Mallya is the son of Vittal Mallya, who built the United Breweries Group into India's dominant brewing conglomerate. At the age of 28, following his father's death in 1983, Mallya assumed the chairmanship of United Breweries Group and expanded it into a multi-national operation spanning beverage alcohol, aviation infrastructure, real estate, and fertilizer, with more than 60 companies and an annual turnover that reached US$11 billion by the late 1990s. United's Kingfisher beer grew to hold over 50 percent of the Indian market and became the best-selling Indian beer internationally. Mallya also chaired United Spirits, which became the second-largest spirits company in the world by volume; he ceded management control to Diageo in 2012 and was forced to resign as chairman in 2015.
He was educated at La Martinière Calcutta and St. Xavier's College, Kolkata, graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1976.
Mallya launched Kingfisher Airlines in 2005. The carrier expanded aggressively but accumulated unsustainable debt, eventually losing its operating licence and ceasing operations. By October 2013 it had gone 15 months without paying staff salaries, and outstanding bank loans exceeded US$1 billion. A consortium of 17 Indian banks subsequently pursued Mallya for recovery of the loans, accusing him of being a willful defaulter and of diverting funds.
Mallya co-owned the Force India Formula One team from 2007, having acquired it when Spyker sold the former Jordan/Midland outfit. Under his ownership Force India grew from a back-of-grid operation into a consistent points scorer and occasional podium finisher. In November 2008 he assumed the role of team principal directly, replacing Colin Kolles. In mid-2018, with the team again in financial difficulty, Sahara Force India entered administration. The team's assets were purchased by the Racing Point F1 Team consortium in August 2018 and raced out the remainder of the season under the Force India name before transitioning to new branding.
Mallya left India on 2 March 2016, after which his passport was revoked by the Ministry of External Affairs. He settled at his country estate near London. Indian agencies including the Enforcement Directorate and Central Bureau of Investigation pursued charges of financial fraud and money laundering. The Enforcement Directorate attached Indian assets worth over ₹96 billion by December 2016 in what constituted one of the largest attachments under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
UK authorities arrested Mallya in April 2017 on an extradition warrant on behalf of Indian authorities; he was released on bail. A Westminster Magistrate's Court ordered his extradition in December 2018. Subsequent appeals in the UK High Court and Supreme Court were rejected, with the final appeal dismissed in April 2020. As of 2025 the extradition order remained unenforced due to unresolved confidential legal proceedings. In July 2022 the Indian Supreme Court also sentenced Mallya to four months imprisonment for contempt of court related to a 2017 order he violated by transferring US$40 million to his children.
Mallya served two terms in the Rajya Sabha — India's upper house of parliament — as an independent member from Karnataka, first elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2010. He resigned on 2 May 2016, one day before the Rajya Sabha ethics panel was to formally recommend his expulsion.
Force India under Mallya's ownership punched significantly above its budget, finishing fourth in the Constructors Championship in both 2016 and 2017 — a remarkable achievement for a team operating at a fraction of the spending power of the leading constructors. The team's eventual collapse highlighted the fragility of F1 operations dependent on single-owner funding structures.