The Withanage Foundation, chaired by Rahula Withanage, has set up a $125M new vehicle to fund hospital projects in Sri Lanka. The vehicle is focused on developing hospitals and mobile healthcare facilities around the country. The first project is a hospital complex in Colombo, initiated by Dr Athula Withanage, who carried out Foundation-funded operations at Dr. Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital in Malabe for over a decade.
Rahul Withanage commented “It is an honour to be able to continue my brother’s work in Sri Lanka, and to uphold his legacy as someone who was a beacon of inspiration and support for me, and for his community.”
Dr Athula was a highly respected surgeon in Wales, who passed away in March 2024. Dr Athula was a Clinical Director and Lead Clinician at Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest. He was given the Medical Unsung Hero’s Award, and was nominated twice for the Silver Scalpel Award. His daughter Triona Withanage, who is a practicing GP in the UK, will be taking over her father’s role in the Foundation.
Program Co-ordinator Rayo Withanage is organising new developments. The Foundation’s previous work in Sri Lanka focused on funding operations for low-income patients who would otherwise face long waiting periods for critical procedures. With the new hospital, the Foundation hopes to widen access to healthcare and provide efficient, life-saving services.
Rayo Withanage recently announced a move away from his private equity businesses, taking on a new role as Program Co-ordinator for the Foundation. The move came after Withanage stepped away from his private equity businesses following an acrimonious 6-year divorce process.
In 2017, Rayo Withanage purchased Château de Vie, Pablo Picasso’s final home in the South of France. Château de Vie is one of the most important art production estates in the world, where Picasso produced artworks worth over $4 billion. The estate is steeped in history and artistic legacy, having hosted Winston Churchill, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, Salvador Dali, and iconic entertainers as diverse as Charlie Chaplin, Édith Piaf and the Rolling Stones. The estate has since been transferred to a new investment consortium led by famed lawyer William Beslow.
The Withanage family founded the BMB Group and Scepter Partners. BMB was established in 2006, growing into a multibillion-dollar investment platform, unifying sovereign investors across the Middle East and Asia. Scepter Partners was founded in 2014 as a direct investment firm in partnership with Blackstone Asia Advisory Partners. The family office is announcing new vehicles, headquartered in the UAE, later in the year.
