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{{Short description|Indian billionaire businessman}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{Infobox person
| name = B. Ravi Pillai
| image = B. Ravi Pillai (Aug, 2009).jpg
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1953|09|02|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Chavara]], [[Travancore–Cochin|State of Travancore–Cochin]]<br />(present-day [[Kollam district|Kollam]], [[Kerala]]), India
| death_date =
| death_place =
| education = [[Cochin University of Science and Technology|University of Cochin]]
| occupation = {{csv|Founder|Chairman|RP Group}}
| title =
| term =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| known for =
| boards =
| spouse = Geetha Pillai
| children = 2
| relatives = [[Kollam K. Chandrasekhara Pillai]] (uncle)<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.mathrubhumi.com/online/malayalam/news/story/1345645/2011-12-20/kerala | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111220133620/http://www.mathrubhumi.com/online/malayalam/news/story/1345645/2011-12-20/kerala | archive-date=20 December 2011 | title=Kerala News - സി.പി.ഐ.നേതാവ് കെ.സി.പിള്ള അന്തരിച്ചു - India, World News - Mathrubhumi Newspaper Edition }}</ref>
}}

'''B. Ravi Pillai''' (born 2 September 1953) is a Dubai-based Indian billionaire businessman. He is the founder and chairman of the [[RP Group]]. As of 2026, his net worth is estimated at {{currency|4.2|USD}} [[billion]].<ref name="Forbes Profile">{{cite web|title=Forbes profile: Ravi Pillai |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/ravi-pillai/ |website=Forbes |access-date=28 September 2021}}</ref>

==Early life==
Ravi Pillai was born on 2 September 1953 at [[Chavara]],<ref name="Kollam City">{{cite web|url=http://kollamcity.in/b-ravi-pillai |title=Kollam City |publisher=Kollam City |date=2014 |access-date=21 December 2014 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140514120536/http://kollamcity.in/b-ravi-pillai |archive-date=14 May 2014 }}</ref> a coastal town in [[Kollam district|Kollam]], in the state of [[Kerala]] in Kadappa Pillai Veettil family.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.news18.com/news/business/fornes-653183.html |title=Ravi Pillai: From farmer's son to construction tycoon |date=28 November 2013 |publisher=News18}}</ref> He has a degree in Commerce from the [[Cochin University of Science and Technology|University of Cochin]].<ref name="Arabian Business" /><ref name="Kollam City" />

==Career==
During his time at university, he launched his first business, a [[chit fund]] in [[Kollam]] on reportedly borrowed money.<ref name="Rediff">{{cite web | url=http://www.rediff.com/money/slide-show/slide-show-1-ravi-pillai-amazing-journey-of-ambani-of-the-gulf/20111007.htm#2 | title=Rediff | publisher=Rediff | date=7 October 2011 | access-date=21 December 2014}}</ref> Later, he started an engineering contract business and worked for some of the major industrial houses in [[Kerala]] such as [[Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore|Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Limited]], [[Hindustan Newsprint Limited]], and [[Cochin Refineries Limited|Cochin Refineries]].<ref name="Rediff" /> However, a [[labour strike]] forced him to close down his business, after which he went to [[Saudi Arabia]] in 1978 where he started a small trading business.<ref name="Rediff 2">{{cite web | url=http://www.rediff.com/money/slide-show/slide-show-1-ravi-pillai-amazing-journey-of-ambani-of-the-gulf/20111007.htm#4 | title=Rediff 2 | publisher=Rediff 2 | date=7 October 2007 | access-date=21 December 2014}}</ref> Two years later, he moved into construction, and established Nasser S. Al Hajri Corporation (NSH) with 150 employees,<ref name="Rediff 2" /> which has over the years grown to become the flagship company of his business group,<ref name="Kollam City" /><ref name="Rediff 2" /> RP Group, which is known to employ over 70,000 employees across its businesses.<ref name="Arabian Business">{{cite web | url=http://www.arabianbusiness.com/100-most-powerful-indians-in-gulf-475970.html?itemid=475809 | title=Arabian Business | publisher=Arabian Business | date=2014 | access-date=21 December 2014}}</ref> The shopping mall in South Kerala, [[RP Mall, Kollam|RP Mall]] at [[Kollam]] city is owned by Pillai.<ref>{{Cite web|last=admin|date=2020-10-12|title=Tracing The Success Story of Ravi Pillai and The Growth of RP Group of Companies as a Brand|url=https://www.brandzwatch.com/ravi-pillai-growth-of-rp-group-of-companies-as-brand/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101094758/https://www.brandzwatch.com/ravi-pillai-growth-of-rp-group-of-companies-as-brand/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=1 November 2020|access-date=2021-07-18|website=Brandzwatch|language=en}}</ref>

