Pachaiyappa Mudaliar (1754–1794) was a Madras merchant, philanthropist and dubash of the 18th century. A protégé of Narayana Pillai, Pachaiyappa Mudaliar rose to dubash-ship soon after the demise of his mentor. During the same time, his employers the Powney family comprising the brothers Henry Powney and Thomas Powney rose to Mayorship of Madras. This increased the stature of Pachaiyappa Mudaliar and he emerged as one of the richest and most powerful men in Madras city.
Pachaiyappa Mudaliar was one of the first Indians to leave a will. He had set aside Rs. 4.5 lakh of what he had left to be spent on Hindu religious institutions and the remaining Rs. 7 lakh on providing an English education to Hindu youth. ("At the time of his death his fortune was estimated at five lakhs of pagodas or 1.7 million rupees".
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