the Government of India honored Mr. Gulati with Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian award.

He was born on 27th March 1923 in Sialkot(now in Pakistan). His father was Mahashay Chunni Lal Gulati, the founder of MDH. His family migrated to India during the partition of India. The family spent some time in a refugee camp in Amritsar location, and then they moved to Delhi in search of work.

Once in Delhi, Mr. Gulati opened a spice shop(Mahashian Di Hatti) in Karol Bagh. In 1953, he rented a second shop in Chandni Chowk. In 1959, Mr. Gulati purchased land in Kirti Nagar, New Delhi to set up the manufacturing unit of Mahashian Di Hatti.

Highest-paid FMCG CEO

In 2017, Mr. Gulati was the highest paid FMCG CEO in India. He is a fifth-grade dropout. But his salary in 2017 was over 21 crore, higher than Adi Godrej and Vivek Gambhir of Godrej Consumer, Sanjiv Mehta of Hindustan Unilever and YC Deveshwar of ITC. MDH had posted a net profit of Rs 213 crore while its total revenues were Rs 924 crore last fiscal, according to ET. 

Even in his 90s, Mr. Gulati is not retired. He continues to take business decisions. Mr. Gulati also does charity. MDH Spices Owner, Mr. Gulati donates nearly 90% of his salary to charity under the banner of the Mahashay Chunni Lal Charitable Trust. The Trust operates a 250-bed hospital in Delhi, along with a mobile hospital for slum dwellers and four schools.

MDH Today has a range of 62 products available in over 150 different packages Designed to cater to the varied needs of consumers all over the world.