Pillai has expanded his business to other countries including the [[United Arab Emirates]], [[Qatar]], and [[Bahrain]], and has interests in construction, hospitality, steel, cement, and oil and gas industries.<ref name="Kollam City"/> RP Group is known to hold stakes in hotels such as Leela Kovalam, Hotel Raviz,<ref name="Raviz">{{cite web | url=http://theraviz.com/ | title=Raviz | publisher=Raviz | date=2014 | access-date=21 December 2014}}</ref> Kollam, and WelcomHotel Raviz Kadavu,<ref name="RP hotels">{{cite web|url=http://www.rphotels.in/HotelHome.aspx?hid=3 |title=RP hotels |publisher=RP hotels |date=2014 |access-date=21 December 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141221195916/http://www.rphotels.in/HotelHome.aspx?hid=3 |archive-date=21 December 2014 }}</ref> Kozhikode in his home state of Kerala.<ref name="Rediff 3">{{cite web | url=http://www.rediff.com/money/slide-show/slide-show-1-ravi-pillai-amazing-journey-of-ambani-of-the-gulf/20111007.htm#6 | title=Rediff 3 | publisher=Rediff 3 | date=7 October 2011 | access-date=21 December 2014}}</ref> He is involved in health care through Upasana Hospital and Research Centre, a 300-bed multispecialty hospital in Kollam.<ref name="Kollam City" /><ref name="Upasana">{{cite web | url=http://www.upasanahospital.com/ | title=Upasana | publisher=Upasana | date=2014 | access-date=21 December 2014}}</ref>

==Awards and recognition==
Pillai received an honorary doctorate from [[Excelsior College]], New York,<ref name="Arabian Business" /> and was awarded the [[Pravasi Bharatiya Samman]] by the [[Government of India]] in 2008.<ref name="Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs">{{cite web|url=http://moia.gov.in/writereaddata/pdf/recipients_2003_2013.pdf |title=Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs |publisher=Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs |date=2014 |access-date=21 December 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505110411/http://moia.gov.in/writereaddata/pdf/recipients_2003_2013.pdf |archive-date=5 May 2014 }}</ref> In 2010, the Government of India included him in the [[Indian honours system|Republic Day honours]] list for the civilian honour of [[Padma Shri]].<ref name="Padma Shri">{{cite web|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Shri |publisher=Padma Shri |date=2014 |access-date=11 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=15 October 2015 }}</ref>

''[[Arabian Business]]'' ranked him as the fourth most powerful Indian in the [[Middle East]] in 2015.<ref name="Arabian Business" />
[[File:The President, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award winners, at the Valedictory Session of the 6th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas-2008, in New Delhi on January 9, 2008.jpg|thumb|Pillai (2nd from right at front row), other awardees stand with the [[President of India]] after receiving [[Pravasi Bharatiya Samman]]]]

==Personal life==
Ravi Pillai is married to Geetha, and they live in [[Dubai]], United Arab Emirates.<ref name="Forbes Profile" /> They have two children, a son Ganesh Ravi Pillai, and a daughter Arathi Ravi Pillai.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sasthamcotta.com/Padmasree%20Ravi%20Pillai.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=5 November 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151130055300/http://www.sasthamcotta.com/Padmasree%20Ravi%20Pillai.html |archive-date=30 November 2015 }}</ref>

He paid for his daughter Arathi's wedding with Adithya Vishnu at [[Kollam]] in November 2015, at a total expense of {{INR|55 crores}} ($7.5 million), in accordance with [[Nair]] 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 in [[Kerala]] to date.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-03-27 |title=Kerala's richest man spends a massive ₹55 crores on daughter's wedding! |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/etimes/trending/keralas-richest-man-spends-a-massive-55-crores-on-daughters-wedding/articleshow/99027468.cms |access-date=2024-07-07 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref> His son Ganesh Pillai married Anjana Suresh, an engineer, in September 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gabdig.com/55-crore-wedding-arathi-and-adithya/ |title=The Grand Wedding Of Arathi And Adithya Worth ₹55 Crore held in Kerela |website=Gabdig.com |date=29 November 2015 |access-date=25 March 2017}}</ref>

{{commons category}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Trade & Industry}}
{{Portal bar|India}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pillai, B. Ravi}}
[[Category:1953 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in trade and industry]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Kerala]]
[[Category:Indian chief executives]]
[[Category:Indian expatriates in the United Arab Emirates]]
[[Category:People from Kollam district]]
[[Category:Indian billionaires]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian businesspeople]]
[[Category:Recipients of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman]]

B. Ravi Pillai - Revision history

CleanupBot at 07:18, 22 March 2026