Dubai tycoon reveals secret to thriving, not surviving

TOURANI TALKS BUSINESS AND HOW HE BUILT DH10M EMIRATES HILLS MANSION

- BY MANJUSHA RADHAKRISHNAN

We're all a collection of neurons, electrons, protons and morons,” says Mahesh Tourani with a sly grin, as he lounges inside his Dh200 million Emirates Hills mansion.

This Dubai-based tycoon doesn’t mince words. He doesn’t need to - not when he’s built empires across trading, finance, real estate, and technology, and yet declares, “I'm not a hustler, not a survivor. I’m a thriver.”

Tourani was among the first few Indians to build a Dh10 million mansion in Jumeirah, back when others were stopping at a million. “Everyone said I had lost it,” he recalls. “But my thought was simple — I want to live a good life every day till I die. If I can’t buy a great house, I’m going to build one.”

Bold bets

That laser-sharp clarity has guided Tourani since his early days when his dad’s death forced him to abandon his Harvard dreams and join the family’s textile business.

“My dad had a few trees. I made it an orchard,” he says, matter-of-factly.