His mother died when he was 5. His family later moved to Arusha in TZ. He kept the company of Maasai herds boys, walked long distances with them in search of pasture.
He sat his Kenya African Preliminary Examination (KAPE) in 1958, applied, and got accepted at Kennedy Airlifts in 1962. He couldn't raise the sh4,000 for a plane ticket to the US, traveled for 2 months by road from Kenya to Benghazi Libya, took a ship to England then a flight to the US.
Worked night shifts for eight years as a janitor at Boeing Seattle to raise his college tuition. Earned a B.A. in Political Science from Seattle Pacific University and a BSc in Accounting from the University of Washington.
Returned to Kenya in 1969, worked briefly in Public Service, left the Public sector in 1979 to run Madhupaper International Ltd, a tissue production company he had started in 1976.
By 1985 Madhupaper, the only tissue manufacturer in Kenya had 300 employees with Rosy its main product.
Founded Royal Media Services in 1990 and grew it to 2 TV stations & over 10 FM stations today, all Market Leaders!
S.K. MACHARIA CV AND EDUCATION
Macharia joined Standard 1 in 1954 at Ndakaini Primary
School. He was thereafter admitted at Gituru Intermediate School where he sat
for the Kenya African Preliminary Examination (KAPE) in 1958. He taught as an
untrained primary school teacher at Makomboki Primary School for a year before
joining Kahuhia Teachers Training College. A two-year course at the college
would see him qualify as a trained teacher (P3) and he was subsequently posted
to Gituru Primary School in 1961.
He applied for the Kennedy Airlifts and was accepted in the
1962 group. His family could not however raise the 4,000 shillings required for
the plane ticket to the United States. He could only raise 1,200 shillings and
had to travel for nearly 2 months by road from Kenya to Benghazi, Libya, where
he took a ship to England and then a flight to the USA.
On arrival, he enrolled in Seattle Technical College and
completed his high school education two years later. Macharia would later a
Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Seattle Pacific University
and a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of
Washington. He would then complete a Master of Science in Accounting/Finance, a
Master of Arts in Accounting and was certified as a Certified Public Accountant
(CPA).
S.K. MACHARIA WIFE
Macharia is married to Purity Gathoni Macharia and they have
six children (two girls and four boys). Gathoni is a sister to former Kenyan
Cabinet Minister Njeru Githae and Syracuse University professor Micere Githae
Mugo
S.K. MACHARIA FAMILY
Macharia’s mother passed away when he was five years old
A son of businessman mogul and Royal Media Services chairman
SK Macharia Jonh Macharia died in a road accident along Southern bypass
2018. A female passenger who was with him, however, escaped unscathed.
The self-involved accident happened at 10pm when John
Macharia, who is said to have been speeding lost control of his Porsche Cayenne
911. The 2017 Porsche 911 costs between Sh8.5 million ($85,350) and Sh13.3
million ($133,850).
S.K. MACHARIA NET WORTH
Known as Madhupaper, he formed the company in 1976, the
first and only local tissue paper manufacturer in Kenya. Its tissue paper
brand, ‘Rosy’ exists to date. However, the company was sold to an investor in
1989 for Sh250 million, part of which SK had to drag Standard Chartered Bank to
court as recently as 2014 for receiving Sh55 million from the investor but not
crediting his accounts.
S.K. MACHARIA WEALTH AND PROPERTIES
according to international research firm Ipsos, Citizen TV
has a 62.5% share of the Kenyan television market in 2016. Royal Media Services
radio stations have a combined audience of 80% of Kenya’s population (the main
radio station Radio Citizen has a 43% market share). Other brands in the Royal
Media Services stable include Inooro TV, Ramogi FM, Inooro FM, Musyi FM,
Chamgei FM, Muuga FM, Egesa FM, Bahari FM, Mulembe FM, Wimwaro FM, Sulwe FM,
Hot 96 and Vuuka FM
The father of two girls and four boys is said to have
greatly diversified his investments. He may be a media mogul, but he is said to
be involved in agriculture, transport, real estate and banking, among other
investments.