GULF INDIANS SCORE BIG

DT News Network

Manama 

Yusuffali MA, Managing Director of Abu Dhabi-based EMKE LuLu Group of companies, is the richest Gulf-based Indian in the latest Forbes India Rich list with a wealth of $3.7 billion. 

Forbes has ranked Yusuffali 24th in the list of 100 billionaires, which is topped for the ninth consecutive time by Mukesh Ambani. Ravi Pillai ($2.4bn), Sunny Varkey ($2bn), BR Shetty ($1.7bn), S Gopalakrishnan ($1.7bn), Azad Moopen ($1.5bn) and P N C Menon ($1.2bn) are the other Keralites in Gulf who have found a place in the list.

Interestingly, Ravi Pillai with $2.8bn was the richest Malayali in Forbes India rich list in 2014. The wealth of Yusuffali was $2.3bn last year. In a span of one year the wealth of R P Group’s head Ravi Pillai was reduced by Rs 2,970 crore whereas Yusuffali accumulated around Rs9,240 crore, compared to last year. 

Yusuffali made a splash in July with the $120 million purchase of the iconic Scotland yard building in London, which he plans to convert into a luxury hotel. He’s also expanding his $6.5bn LuLu Group retailing empire with new stores in Africa, Southeast Asia and India.

Last year there were nine Keralites in the top 100 list. This year the number has been reduced to six. Besides, S D Shibulal, M G George Muthoot and T S Kalyanaraman who found a place in top 100 in the Forbes India rich list in 2014, could not make it in 2015.

While the combined net worth of India’s 100 richest remains largely unchanged at US$345bn, as compared to $346bn a year ago, there are 12 new faces this year.

Mukesh Ambani retains the top spot on the list with a net worth of $18.9bn, despite a drop of $4.7bn in his net worth. Lower oil prices took a toll on his oil and petrochemicals giant, Reliance Industries, which saw its stock tumble on declining revenues. His younger brother Anil Ambani, who ranks No. 29 with a net worth of $2.9bn, also took a hit. Falling shares of his group companies more than halved his fortune from a year ago. The combined wealth of the brothers is down by more than $8bn.

Pharma magnate Dilip Shanghvi remains at No. 2 with a net worth of $18bn. After a meteoric rise in the past few years, his wealth has flatlined as Sun Pharmaceutical Industries bears the merger costs of its acquisition of rival Ranbaxy Industries. However, Sun remains India’s most valuable drug company.

Tech tycoon Azim Premji remains at No. 3 on the list with a net worth of $15.9bn. The generous billionaire has pledged 18 per cent of his stake in Wipro, India’s third-largest outsourcer, to his charitable trust in addition to a 21pc stake already given.

As many as ten tycoons on the list saw a decline of more than $1bn each in their fortunes. This includes steel baron Lakshmi Mittal, whose fortune fell by $4.6bn. He slips three places to No. 8 as his ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steelmaker, got hit by rising imports from China.

All is not gloom, as more than half of the 84 who return to the list this year are richer. The biggest gainer in dollar terms is vaccine maker Cyrus Poonawalla (No. 9, $7.9bn), who set a new property record in Mumbai with his purchase of a $110 million heritage mansion in south Mumbai. He is richer by $1.7bn compared to last year.