Yusuff Ali M.A.

M.A. Yusuff Ali left Kerala for Abu Dhabi in 1973 to join his uncle’s trading business, and went on to build Lulu Group International into one of the Middle East’s largest retail companies. Its LuLu Hypermarket chain operates across the Gulf, with a reported workforce of more than 65,000 people of over 40 nationalities and operations spanning the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and beyond.

In 2019 he became the first person granted the UAE’s permanent-residency “Golden Card,” a recognition of his role in the country’s economy. He opened the landmark LuLu Mall in Kochi in 2013, and in November 2024 listed about a quarter of the group’s retail arm, Lulu Retail Holdings, on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange in one of the emirate’s largest retail IPOs.

Yusuff Ali has been honoured with India’s Padma Shri (2008) and the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, and received the Abu Dhabi Award, the emirate’s highest civilian honour, in 2021. A prominent figure in the Indian diaspora, he is widely known for disaster-relief and community philanthropy across the region and in India.

This profile is an independent editorial compilation drawn from the public record — official company and government sources, national honours, and established news coverage. Inclusion is an editorial selection by this journal; it is not an official state honour and is not a comment on anyone’s private affairs or tax matters. Corrections: admin@federaltaxauthority.org.

Part of Recognized contributors to the UAE — this journal’s directory of Emiratis and long-serving expatriates who helped shape the country.