Rayo De Alwis Withanage is an Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, and Program Coordinator of the Withanage Foundation
Background
Rayo De Alwis Withanage is an entrepreneur, financier & technologist focused on sovereign infrastructure, financial systems, and next generation technologies for emerging markets. He is also of the House of Alakēśvara-De Alwis, an enduring Sri Lankan lineage with an eight-century tradition of leadership in government, international trade, and philanthropy.
His work spans large cap private equity and the creation of technology platforms. As a financier, built and led private equity platforms with over $15 billion in assets under management, including EMP Global which was a pioneer in emerging markets private equity deploying over $7Billion in infrastructure investments for GIC of Singapore and the PIF of Saudi Arabia. As an inventor, Mr Withanage has designed and developed a portfolio of artificial intelligence, blockchain, and sustainability-driven technologieswith over $1Billion in combined enterprise value. Mr Withanage is a proponent of Virtue Capitalism— the principle that enduring economic value is created through the alignment of profit, sustainability, and societal impact.
Château de Vie
Rayo De Alwis Withanage acquired Château de Vie, which is one of the most important estates in the Côte d'Azur, in 2017, before transferring ownership to a new consortium of investors led by William Beslow.
The Château was the final residence of Pablo Picasso in Mougins and is hugely significant in the art world. The estate was where Picasso prolifically created some of his most valuable work. It is widely regarded as the place where modern art ended, and contemporary art began.
For over a century the estate has welcomed the most important creative figures in history including Henri Matisse, Man Ray, Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, Winston Churchill, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Charlie Chaplin & the Rolling Stones.
Education and Interests
Rayo De Alwis Withanage earned an LLB & BA from The University of Auckland and an MSC from the London School of Economics. Mr Withanage is a New Zealand national of Sri Lankan and Portuguese descent. He was born in the Fiji Islands before spending his childhood in Bermuda, where he has maintained a presence for over 30 years. Mr. Withanage now resides between Antibes in France and Geneva. He has academic interests in politics, philosophy and religion and is proficient in six languages. His hobbies include music, polo, martial arts, sailing and aviation.
“From ignorance, lead me to truth; From darkness, lead me to light; From death lead me to immortality”
— Brihadaranayaka Upanisad 700 BC