Meet Joy Alukkas, school dropout who became India’s richest jeweler

Joy Alukkas, the chairman and managing director of jewellery retail chain Joyalukkas, has become the richest jeweller in India, according to the Forbes list of 100 richest Indians. Ranked 50, his estimated net worth is $4.4 billion. He climbed 19 notches to improve his ranking from 69th in the previous year to 50th in the latest list. Who is Joy Alukkas?

A school dropout, Alukkas went to the Middle East to open the family's first overseas store in 1987 in Abu Dhabi.(File)
A school dropout, Alukkas went to the Middle East to open the family’s first overseas store in 1987 in Abu Dhabi.(File)

Alukkas is the chairperson of Joyalukkas Group, a multi-national jewellery retail chain. In 1956, Alukkas’ father, Varghese Alukkas, opened the first jewellery store in Kerala’s Thrissur.

A school dropout, Alukkas went to the Middle East to open the family’s first overseas store in 1987 in Abu Dhabi. Later, he broke off to launch his own Joyalukkas brand, which now has 100 outlets spread across India and 60 overseas with over 9000 employees. The group also owns the world’s largest gold jewellery retail outlet in Chennai.

According to the press statement released by the jewellery group, Joyalukkas has reported a turnover of 14,513 crore in FY2023, with a net profit of 899 crore in India. The chairman has planned to take the total India showroom count to 130 and is in the process of expanding its North India footprint.

Alukka’s wife Jolly Joy heads the Joyalukkas Foundation while his son John Paul is managing director of the international jewelry business.

As per the Forbes list, Mukesh Ambani is the richest Indian with a net worth of over 92 billion dollars. Gautam Adani, the richest Indian last year, slipped to the second spot.

The top 10 richest in India are:

Mukesh Ambani; US$92 billion

Gautam Adani; $68 billion

Shiv Nadar: $29.3 billion

Savitri Jindal; $24 billion

Radhakishan Damani; $23 billion

Cyrus Poonawalla; $20.7 billion

Hinduja Family; $20 billion

Dilip Shanghvi; $19 billion

Kumar Birla; $17.5 billion

Shapoor Mistry & Family; $16.9 billion

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