Born in a small Kerala village, M.A.Yusuff Ali immigrated to Abu Dhabi in the 1970s to join his family's trading business. His first LuLu store opened at the peak of the Gulf war as purveyor of value-for-money goods. Nowadays his flagship $5 billion (revenues) LuLu Group International has 106 retail outlets in the Middle East, Africa and India. Plus it opened its first mall in southern city of Cochin where he also has a stake in its airport, 2 Marriott hotels and a Grand Hyatt hotel. He lobbied the Abu Dhabi government for a crematorium for Hindus and now heads committee that runs it.