Sant Singh Chatwal

Sant Singh Chatwal is a Sikh Indian-American businessman. According to The Indian Express, "he is a former Indian Air Force pilot who migrated to the United States in the 1980s and started the Bombay Palace chain of restaurants." Also President and CEO of Hampshire Hotels & Resorts, LLC, his company owns hotels in the United States, the United Kingdom and Thailand, with over 2,500 rooms in Manhattan. Bombay Palace has locations around the World; including Montreal, Toronto, New York, Washington DC, Beverly Hills, Houston, Budapest and Kuala Lumpur.

Chatwal is a Trustee of the William J. Clinton Foundation, a Charitable foundation organized by President Clinton focusing on global issues of health security, economic empowerment (HIV/AIDS Initiative; Clinton Global Initiative, Urban Enterprise Initiative, Healthier Generation, etc.) He was the only Indian from the United States who was honored by the Govt. of Punjab (India) in April 1999 with the “Order of Khalsa” for his outstanding service to the community. Ironically, his own son,Vikram shaved off his beard and cut his hair (an act deeply offensive to Sikhs because of the religious importance of their hair)for glamour of the entertainment world (thought he later rekept it). Chatwal has devoted resources to political causes, working very closely with the Democratic Party, in particular with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator John Kerry, Senator Charles Schumer, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi and Congressman Joseph Crowley.

In February 2006, Chatwal hosted an extravagant wedding in India for his son
Vikram Chatwal. The wedding including a week of festivities spread out over a week and three Indian cities and a veritable fleet of chartered planes. Guests included
Bill Clinton, Lakshmi Mittal, Deepak Chopra and the Prime Minister of India. [ [http://www.newyorkmetro.com/relationships/features/16368/index.html New York News & Feature, "Vikram’s Big Fat Sikh Wedding"] 13 March 2006]

He was on the "Hillary Clinton for President Exploratory Committee". After Obama's nomination for President, he has committed to raise $10 million from the Indian American community for Obama's election. [ [http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jun/27look.htm rediff.com, Chatwal to raise $10 million for Obama] 27 June 2008]

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http://telegraphindia.com/1080210/jsp/opinion/story_8878584.jsp