Shashi Ruia and Ravi Ruia, commonly referred to as the Ruia Brothers, are Indian
billionaire
A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least 1,000,000,000, one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e., a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. The ...
s, and the owners of
Essar Group
Essar Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company, founded by Shashi Ruia and Ravi Ruia in 1969. As Essar Global Fund Limited (EGFL), the company controls a number of assets across the core sectors of energy (oil refining, oil and ...
, founded in 1969.
In 2012, ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' named the Ruia brothers as the world's richest Indians with a net worth of US$7 billion.
Ravi Ruia
Ravi Ruia was born in April 1949. He is a mechanical engineer by profession, with a degree from
College of Engineering, Guindy
The College of Engineering, Guindy (CEG) is a public engineering college in Chennai, India and is Asia's oldest technical institution, founded in 1794. It is also the oldest technical institution to be established outside Europe.
History
Due ...
in
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of ...
.
He is married to Madhu, they have two children, and live in Mumbai, India.
Career
Ruia has played a critical role in steering the
Essar Group
Essar Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company, founded by Shashi Ruia and Ravi Ruia in 1969. As Essar Global Fund Limited (EGFL), the company controls a number of assets across the core sectors of energy (oil refining, oil and ...
to its pre-eminent position. Among the industrialists who have bought India's renaissance Ravi Ruia is said to be one of them. He started his career with his family business and worked with Shashi Ruia, his elder brother.
Essar Group is a multinational conglomerate and a leading player in the sectors of steel, oil and gas, power, communications, shipping, ports and logistics, projects and minerals. With operations in more than 20 countries across five continents, the group employs 75,000 people, with revenues of US$17 billion.
Having acquired the Stanlow refinery from Shell in 2011, the Essar Group continued a strategy of international diversification. In April 2013 Ravi Ruia was awarded the Outstanding Contribution to Sustainability award at
The Asian Awards
The Asian Awards is an annual award ceremony for the global Asian community which takes place in the United Kingdom, with 14 categories that include business, philanthropy, entertainment, culture and sport. Nominees are selected by an independen ...
in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
.
It is projected that in FY 2017–18, the aggregated revenues of the portfolio companies is US$15 billion. The international standards of safety, health, environmental protection and corporate governance are maintained by the companies which operate with more than 50 assets across the globe. Essar businesses in the telecom, BPO and oil & gas sectors have involved more than $30 billion in Foreign Direct Investment by monetizing its portfolio to global majors, like
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...
,
Rosneft
PJSC Rosneft Oil Company ( stylized as ROSNEFT) is a Russian integrated energy company headquartered in Moscow. Rosneft specializes in the exploration, extraction, production, refining, transport, and sale of petroleum, natural gas, and petrol ...
and
Trafigura
Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd. is a Singaporean-based Swiss multinational commodity trading company founded in 1993 that trades in base metals and energy. It is the world's largest private metals trader and second-largest oil trader having built or ...
. Essar Energy completed the transaction for the sale of Essar Oil to Rosneft and a consortium led by Trafigura & UCP at an enterprise valuation of US$12.9 billion. This transaction represents Russia's largest ever foreign investment, as well as India's largest Foreign Direct Investment. He was the 12th richest person living in the UK, as in the Sunday Times Rich List 2011. Ruia managed Essar's globalization plans, including new ventures in
South East Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
,
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, and the Middle East. He has received Business
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
Businessman of the Year Award 2010.
In December 2011, India's
Central Bureau of Investigation
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and governme ...
commenced an investigation concerning Ruia for the sale of India's 2G spectrum, which was denied by the Essar Group.
After a lengthy legal process, in December 2017, the Indian Courts acquitted Ruia of any impropriety in the case, holding that the prosecution had "miserably failed to prove any charge against any of the accused".
See also
*
David and Frederick Barclay
Sir David Rowat Barclay (27 October 1934 – 10 January 2021) and Sir Frederick Hugh Barclay (born 27 October 1934), commonly referred to as the "Barclay Brothers" or "Barclay Twins", were British billionaires. They were identical twin brothers ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruia, Sashi and Ravi
Living people
Rajasthani people
Businesspeople from Mumbai
2G spectrum case
Indian businesspeople in the oil industry
Business duos
Indian billionaires
Year of birth missing (living people)
People charged with corruption