B. Ravi Pillai | |
|---|---|
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| Born | (1953-09-02)2 September 1953 (age 72) |
| Education | University of Cochin |
| Occupations | Founder, Chairman, RP Group |
| Spouse | Geetha Pillai |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Kollam K. Chandrasekhara Pillai (uncle)[1] |
B. Ravi Pillai (born 2 September 1953) is a Dubai-based Indian billionaire businessman. He is the founder and chairman of theRP Group. As of May 2023, his net worth is estimated atUS$3.1billion.[2]
Ravi Pillai was born on 2 September 1953 atChavara,[3] a coastal town inKollam, in the state ofKerala in Kadappa Pillai Veettil family.[4] He has a degree in Commerce from theUniversity of Cochin.[5][3]
During his time at university, he launched his first business, achit fund inKollam on reportedly borrowed money.[6] Later, he started an engineering contract business and worked for some of the major industrial houses inKerala such asFertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Limited,Hindustan Newsprint Limited, andCochin Refineries.[6] However, alabour strike forced him to close down his business, after which he went toSaudi Arabia in 1978 where he started a small trading business.[7] Two years later, he moved into construction, and established Nasser S. Al Hajri Corporation (NSH) with 150 employees,[7] which has over the years grown to become the flagship company of his business group,[3][7] RP Group, which is known to employ over 70,000 employees across its businesses.[5] The shopping mall in South Kerala,RP Mall atKollam city is owned by Pillai.[8]
Pillai has expanded his business to other countries including theUnited Arab Emirates,Qatar, andBahrain, and has interests in construction, hospitality, steel, cement, and oil and gas industries.[3] RP Group is known to hold stakes in hotels such as Leela Kovalam, Hotel Raviz,[9] Kollam, and WelcomHotel Raviz Kadavu,[10] Kozhikode in his home state of Kerala.[11] He is involved in health care through Upasana Hospital and Research Centre, a 300-bed multispecialty hospital in Kollam.[3][12]
Pillai received an honorary doctorate fromExcelsior College, New York,[5] and was awarded thePravasi Bharatiya Samman by theGovernment of India in 2008.[13] In 2010, the Government of India included him in theRepublic Day honours list for the civilian honour ofPadma Shri.[14]
Arabian Business ranked him as the fourth most powerful Indian in theMiddle East in 2015.[5]
Ravi Pillai is married to Geetha, and they live inDubai, United Arab Emirates.[2] They have two children, a son Ganesh Ravi Pillai, and a daughter Arathi Ravi Pillai.[15]
He paid for his daughter Arathi's wedding with Adithya Vishnu atKollam in November 2015, at a total expense of₹55 crores ($7.5 million), in accordance withNair 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 inKerala to date.[16] His son Ganesh Pillai married Anjana Suresh, an engineer, in September 2021.[17]
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