Middle East retail king M.A. Yusuff Ali presides almost $8 billion (2025 revenue) LuLu Retail, with 267 hypermarkets in the GCC. Hailing from a village in Kerala state in south India, Yusuff Ali left for Abu Dhabi in 1973 to join his uncle's small distribution business. In 2024, Yusuff Ali listed the retail business on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, raising $1.7 billion. Yusuff Ali has a minority stake in Cochin International Airport and sits on its board. The airport runs on solar energy. Other assets include the Waldorf Astoria in Scotland and the Great Scotland Yard Hotel, the former headquarters of the U.K. Metropolitan Police.