Owning a Rolls-Royce in India might not be unusual now, but it surely was in the 2000s. Probably for this reason, the salesperson suggested that Joy Alukkas walk out of the Rolls-Royce dealership and go check out vehicles at a nearby Mitsubishi store. The billionaire, India’s 50th richest person, owns the Joyalukkas Group, the country’s most prominent jewellery brand.
The 67-year-old recently recalled an incident when he went to have a closer look at a Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph that he saw in a Dubai showroom. However, the salesperson turned him away, possibly assuming he wasn’t a potential buyer.
The real-time net worth of Alukkas, as per Forbes, is $4.4 billion.
In an interview with the CNBC-TV18 YouTube channel, the businessman from Kerala said that he visited the Rolls-Royce dealership in Dubai in 2000.
Alukkas remarked, “I said I want to see the car, a Rolls Royce.”
The person at the showroom then reportedly told him, “No, no, no. If you want to buy a car, you go to the Mitsubishi showroom, you will get a car there.”
“Then I thought… I felt ashamed of this type of behaviour I decided to buy a car… the same car. I purchased it,” Alukkas said.
Even though reservations were necessary for Rolls-Royce purchases, Alukkas persuaded the dealership and was able to pick up the vehicle, only to be met with an upsetting reality.
He didn’t really need the vehicle, therefore the choice was made on the spur of the moment.
Alukkas decided to give the car to the first person to buy 500 AED worth of gold from his UAE business.
The news caused quite a stir in the area because it marked the first time a Rolls-Royce was actually given away in a raffle draw.
However, the emerging Alukkas Jewellery quickly became a phenomenon, propelling the company to become one of West Asia’s top gold sellers.
Alukkas reportedly added a Rs 6 crore luxury vehicle, a Rolls-Royce Cullinan, to his fleet of luxury cars in March of this year.
In 1987, Alukkas travelled to Abu Dhabi to launch his family’s first international business.
He then left the family’s jewellery business to start his own Joyalukkas label.
Currently, Alukkas is the owner of the Joyalukkas Group, a jewellery retailer having more than 100 stores in India and 60 abroad.
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