Archive · 18 Jan 2026
Coffee King's Rise and Fall
VG Siddhartha was a successful businessman who started Café Coffee Day, a popular coffee chain in India.
He grew his business by borrowing a lot of money and investing in many different things, like real estate and tech parks.
However, he got into a lot of debt and couldn't pay it back.
This made him very stressed, and he sadly took his own life.
A book called 'Coffee King: The Swift Rise and Sudden Death of Cafe Coffee Day Founder VG Siddhartha' tells his story and explains how his business failed.
The book also talks about how some rules and people helped him hide his problems.
Siddhartha was a well-liked person who did good things for coffee farmers and young people, but his business troubles were too much for him to handle.
VG Siddhartha, founder of Café Coffee Day, died by suicide on July 29, 2019, due to overwhelming debt and financial pressure.
The book 'Coffee King: The Swift Rise and Sudden Death of Cafe Coffee Day Founder VG Siddhartha' details his financial troubles and the downfall of his business empire.
Siddhartha diversified into real estate, hospitality, tech parks, venture capital, and logistics, relying heavily on borrowed funds.
His aggressive expansion and short-term borrowing led to a debt crisis, with misaligned timelines and rising interest payments.
The book highlights regulatory loopholes, compliant auditors, and media's role in not probing deeply into the financial operations of fast-growing entrepreneurs.
- Who
- VG Siddhartha, founder of Café Coffee Day
- What
- A book detailing the rise and fall of Café Coffee Day and its founder
- When
- Book published on January 18, 2026; Siddhartha's death on July 29, 2019
- Where
- India, primarily Karnataka
- Why
- To provide an in-depth analysis of Siddhartha's financial troubles and the downfall of his business empire
- Founder
- VG Siddhartha
- Company
- Café Coffee Day
- Year Founded
- 1998
- Death
- July 29, 2019
- Book Title
- Coffee King: The Swift Rise and Sudden Death of Cafe Coffee Day Founder VG Siddhartha
- Authors
- Prosenjit Datta and Rukmini Rao
- Publisher
- Key Lime Publishing
- Price
- ₹699