Kabir Mulchandani

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Kabir Mulchandani
Born (1972-10-06) 6 October 1972 (age 52)
NationalityIndian
Education Stanford University, Phillips Exeter Academy
SpouseNadia Zaal
Website kabirmulchandani.com

Kabir Mulchandani is an Indian-born real estate and hospitality businessman and philanthropist. He is the Chairman and Chief Executive of FIVE Holdings, which includes FIVE Hotels and Resorts; FIVE Palm Jumeirah, FIVE Jumeirah Village, FIVE Zurich, FIVE LUXE, and FIVE Music along with The Pacha Group.

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He is ranked number 1626 in the Forbes list of the World’s Billionaires List: The Richest in 2025 with an estimated net worth of $2.2 billion and ranked in this list in 2024. [1]

Career

Mulchandani served at Baron International and Baron Electronics, two Mumbai-based, family-owned firms that specialised in the distribution and sale of consumer electronics. [2]

In 2011, he founded SKAI Holdings, a Dubai-based real estate investment firm.

In 2017, Mulchandani changed his company's name from SKAI to FIVE. [3]

In November 2021, Mulchandani and FIVE Holdings purchased the first ACJ TwoTwenty from Airbus and Comlux Group in Switzerland. [4] [5] [6] The 16-seat jet consists of a dining table for eight passengers, a master suite, and a kitchen, with a full crew on board. [6] The aircraft registered 9H-FIVE, to be pronounced "Nine-Hotel-FIVE" entered the market in May 2023. [7] Combining a bizjet with FIVE hospitality and entertainment. [6] In June 2023, The Guardian named the jet as a private "party jet". [8]

Personal life

In 2012, he married his second wife Nadia Zaal, one of the most influential Emirati women in the GCC, the couple have three sons and one daughter. [9]

Controversies

In 2009, Kabir was arrested in Dubai for a highly publicized case of real estate fraud. He was first let out on bail after 140 days, and later acquitted of all these charges in 2010. [10]

It was found by the Supreme Court of Dubai, claimants accused him in order to avoid honoring their financial obligations. The main allegation was directly dismissed by the Public Prosecutor. [11] The second allegation was heard in Dubai Court and judge concluded that the accused did not deceive the plaintiffs in the civil action and was not satisfied with their statements in this regard and finds no credibility in the statements as they are baseless and without evidence supporting them. [12] He was exonerated and was acquitted from all allegations. [10] [11]

His legal battle with Viceroy over operator rights of the Palm Jumeirah hotel was highly publicized. Viceroy's termination took place on the same day Viceroy's UAE shareholders announced their plans to wholly own the company. Viceroy's web page has a clear note on it distancing itself from the property as it is run today.

References

  1. "Kabir Mulchandani". Forbes. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  2. "The rise and fall of 'Baron' Mulchandani - Economic Times". Archived from the original on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  3. "SKAI Holdings changes name to Five Holdings".
  4. "First ACJ TwoTwenty cabin to be unveiled by Comlux and Five". Business Jet Interiors. 10 February 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  5. "FIVE Hotels' US$70m private jet is open for bookings".
  6. 1 2 3 "FIVE purchases the first Airbus ACJ TwoTwenty from Comlux".
  7. "Dubai luxury hotel firm Five to take VIP A220 from Comlux". Flight Global. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  8. Neate, Rupert; correspondent, Rupert Neate Wealth (10 June 2023). "Disco then shower at 33,000ft: Dubai hotelier launches £10k-an-hour 'party jet'". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 17 July 2023.{{cite news}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  9. "Nadia Zaal".
  10. 1 2 "Indian tycoon cleared of fraud on why the worst is over for property" . Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  11. 1 2 Hope, Bradley (7 January 2011). "Exonerated Indian property tycoon rallies back". The National. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  12. "Kabir Mulchandani". arabianbusiness.com. Retrieved 8 April 2020.