GEMS Education is exploring a potential $6 billion sale, with potential buyers circling.
Firms such as Bright Horizons, TAL Education and Byju’s, have all been pegged as potential new owners. With interest in the education giant rising, here’s some facts about the Founder and Chairman, Sunny Varkey:
Born: Varkey now 65 years old, was born in Kerala in 1957 and moved to Dubai with his family in 1959.
Education: Varkey did not go beyond high school, his schooling included a Catholic boarding school in Kerala, St. Marys Catholic High School in Dubai, Bembridge School in the UK and British Council, Dubai.
Family: Son of Mariamma Varkey and K.S Varkey, who taught members of the Dubai royal family and started Our Own English High School, Dubai. He is married to Shirley Varkey and has two sons who are also part of the GEMS Education Group, Dino and Jay Varkey.
Work: His employment history includes a role at Standard Chartered Bank, time with a small trading company and maintenance company, as well as experience in the hotel and healthcare industry.
Net Worth: Varkey is worth $1.7 billion (as of October 2022), according to reports.
GEMS: Varkey took over operations of Our Own English High School in 1980, which had around 400 students at the time, and established Global Education Management Systems (GEMS) in 2000.
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