B. Ravi Pillai

B. Ravi Pillai
Born	(1953-09-02) 2 September 1953 Chavara, State of Travancore–Cochin<br />(present-day Kollam, Kerala), India
Education	University of Cochin
Occupation	Founder, Chairman, RP Group
Spouse(s)	Geetha Pillai
Children	2
Relatives	Kollam K. Chandrasekhara Pillai (uncle)<ref>"Kerala News - സി.പി.ഐ.നേതാവ് കെ.സി.പിള്ള അന്തരിച്ചു - India, World News - Mathrubhumi Newspaper Edition". Archived from the original on 20 December 2011.</ref>

B. Ravi Pillai (born 2 September 1953) is a Dubai-based Indian billionaire businessman. He is the founder and chairman of the RP Group. As of 2026, his net worth is estimated at US$4.2 billion.<ref name="Forbes Profile">"Forbes profile: Ravi Pillai". Forbes. Retrieved 28 September 2021.</ref>

Early life

Ravi Pillai was born on 2 September 1953 at Chavara,<ref name="Kollam City">"Kollam City". Kollam City. 2014. Archived from the original on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.</ref> a coastal town in Kollam, in the state of Kerala in Kadappa Pillai Veettil family.<ref>"Ravi Pillai: From farmer's son to construction tycoon". News18. 28 November 2013.</ref> He has a degree in Commerce from the University of Cochin.<ref name="Arabian Business" /><ref name="Kollam City" />

Career

During his time at university, he launched his first business, a chit fund in Kollam on reportedly borrowed money.<ref name="Rediff">"Rediff". Rediff. 7 October 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2014.</ref> Later, he started an engineering contract business and worked for some of the major industrial houses in Kerala such as Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Limited, Hindustan Newsprint Limited, and Cochin Refineries.<ref name="Rediff" /> However, a labour strike forced him to close down his business, after which he went to Saudi Arabia in 1978 where he started a small trading business.<ref name="Rediff 2">"Rediff 2". Rediff 2. 7 October 2007. Retrieved 21 December 2014.</ref> Two years later, he moved into construction, and established Nasser S. Al Hajri Corporation (NSH) with 150 employees,<ref name="Rediff 2" /> which has over the years grown to become the flagship company of his business group,<ref name="Kollam City" /><ref name="Rediff 2" /> RP Group, which is known to employ over 70,000 employees across its businesses.<ref name="Arabian Business">"Arabian Business". Arabian Business. 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.</ref> The shopping mall in South Kerala, RP Mall at Kollam city is owned by Pillai.<ref>admin (12 October 2020). "Tracing The Success Story of Ravi Pillai and The Growth of RP Group of Companies as a Brand". Brandzwatch. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2021.</ref>

Pillai has expanded his business to other countries including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Bahrain, and has interests in construction, hospitality, steel, cement, and oil and gas industries.<ref name="Kollam City"/> RP Group is known to hold stakes in hotels such as Leela Kovalam, Hotel Raviz,<ref name="Raviz">"Raviz". Raviz. 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.</ref> Kollam, and WelcomHotel Raviz Kadavu,<ref name="RP hotels">"RP hotels". RP hotels. 2014. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.</ref> Kozhikode in his home state of Kerala.<ref name="Rediff 3">"Rediff 3". Rediff 3. 7 October 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2014.</ref> He is involved in health care through Upasana Hospital and Research Centre, a 300-bed multispecialty hospital in Kollam.<ref name="Kollam City" /><ref name="Upasana">"Upasana". Upasana. 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.</ref>

Awards and recognition

Pillai received an honorary doctorate from Excelsior College, New York,<ref name="Arabian Business" /> and was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman by the Government of India in 2008.<ref name="Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs">"Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs" (PDF). Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs. 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 May 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.</ref> In 2010, the Government of India included him in the Republic Day honours list for the civilian honour of Padma Shri.<ref name="Padma Shri">"Padma Shri" (PDF). Padma Shri. 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2014.</ref>

Arabian Business ranked him as the fourth most powerful Indian in the Middle East in 2015.<ref name="Arabian Business" />

Pillai (2nd from right at front row), other awardees stand with the President of India after receiving Pravasi Bharatiya Samman

Personal life

Ravi Pillai is married to Geetha, and they live in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.<ref name="Forbes Profile" /> They have two children, a son Ganesh Ravi Pillai, and a daughter Arathi Ravi Pillai.<ref>"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 30 November 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)</ref>

He paid for his daughter Arathi's wedding with Adithya Vishnu at Kollam in November 2015, at a total expense of ₹55 crores ($7.5 million), in accordance with Nair customs and cultural traditions. The wedding was organized by the production designer who worked on the film, Baahubali: The Beginning, and is considered the most expensive wedding in Kerala to date.<ref>"Kerala's richest man spends a massive ₹55 crores on daughter's wedding!". The Times of India. 27 March 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 7 July 2024.</ref> His son Ganesh Pillai married Anjana Suresh, an engineer, in September 2021.<ref>"The Grand Wedding Of Arathi And Adithya Worth ₹55 Crore held in Kerela". Gabdig.com. 29 November 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2017.</ref>