--- title: "A Billionaire Just Died in the Most Bizarre Way You Can Possibly Imagine" description: "An auto parts billionaire died last week after reportedly swallowing a bee and being stung by it when playing polo in England." date: "2025-06-16" modified: "2025-06-16" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/auto-parts-billionaire-death" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "bees" - "billionaire" - "celebrities" - "health" --- # A Billionaire Just Died in the Most Bizarre Way You Can Possibly Imagine ![An auto parts billionaire died last week after reportedly swallowing a bee and being stung by it when playing polo in England.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* An auto parts billionaire died last week after reportedly swallowing a bee and being stung by it internally. As [*The Telegraph* reports](), Indian industrialist Sunjay Kapur was playing polo during the Queen's Cup tournament in Windsor, England when, according to eyewitnesses on the scene, he man shouted "I swallowed something" before keeling over. Though his official cause of death hasn't been released, reporting from *The Telegraph* and [*The Mirror* suggests]() that the 53-year-old billionaire died of a heart attack induced by anaphylactic shock from the sting. Sona Comstar, the auto parts manufacturing company that Kapur ran, [confirmed his death]() in a statement on social media. While it's unclear whether Kapur had a diagnosed bee sting allergy, he isn't the first athlete to die after swallowing one of the diminutive hive insects. Just six months ago, a man in the San Francisco Bay area died after he [swallowed a bee when he was riding his bike](), and a [similar fate]() befall a pro cyclist in Brazil in 2023. As [*Forbes* notes](), Kapur inherited his role as chair of Sona Comstar after his father Surinder, the company's founder, died in 2015. With a dozen facilities around the world spread across locations as far-flung as Serbia and Mexico, roughly 36 percent of Sona's $412 billion dollar business comes from electric vehicle components. A longtime friend of Prince William, Kapur was perhaps best known for formerly being married to — and allegedly abusing — Bollywood actress Karisma Kapoor. Married for 16 years between 2003 and 2016, Kapoor alleged, per [Indian news]() [sources](), that the billionaire tried to "auction" her off to friends when they were on their honeymoon and assaulted her when she refused. She also claimed in court documents filed during their acrimonious divorce that he once instructed his mother to hit her when she couldn't fit into an item of clothing when pregnant. Along with his actress ex, Kapur was survived by the two children he shared with Kapoor and a third from his marriage to socialite Priya Sachdev, who like him is an [automotive nepo baby](). **More on billionaires:** [*A Billionaire Is Buying Entire Businesses and Converting Them to Run With AI*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()