New Delhi: In today’s success story we will talk about MA Yousuf Ali who started off as an employee in a grocery store run by his relative and is now considered the retail king of the Middle East.
MA Yusuf Ali aspired to become a lawyer
MA Yusuf Ali was born on 15 November 1955 in Thrissur, Kerala. The young Joseph dreamed of becoming a lawyer, however, being from a business family, he eventually entered business as well. Around the age of 15–16, he moved to Ahmedabad, Gujarat with his father, where the latter ran a grocery store. Yusuf also earned a diploma in business administration at the age of 18 while preparing to move to Dubai where his relatives were running a grocery store. The early 1970s was the era when many people in India, especially from the southern part of the country, were moving towards the Middle East in search of better livelihood and career opportunities.
MA Yusuf Ali used to work at a relative’s grocery store in Abu Dhabi
Yusuf reached Dubai in 1973 and from there left for Abu Dhabi. Along with working in his relative’s grocery store, he was also closely following the FMCG market and import-export business. Yusuf visited places like Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore to learn the tricks and trade of supermarket/hypermarket chains. At the age of 34, he opened his first supermarket in Abu Dhabi, which gave a great boost to his future ventures. In 1995 he opened the largest supermarket in Abu Dhabi and was noticed by the UAE government and even the king.
Today MA Yusuf Ali is a billionaire Indian businessman who is the chairman of the $7.5 billion (revenue) LuLu Group International, which has 272 stores and retail centers across the Gulf and overseas. The company employs the largest number of Indians outside India.
MA Yusuf Ali was ranked first among the top 100 Indian businessmen in the Arab world for 2018 by Forbes Middle East.
MA Yusuf Ali, Founder, Lulu Group
MA Yusuf Ali started his business in India in 2006 by opening Lulu Convention Center cum Hotel in Thrissur, Kerala. He bought Catholic Syrian Bank (CSB) and 49.99% of Dhanlaxmi Bank in 2013. He increased his ownership of the Federal Bank located there. Aluva, 4.47 per cent in the same year. The first mall owned by Lulu Group opened in 2013 in Kochi. In 2014, he bought 2% interest in South Indian Bank. Yusuf Ali opened a new shopping center in Kerala in 2019. Then they expanded and opened malls in Lucknow and Bangalore. According to reports, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family paid $1 billion for a 20% stake in Lulu in April 2020. According to another report, he intends to bring the IPO of the retail company in 2023.
Forbes reports that the UAE-based billionaire’s other properties include the Waldorf Astoria in Scotland and the Great Scotland Yard Hotel, the former headquarters of the UK Metropolitan Police.
MA Yusuf Ali Family and Children
MA Yousuf Ali is married, has three children and lives in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. His daughter Shafeena is married to Adeeb Ahmed, the founder of Lulu International Exchange and Twenty14 Holdings, while his other daughter Sabina is married to wealthy businessman Shamshir Vayil.
MA Yusuf Ali’s realtime net worth
According to the data from Forbes Realtime Billionaire Index, MA Yusuf Ali’s realtime net worth as on 14-06-2023 is US$ 5.2 billion (INR 4,27,93,14,00,000.00 approx).