New Delhi: Two new entrants to the Forbes India Richest People have made their money in the Gulf. Interestingly, both are from Kerala.
The two newest entrants in Forbes list of richest Indians have amassed billion dollar fortunes with businesses in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi after emigrating from Kerala.
"Ravi Pillai, the richest newcomer on this year's list, made his $1.7 billion fortune in Saudi Arabia with his construction business, Nasser S Al-Hajri Corp.
Retail mogul MA Yusuff Ali, created his $1.6 billion wealth with his Lulu Group in Abu Dhabi. Ravi Pillai, is the son of a farmer, moved to Saudi Arabia following the failure of his local construction business. He found a well-connected local partner to fund his ambitions and has turned his construction company into a regional heavyweight that took advantage of the oil-rich region to specialise in building refineries.
The company claims to be among the biggest employers in the Middle East, employing over 50,000 Indians and Pillai has used his wealth to boost the local economy in India, investing in banks, hotels and real estate. Yusuff Ali left India for Abu Dhabi at 18 to go to work for his uncle, according to his Wikipedia page.
He started the Lulu chain of hypermarkets in the 1990s and the group has been growing at a compounded annual rate of 30 per cent over the last five years, according to Forbes magazine.
The 72nd richest Indian is BR Shetty from Udupi in Karnataka. He runs National Medical Centre, a chain of hospitals and pharmacy across the UAE. He is also the owner of UAE Exchange, a money transfer chain, which controls the majority share of business in the Gulf market.
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