| Bio/Wiki | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Yusuff Ali Musaliam Veettil Abdul Kader |
| Profession | Businessman |
| Physical Stats | |
| Height (approx.) | 5' 9" (175 cm) |
| Eye Colour | Black |
| Hair Colour | Black |
| Career | |
| Awards, Honours | • 2004- Commander title and St. Ephraim Medal by the Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I Iwas of Universal Syriac Orthodox Church • 2005- Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, the highest Indian government award given to non-resident Indians  • 2008- Padma Shri from the Government of India  • 2010- Business Man of the Year 2009-10 award given by the Kerala State Forum of Bankers' Clubs • 2012- Lifetime Achievement Award at the inaugural Indian CEO Awards • 2012- Swiss Ambassador's Award 2012 for outstanding efforts in promoting Swiss-UAE relations  • 2012- Most Influential Asian Business Leader in the MENA region Award by Forbes Middle East • 2012- Arab Business Leader of the Year 2012 during the third edition of the Global Arab Business Meeting held in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE  • 2014- Honorary D.Litt. by Aligarh Muslim University, India • 2016- Honoured with the archbishop Mar Gregorios Award instituted by the alumni association of Mar Ivanios College, Amicos, India, for his contribution to the industrial sector in 2016 • 2018- Honorary doctorate from Middlesex University, London  • 2018- Honorary doctorate from Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala, India • 2021- Honoured with Abu Dhabi's highest civilian award, Abu Dhabi Award 2021 by HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan,Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi  • 2021- Honoured with a long-term residential visa by Qais bin Mohammed Al Yousaf, Oman's Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion (MOCIIP) • 2022- Became the first Bahrain golden residency visa recipient |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 15 November 1955 (Tuesday) |
| Age (as of 2024) | 69 Years |
| Birthplace | Nattika, Thrissur, Kerala |
| Zodiac sign | Scorpio |
| Signature |  |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | Thrissur |
| School | St. Xavier's High School, Karanchira, Thrissur, Kerala |
| Educational Qualification | Diploma in Business Management and Administration |
| Religion | Islam |
| Social Media | • Instagram • YouTube |
| Relationships & More | |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Family | |
| Wife/Spouse | Shabira Yusuff Ali |
| Children | Daughters- Shabeena, Shafeena, Shifa  |
| Parents | Father- M.K. Abdul Qader (Deceased) Mother- Safiya Abdul Qader (Deceased)  |
| Siblings | Brother- Ashraf Ali (Businessman) |
| Other Relatives | Son-in-Law- Shamsheer Vayalil (Businessman) (Husband of Yusuff's daughter Shabeena) Son-in-Law- Adeeb Ahamed (Businessman) (Husband of Yusuff's daughter Shafeena)  Son-in-Law- Sharoon Shamsudheen (Businessman) (Husband of Yusuff's daughter Shifa) |
| Style Quotient | |
| Car Collection | • Range Rover • Mercedes-Maybach GLS • Mercedes-Maybach S600 • Lexus LX750 • BMW 7 Series • Bentley Bentayga • MINI Cooper Countryman |
| Expensive Things/Valuables | Gulfstream G600 private jet |
| Money Factor | |
| Net Worth (approx.) | $5.5B (As of 2025) ((Forbes)) |
Some Lesser Known Facts About M. A. Yusuff Ali
- After finishing his studies, Yusuff Ali moved to Abu Dhabi in 1973, where his paternal uncle, M. K. Abdullah, the then chairman and the founder of the LuLu Group of Companies, was doing business. He arrived on the shores of the UAE aboard the ship ‘Dumra’ from Mumbai.
- When he was boarding the ship, his grandfather, V M Kunjahammu Haji, blessed him and gave him Rs 5.
- Yussuf Ali’s paternal uncle grew the group’s import and wholesale business and then moved into supermarkets by starting LuLu Hypermarket. He opened the first LuLu Hypermarket in the 1990s, when small grocery stores in the UAE were being replaced by big supermarkets and hypermarkets.
- In 1995, Continent (now Carrefour) transformed Dubai’s retail scene, while Yusuff Ali focused on Abu Dhabi by expanding LuLu Hypermarket, and he founded the LuLu Group International, which is a UAE-based multinational conglomerate company that operates a chain of hypermarkets and retail companies.
- LuLu Group International started as a family business. When Yusuff Ali joined, he expanded it by importing and selling frozen products from Europe and the US. These products were sold in Abu Dhabi and in other Emirates too.
