B. Ravi Pillai | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 2 September 1953 |
| 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" />
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>
