Rizwan Sajan, born in the slums of Ghatkopar in Mumbai, is the richest Indian in Dubai. In 1993, he began his entrepreneurial journey in the UAE with just a few thousand dirhams and turned a small trading company into a Rs 16,709 crore empire. Here is how he did it.
A Billion-Dollar Conglomerate
Rizwan Sajan has a net worth of $2.5 billion (approximately Rs 20,833 crore), according to the UAE's Ministry of Economy. He is the founder and Chairman of Danube Group, a Dubai-based diversified conglomerate with interests in building materials, home décor and real estate development. Beyond the UAE, the Group operates in India, China, Canada, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman, and its annual turnover is $2 billion (approximately Rs 16,709 crore), according to Forbes India.
From School Dropout to Business Leader
Sajan comes from a middle-class family and had to leave school at 16 to become the breadwinner after his father's death. According to Forbes India, he used his father's savings to start a business making box files. His uncle then offered him a job in Kuwait as a trainee salesman, and he quickly rose to become a well-paid manager.
When the Gulf War broke out, Sajan was forced to return to Mumbai. In 1993 he tried his luck in Dubai, founding the trading firm that is now Danube Group. He entered real estate in 2014 with Danube Homes and, in a bid to "democratise luxury", focused on helping expats buy homes instead of renting.
The 1 Per Cent Plan
Central to his success was the "1 per cent plan", in which buyers pay 1% of the total price each month after a small down payment, with the balance due once the building is ready. In an interview with Forbes India, Sajan said buyers would already have paid 50–60% of the price by the time the building was ready for use.
A Family Business
Sajan's only son, Adel Sajan, is Group Managing Director of Danube Group, while his brother Anis Sajan is Vice Chairman of the family conglomerate. Meet the Danube leadership team.
Source: GQ India
