Forbes recently released their annual list of India’s top 100 richest people of 2023. Mukesh Ambani topped the list owing to his massive net worth of $92 billion. And then there is M A Yusuff Ali, one of the wealthiest Indians who was listed as the 27th richest Indian on the Forbes India Rich List 2023. He is Kerala’s richest man and owns a retail company worth close to Rs 70,000 Crore. Yusuff hails from Kerala, a state renowned for its outstanding academic reputation.
Founder and Managing Director of LuLu Group International, M.A. Yusuff Ali is Kerala’s richest man. The billionaire businessman’s net worth is $7.1 billion (approximately Rs 59,062 crore). This is a significant jump from last year when Yusuff ranked 35 on the rich list of Forbes with a net worth of $5.4 billion (Rs 44,956 crore). He also ranks at 497th position on Forbes’ Billionaires 2023 list.
Mr Yusuff holds a diploma in business management and administration. He travelled to Abu Dhabi in 1973 to work with his uncle in a small distribution company and launched the first LuLu superstore in the 1990s.
The LuLu company, which has its headquarters in Abu Dhabi is most widely recognised in the Gulf through a network of well-liked shopping centres and hypermarkets that cater to the most extensive range of multi-ethnic citizens in the area.
LuLu Hypermarket’s tagline reads: “LuLu, where the world comes to shop.” As mentioned on its official website, the company mainly operates in 23 countries across the Middle East, the US, Asia, and Europe. LuLu Group’s revenue stands at a staggering $8.4 billion (approximately Rs 69,919 crore) according to Forbes and the company website, with a staff force of over 65,000. There are 256 LuLu malls and hypermarkets in the Gulf and elsewhere.
In LuLu Group’s own words: “It is a world-renowned purveyor of an international business portfolio that ranges from hypermarket operations to shopping mall development, manufacturing and trading of goods, hospitality assets, and real estate.”
