From India to the UAE: Top Indian billionaires who went from rags to riches

 

From Ravi Pillai, LN Mittal to Vivek Chaand, there are several self-made Indian billionaires for whom UAE has turned out to be a favourable business destination and their journey has inspired millions of budding entrepreneurs

Over the decades, UAE has evolved incessantly in every sense of the term and is one of the major contributors in global trade, business and entrepreneurship. This can be attributed to its lucrative oil and gas sector that controls over 40 percent of global oil reserves and needless to mention, the private players who have a great hand in creating employments and wealth across the country.

Tapping the highly favourable business eco-system, several Indians have also been immigrating there in search of jobs and business opportunities. As of 2017, around 28 percent of the total population of the UAE is said to be constituted by Indian immigrants. Among them, while a large number of people are working blue collar and white collar jobs, a significant number of people have successfully forayed into entrepreneurship.


Here are some of the richest Indian businessmen whose journeys are something that are worth looking up to.

1.       Ravi Pillai

Leaving his hometown Kerala in search of riches in the early 1970s, Ravi Pillai is a ubiquitous name across the real estate market of UAE in today’s time. One of the secrets to his success is the fact that he knew how to make the right move at the right time. He is the founder, Chairman and Managing Director of RP Group of Companies through which he has undertaken several notable projects that span across hotel, medical tourism and education. Jubail Export Refinery Project, Barzan Project, Saudi Karan Phenolics and Alba Potline 6 are to name a few.

2.       Thumbay Moideen


With a net worth of over $2 billion, Thumbay Moideen a leading figure behind the Thumbay Group, a diversified international conglomerate. He established the company in 1998 which today has its presence across 20 sectors. Like Ravi Pillai, Thumbay too had a humble beginning and his is also no less than a rags-to-riches story.

3.       Ghanshyam Jethanand Pagarani

It is not every day that we hear success stories of people who went from being a janitor to a multi-millionaire. Ghanshyam Jethanand Pagarani once mopped floors for living and look where he is today? A multi-millionaire and head of the 48 year old Yogi Group that has an annual turnover of approximately Dh500 million. Despite having succeeded in his life tremendously, his humility and integrity remain intact.

4.       BR Shetty

BR Shetty embodies the ultimate immigrant dream in the UAE. Hailing from Karnataka who arrived in the oil-rich land in the early 1970s with a mere $8. He was initially into healthcare but soon diversified into financial services, retail, IT and advertising. Shetty has founded and acquired several UAE-based companies including NMC Health, Neopharma, BRS Ventures, etc. Forbes has estimated that he has gone on to create a personal wealth of a whopping $4.2 billion, in 2018.

 

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