- When asked about why he joined his family’s small trading business in Abu Dhabi, Yusuff was quoted as saying
It was my hunger and eagerness to do something on my own that pushed me to branch out into foodstuff distribution in and around a still-growing Abu Dhabi. Sensing the potential of imported foodstuff for the large expat community arriving in the UAE with the discovery of oil, I ventured into large-scale imports, cold storage, and distribution.”
- Eventually, he quickly expanded the business to sell both food and non-food items. The group also set up cold storage, meat and food processing plants, and started importing and supplying products to hotels, catering companies, and ships.
- By the 1980s, with Yusuff Ali’s leadership, they had a big part of the wholesale and retail food market in the UAE.
- He started his retail business by opening the first Lulu Centre (which means ‘pearl’ in Arabic) in Abu Dhabi in the early 90s, during the first Gulf War, at a time when many expats were actually leaving the area.
- With little to risk, Yusuff Ali decided to stay. He believed the war wouldn’t last and that the UAE would do well in the future because of its strong leaders. This made the ruling sheikhs trust and support him, and even today, he remains close to them.
- Since Yusuff Ali became the head of the LuLu Group International, his company has managed to own several shopping malls, and some of them are Khalidiyah Mall, Al Raha Mall, Al Wahda Mall, Mushriff Mall, Riyadh Avenue Mall in Saudi Arabia, and Oman Avenues Mall spread across the GCC states.
- In 2003, when the UAE government granted a general amnesty to illegal immigrants, allowing them to leave the country without penalty, Yussuf Ali extended help to Indians to a large extent and ensured the workers received all the necessary assistance, including air tickets to return to India.
- In 2006, he began his big business projects in India by opening the Lulu Convention Centre, which is a combined convention hall and hotel, in his hometown, Thrissur, Kerala.
- He has helped people in many parts of the world. As part of its global charity work, LuLu Group partnered with Dubai Cares to support schools in Gaza and Nepal.
- In 2012, Yusuff helped rehabilitate people who lost their livelihood in the Kozhikode, Kerala market fire.
- In 2013, Yusuff Ali acquired 4.99% of the Thrissur-based Catholic Syrian Bank (CSB) and 4.99% shares of Thrissur-based Dhanlaxmi Bank.
- In the same year, Yusuff Ali opened the Lulu International Shopping Mall in his home country, Kochi, Kerala. The mall is one of the largest shopping malls in the country, spanning across 2 million square feet and containing more than 300 outlets.
- Yusuff Ali helped set up and took the lead in opening a large 8.3-acre funeral centre in Sharjah for the Indian community, where people of all faiths can hold last rites.
- He also took the lead in selling and promoting organic products grown by people with special needs in the United Arab Emirates through LuLu Hypermarkets.
- In 2013, Yusuff increased his stake in the Aluva (Kerala, India)-based Federal Bank to 4.47%.
- As of 2013, he held a 9.37% share in Cochin International Airport.
- As of 2025, he serves as a Director at Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL), which is a groundbreaking project in India’s aviation history. It was built through a special partnership between the Kerala government, Indians living abroad, banks, and other groups.
- From 2008 to 2014, Yusuff Ali was a former member of the Prime Minister’s Global Advisory Council. In 2008, he was chosen to be part of this important group, which works to build stronger connections between India and Indians living abroad, and to look after their concerns.
- In 2014, Yusuff Ali acquired 2% stake in the Thrissur-based South Indian Bank.
- Yusuff Ali gave money to help after the Gujarat earthquake, the tsunami in Asia, and typhoons and floods in other countries.
- In 2016, Yusuff Ali purchased the Scotland Yard building in London, which is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London’s 32 boroughs.
- In August 2018, he also donated ₹9.5 crores to support the relief and rebuilding efforts for people affected by the Kerala floods.
- In the same year, according to Forbes Middle East, Yusuff Ali was ranked No. 1 in the Top 100 Indian business owners in the Arab World 2018.
- In 2018, bought a 10% stake in the UK-based trading firm, East India Company, and a 40% stake in its fine foods subsidiary for around $85 million in total.
- He also works hard to look after the social, economic, and religious needs of Indians living in the Gulf countries. In addition to this, he also helped a lot in getting land for Christians to build churches and in arranging cremation grounds for Hindus living in the Gulf.
- Yusuff Ali had pledged to donate Rs 50 million for the flood-hit south Indian state of Kerala in the event of the 2019 Kerala floods.
