Many people are born poor and die poor, but Rizwan Sajan saw things differently. His hardship and success show that while being born into a poor family is unavoidable, dying poor is within one's control.
Humble Beginnings
Born in the Ghatkopar slums of Mumbai, Rizwan Sajan began as a street vendor, selling firecrackers and books and delivering milk to help support his family. After his father died when Sajan was 16, he went to work at his uncle's building materials store in Kuwait in 1981, rising quickly from trainee salesman to manager.
Building a Billion-Dollar Group
Many entrepreneurs have built successful companies despite adversity and limited means, and first-generation entrepreneur Rizwan Sajan, founder and chairman of Danube Group, is one of them. Having started as a salesman, the non-resident Indian businessman is now among the wealthiest Indians in Dubai. His billion-dollar Danube Group is among the biggest building materials companies in the world, with branches across the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and India.
He founded Danube Group in 1993, and it has grown into a diversified conglomerate with interests in real estate development, home décor and building materials. The Group generated an annual turnover of USD 2 billion last year, and Sajan's personal net worth is estimated in the billions of dirhams, according to the UAE Ministry of Economy's website.
