This Indian Billionaire Was Once Insulted By A Rolls-Royce Salesman

In the 2000s, owning a Rolls-Royce in India was unusual. Well, it arguably still is.

Nevertheless, Joy Alukkas, now the 50th richest person in India, with a net worth of $4.4 billion,  was turned away sometime in the 2000s by a salesperson at a Rolls-Royce showroom in Dubai, assuming he wasn't a potential buyer. 

The 67-year-old who owns one of India's most prominent jewellery brands, Joyalukkas Group, recently narrated this incident in an interview with the CNBC-TV18 YouTube channel. 

Alukkas told the salesman, “I want to see the car, a Rolls-Royce."

The salesman told him, “No, no, no. If you want to buy a car, you go to the Mitsubishi showroom, you will get a car there."

Alukkas added, “Then I thought… I felt ashamed of this type of behaviour so I decided to buy a car… the same car. I purchased it," 

Alukkas obtained a Rolls-Royce despite this but he quickly realised that he didn't really need the car and decided to give it away to the first person to buy 500 AED worth of gold from his UAE business. 

This caused a stir as it was the first time a Rolls-Royce was given away relatively so cheaply in a draw.

It helped Alukkas Jewellery emerge as a phenomenon, making the company become one of West Asia’s top gold sellers.

Alukkas profited immensely. Ironically, he purchased a Rs 6 crore luxury vehicle, a Rolls-Royce Cullinan, in March of this year.

The Alukkas Group:

The Alukkas group began in 1964 with Jos Alukkas opening a small jewellery shop in Thrissur, India. Over time, it has expanded into over 60 large showrooms across India and many more overseas, becoming a leader in South Indian jewellery. The group opened its first overseas store in Abu Dhabi in 1987 and pioneered gold supermarkets. Today, the group is led by Jos Alukkas and his sons, Varghese, Paul, and John.