Who Is MA Yusuff Ali, UAE-Based Indian Businessman, Started Working At Grocery Store, Now Has Net Worth Of Rs 42,795 Crore

At the same time as being employed in his relative’s grocery store, MA Yusuff Ali was also keenly observing the FMCG market and how export and import business was carried out.

New Delhi: In today's success story we shall talk about MA Yusuff Ali who started as an employee at a grocery shop run by his relative and is now considered retail king of Middle East.

MA Yusuff Ali Aspired To Become Lawyer

MA Yusuff Ali, born on November 15, 1955, in Kerala's Thrissur. Young Yusuf had dreamt of beoming a lawyer, however hailing from a business family, he also finally entered business. At around 15-16, he joined his father in Ahmedabad in Gujarat where the latter used to run a grocery shop. Yusuf also earned a diploma in busines administration at 18 and was simultaneously preparing to leave for Dubai where his relative was running a grocery shop. The early 1970s was the era when many people from India, especially southern part of the country were leaving for the middle-east in search of better livelihood and career opportunity.

MA Yusuff Ali Worked At A Relative's Grocery Store In Abu Dhabi

Yusuf reached Dubai in 1973 and from there left for Abu Dhabi. At the same time as being employed in his relative’s grocery store, he was also keenly observing the FMCG market and how export and import business was carried out. Yusuf visited places like Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore to learn the tricks and trades of supermarkets/hypermarkets chains. At the age of 34 he opened his first supermarket in Abu Dhabi which got the much needed boost for his future ventures. In 1995 he opened the biggest supermarket in Abu Dhabi and was noticed by the UAE government and even the King. 

Today MA Yusuff Ali is a  billionaire Indian businessman who presides over $7.5 billion (revenue) LuLu Group International, having  272 stores and retail centers throughout the Gulf and abroad. The company employs the largest number of Indians outside India.

MA Yusuff Ali was ranked first among the Top 100 Indian businesspeople in the Arab World for 2018 by Forbes Middle East. 

MA Yusuff Ali, The Founder Of Lulu Group

MA Yusuff Ali launched his business in India by opening Lulu Convention Centre cum hotel in Kerala’s Thrissur in 2006. He purchased 49.99% of the Catholic Syrian Bank (CSB) and Dhanlaxmi Bank in 2013. He boosted his ownership of the Federal Bank, situated in Aluva, to 4.47 percent that same year. The first mall owned by Lulu Group opened in Kochi in 2013. In 2014, he purchased a 2% interest in South Indian Bank. Yusuff Ali opened a new shopping centre in Kerala in 2019. Then he expanded and opened malls in Lucknow and Bengaluru. According to reports, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family paid $1 billion for a 20% share in LuLu in April 2020. According to another report, he intends to IPO the retail company in 2023.

The other possessions of the UAE-based billionaire include the Waldorf Astoria in Scotland and the Great Scotland Yard Hotel, the former headquarters of the U.K. Metropolitan Police, Forbes has reported.

MA Yusuff Ali Family And Children

MA Yusuff Ali is married, has three kids and resides in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. His daughter Shafeena is married to Adeeb Ahamed, the person behind Lulu International Exchange and Twenty14 Holdings, while his other daughter Sabeena is married to wealthy businessman Shamsheer Vayalil.

M A Yusuff Ali's Realtime Net Worth

As per Forbes Realtime Billionaire Index figures, M A Yusuff Ali's realtime net worth as of 14-06-2023 is USD 5.2 billion   (4,27,93,14,00,000.00 Indian Rupee approximately).