Chennai, Dec. 2 (PTI): M.A.M. Ramaswamy, veteran industrialist and founder of the Rs 10,000-crore business empire Chettinad Group, passed away today after a brief illness, his family said.

Ramaswamy, 84, was admitted to a hospital here following heart- and kidney-related ailments. "His last rites will be performed in Tiruvottiyur here on December 6," a family member said.

An avid horse race enthusiast and a recipient of several awards, including the Padma Shri, the former Rajya Sabha MP bagged top honours in winning 500 Classic races, considered a rare feat.

He was credited with adeptly steering one of South India's famous business conglomerates, the Chettinad Group, which is present in various verticals, including cement, education and hospitality.

Widely known for philanthropic activities, his final years witnessed a downward spiral as he was not elected as a director of the group's flagship company Chettinad Cement Corporation. The board, however, approved him of being elected as the group's chairman emeritus.

But a controversy erupted subsequently at his 125-acre Chettinad Palace in posh MRC Nagar, when 14 alleged henchmen of an assistant of Ramaswamy were arrested for locking a room of M.A.M.R. Muthiah, his adopted son, allegedly in connection with a property dispute.