Ali’s net worth is $7.6 billion, Alukkas’ $4.4 billion
Bhaskar Raj
Dubai: Twelve Malayalees hogged the limelight in the latest Forbes Global Rich List 2024.
LuLu Group chairman Yusuff Ali MA remained the richest Malayalee with a net worth of $7.6 billion (Rs 63,346 crore). In the global ranking Yusuff Ali is in the 344th position, and in an all-India ranking he is the 19th richest in India.
Joy Alukkas came in as the second richest Malayalee with a net worth of $4.4 billion (global ranking 712).
“Son of a jewellery store owner, Joy Alukkas went to the Middle East to open the family’s first overseas store in 1987 in Abu Dhabi,” reads the profile in the Forbes Rich List.
Co-founder of Infosys Senapathy ‘Kris’ Gopalakrishnan is the next richest in Kerala with a net worth of $3.5 billion (Global ranking 920).
Dr Shamsheer Vayalil, founder and chairman of Burjeel Holdings which runs a network of hospitals, clinics and pharmacies in the Middle East, shared the same global ranking 920 with a net worth of $3.5 billion. He is also the son-in-law of Yusuff Ali MA.
The other rich Malayalees are Ravi Pillai (net worth $3.3 billion; global ranking 991); Sunny Varkey ($3.3 billion; 991); TS Kalyanaraman of Kalyan Group ($3.2 billion; global ranking 1033).
Another Infosys co-founder SD Shibulal is the next richest with $2 billion net worth (global ranking 1623).
Kochouseph Chittilappilly stands next with a global ranking of 1945 and net worth of $1.6 billion.
Three Muthoot family members ranked the next in Kerala with net worth of $1.3 billion each and shared global ranking of 2287. They are George Alexander Muthoot, George Thomas Muthoot, both brothers who run Muthoot Finance, and Sara George Muthoot, who inherited a stake in the listed gold finance company Muthoot Finance after her husband MG George Muthoot passed away in 2021.
This is for the first time that a Malayalee woman found a place in the global rich list.
As per the Forbes Rich List, Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd, is the richest man in Asia, with a net worth of $116.1 billion. He ranks 9th on Forbes’ worldwide list, which is topped by Bernard Arnault & family (LVMH) with $233 billion, Elon Musk (Tesla, SpaceX, X formerly Twitter) with $195 billion in second place and Jeff Bezos (Amazon) with $194 billion in the third place world-wide.
Gautam Adani, chairperson of Adani Group, is the second richest in India and 17th wealthiest world-wide with a net worth of $84 billion followed by Shiv Nadar, founder and chairman of HCL Technologies in the third position in India and 39th globally with a net worth of $36.9 billion. Savitri Jindal & Family formed the next rich rung in India with $33.5 billion and global 46th ranking, followed by Dilip Sanghvi of Sun Pharmaceuticals in the fifth position with net worth of $26.7 billion and 69th ranking globally.
