Akshay Dosaj is the managing director of Purple Honey Group, a company that creates and owns restaurant brands in the UAE. The British entrepreneur of Indian origin is behind popular restaurants such as Biryani Pot, Coriander, Zaytinya and Tamba. The 34-year-old currently lives in Abu Dhabi with his wife, four-year-old son, one-year-old daughter and their dog.
How did your upbringing shape your attitude towards money?
My mum and dad worked very hard to give us the best education that money can buy from a young age. I grew up realising the importance of hard work. I’ve also been brought up with the attitude that money is meaningless unless you have health, friends and family to enjoy it. Yes, you get to work hard to make money, but I’ve been brought up remembering the importance of being happy and healthy.
How much did you get paid for your first job?
Probably nothing, as I used to work for my father. I was 11 and my father had a number of little shops including a grocery shop or video shop. I used to go there to learn.
Are you spender or saver?
I enjoy spending on other people. I like to spend money on my wife, my family and kids, but not on myself. I don’t believe in saving money, but in investing it.
What is your most cherished purchase?
My first property. I bought a flat in London around four to five years ago. It made a good return. I bought it at a good time and a good price. I still own it today.
Where do you save your money?
In terms of savings, I have a mixture of fixed deposits, but I am a believer in assets. I’m a firm believer in the London property market in particular, or buying assets to make money with.
Do you prefer paying by credit card or in cash?
Credit card, so I can get air miles. I also don’t like having a big thick wallet. I like having a thin wallet. A credit card also helps me to keep track of what I spend.
What has been your best investment?
Genuinely, it will be my property. But, the best investment is a seven-week holiday I took with my wife. That paid dividends. We went to Kenya, Tanzania, Italy, the UK and the Maldives.
What do you most regret spending money on?
I love watches and I still do. The first watch I was very excited about it. I was looking at it every day. It wasn’t the same case for the second watch or my third watch and the other watches that I bought after that.
What financial advice would you offer your younger self?
Learn how to invest in the stock market, even at the age of 11 or 12. I will encourage my son to learn this as early as possible. It doesn’t have to be real money, there are some programmes that teach people about stocks and how the market works.
Do you have a plan for the future?
Yes, I have milestones. I certainly want to expand my business. I want our brands to expand in the region and also go global, especially Biryani Pot and Tamba. My dream is to see 20,000 Biryani Pots around the world.
If you won Dh1m, what would you do with it?
I would go on a family holiday. It would include my family, my sisters and my wife’s family. We would all go for a nice family holiday together. This will not take up the whole amount – the rest, as we are in Ramadan, I would give it to charity to people who need it, especially children in need.
What would you raid your savings account for?
I would like to one day own a beautiful house on the beach. I haven’t thought about anywhere in particular. But it would be nice to be in the south of Italy or the south of France.
selgazzar@thenational.ae
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
ALL THE RESULTS
Bantamweight
Siyovush Gulmomdov (TJK) bt Rey Nacionales (PHI) by decision.
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) bt Hussein Fakhir Abed (SYR) by submission.
Catch 74kg
Omar Hussein (JOR) bt Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) by decision.
Strawweight (Female)
Seo Ye-dam (KOR) bt Weronika Zygmunt (POL) by decision.
Featherweight
Kaan Ofli (TUR) bt Walid Laidi (ALG) by TKO.
Lightweight
Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW) bt Leandro Martins (BRA) by TKO.
Welterweight
Ahmad Labban (LEB) bt Sofiane Benchohra (ALG) by TKO.
Bantamweight
Jaures Dea (CAM) v Nawras Abzakh (JOR) no contest.
Lightweight
Mohammed Yahya (UAE) bt Glen Ranillo (PHI) by TKO round 1.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) bt Aidan Aguilera (AUS) by TKO round 1.
Welterweight
Mounir Lazzez (TUN) bt Sasha Palatkinov (HKG) by TKO round 1.
Featherweight title bout
Romando Dy (PHI) v Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) by KO round 1.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The specs
Price: From Dh180,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged and supercharged in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 320hp @ 5,700rpm
Torque: 400Nm @ 2,200rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.7L / 100km
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Company%20Profile
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