Muthoot family, Yusuff Ali and 6 other Malayalis make their mark on Forbes India 2025 rich list

Even as India’s richest faced a $100 billion decline this year, Malayali business leaders continued to stand out. Eight prominent figures from Kerala retained their wealth and influence, shaping the nation’s top business circles.

The Muthoot Family led with $10.4 billion through Muthoot Finance, showing Kerala’s strong presence among India’s wealthiest despite market turbulence.

Retail giant M.A. Yusuff Ali earned $5.85 billion from Lulu Retail Holdings, while Joy Alukkas had $5.3 billion from Joyalukkas India.

Other top earners

Ravi Pillai of the RP Group reached $4.1 billion in construction and engineering, followed by Sunny Varkey of GEMS Education with $4 billion.

Senapathy (Kris) Gopalakrishnan made $3.7 billion through Infosys. Sobha’s P.N.C. Menon earned $3.6 billion, and jewellery icon T.S. Kalyanaraman secured $3.25 billion through Kalyan Jewellers India.

Resilience amid losses

Even as India’s richest saw a 9 percent wealth decline, Kerala’s business leaders held their ground, reflecting their enduring enterprise and influence in the country’s top business circles.

Recently, Joy Alukkas had claimed the top spot among Malayalis in Forbes’ real-time global billionaire ranking. However, Yusuff Ali later reclaimed the top position.