- Yusuff Ali’s impact goes beyond business. He connects different cultures and communities. His close ties with UAE leaders help him support Indian workers and start projects that help both India and the UAE
- When India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the UAE in 2019, Yusuff Ali offered to build logistics centres to create jobs for people from Kashmir. This showed his dedication to strengthening economic ties.
Yusuff Ali (extreme right) with Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi (extreme left) and Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed (centre)
- Yusuff Ali donated Dh 1 million, providing 125,000 meals to communities in the UAE affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, he contributed Rs 25 crore to the PM-CARES Fund to help combat the virus in India and funded the construction of a 1400-bed treatment centre in Kerala.
- On April 11, 2021, the helicopter carrying M.A. Yusuff Ali, his wife, and three others, including the pilots, crash-landed in a swamp near Kochi, Kerala.
- Luckily, Yusuff Ali and his wife were not hurt and were taken to a nearby hospital for a check-up. The private helicopter, owned by Yussuf Ali, had a technical problem because of bad weather. Yusuff Ali is deeply involved in helping people through social, charity, and humanitarian work in both India and the Gulf countries.
- Yusuff Ali helped save Becks Krishnan, an Indian who was sentenced to death in Abu Dhabi for accidentally hitting and killing a boy with his car in 2012. In 2021, Krishnan’s family asked Yusuff Ali for help.
- He spoke to the authorities, and he officially received forgiveness from the boy’s family in Sudan. Yusuff Ali also paid 1 crore indian rupees as blood money, which led to Krishnan’s release and return to Kerala in June 2021.
- According to Forbes’ list of billionaires released in October 2023, Yusuff Ali was the 27th richest Indian, with a net worth of $6.9 billion.
- In 2023, Yusuff helped and secured the release of Rasheed, a native of Vithura, Kerala, after he had spent two and a half years in a Saudi jail. Rasheed ended up there because a fake social worker tricked him, and his sponsor filed a complaint against him.
- According to Forbes’ list of India’s 100 richest people in October 2024, M.A. Yusuff Ali was ranked 39th with a net worth of $7.4 billion.
- In June 2024, a building fire in Kuwait sadly killed about 40 Indians and injured over 50 more. Yusuff Ali gave around AED 22,000 to help the victims’ families.
- In the same year, to celebrate Yusuff Ali’s 50 years in the UAE, his son-in-law, Dr. Shamsheer Vayalil, started the Golden Heart Initiative. This project gave free heart treatment and surgeries to 50 poor children and kids from war-affected areas, with help from governments and hospitals in Tunisia, Egypt, and India.
- As of 2025, Lulu Group, under the leadership of Yusuff, employs more than 70,000 multi-ethnic staff, out of which almost 45,000 are from India, making it the largest employer of Indians outside India.
- Yusuff Ali plays an active role in Kerala’s (India) infrastructure development, particularly in the state’s IT sector.
- As of 2025, Yusuff serves as a Director at Kannur International Airport Ltd. (KIAL), Kerala’s second new airport, which was set up through a partnership between the government and private companies, just like Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL).
- As of 2025, he is the Vice Chairman of the Non-Resident Keralites Affairs Department (NORKA ROOTS), which is a Kerala government initiative dedicated to safeguarding the welfare and rights of Non-Resident Keralites (NRKs).
- Yusuff Ali enjoys spending his free time watching Indian movies and playing with his 11 grandchildren.
- Yusuff Ali is an avid watch collector, and he frequently showcases his impressive collection on social media.
- He also helped Moosakutty Puzhakkara from Pattambi, Kerala, who was jailed in Ras Al Khaimah because he couldn’t pay back his debts. There were 28 cases against him, and he was also paralysed with big medical bills.
- Yusuff Ali paid his AED 4 lakh debt, settled the cases, and removed his travel ban, so Moosakutty could go back home to Kerala.
- He is a regular donor at the Indian non-governmental organisation named ‘Gandhibhavan International Trust.’ Yusuff Ali contributed Rs 7.5 crore towards medical care, food, and clothing for residents and personally funded the construction of a new three-story building for elderly women. His overall investment in the home totals around INR 15 crore.
M. A. Yusuff Ali (wearing blue shirt) at the Indian non-governmental organisation ‘Gandhibhavan International Trust’
- Yusuff Ali shared in one of his interviews that his mother always wore a thick scarf on her head when she slept. He does something similar by wearing a cap to bed, to keep her memory alive.
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