Sunny Varkey is an Indian-born, Dubai-based entrepreneur, philanthropist and educator who is the founder of Global Education Management Systems (GEMS), the world’s largest operator of private K-12 schools.
Wiki/Biography
Sunny Varkey was born in 1957 in Ranni, Kerala, India (age 67 in 2023). When Sonny was two years old, his parents moved to Dubai. In 1981, Sunny was posted to India and attended the Infant Jesus Anglo-Indian Boys School in Kollam, Kerala. Thereafter, he attended JMJ Catholic Boarding School in Mumbai. He later returned to Dubai, where he attended St Mary’s Catholic High School and passed his O-levels, before attending Bembridge School in the UK, where he studied for one year of A-levels. Sunny said in an interview that because there were no A-level schools in Dubai at the time, many Emirati students went to the UK. Talking about this, he said,
After I passed my O-levels, my parents decided to send me to Bembridge College in the Isle of Wight, England, to complete my A-levels. Many Emirati students used to go there to complete their studies as there was no higher education in Dubai at that time. “
Later, he returned to Dubai and completed his A-level course at the British Council.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′10″
Hair Color: Salt and Pepper
Eye color: dark brown
Sunny Varkey poses with Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO
family
Sunny Varkey was born in Kerala to a Syrian Christian family.
Parents and siblings
His father KS Varkey (late) was a banker and educationist. His mother Mariamma Varkey (late) was an educationist. His sister, Susan Matthews, is an educator.
Photos of Sunny Varkey’s parents
wife and children
Sunny Varkey’s husband, Shirley Varkey, works at GEMS Education.
Sunny Varkey and wife Shirley Varkey
His son Jay Varkey is the group executive director of GEMS Education. His other son, Dino Varkey, is the CEO of GEMS Education.
Jay Varkey and his father Sonny Varkey
Photos of Sunny Varkey and his son Dino Varkey
religion
Sunny Varkey is a Christian.
Signature/Autograph
Sonny Varkey’s signature
Profession
banker
After completing his formal education, Sunny joined Standard Chartered Bank, Al Shamal branch in Dubai. Sonny said in an interview that he decided to become a banker rather than help his parents run Our Own English High School, established in Dubai in 1968, because he believed his way of running it would lead to conflict with his parents. After working in the bank for several years, he resigned because the bank’s salary was low and was not enough for Sunny to save money to start a business. Sunny said in an interview,
I was preparing some accounts and quite by chance I found out that my manager had been working in the bank for 22 years and had a monthly salary of AED 6,000. I was shocked and did the math, even if I got a raise over the next ten years, I would never be able to earn Dh10,000 a month. I immediately decided to quit my job and start my own business. “
entrepreneur
Sunny Varkey started a maintenance company called Chicago Maintenance Company in 1978 after quitting his job as a banker. Sonny said he decided to give the company a Western name to attract business from Western companies. In 1979, he founded a trading company called JMJ Trading. In 1980, together with a partner, he opened a hotel called Dubai Plaza, which was later renamed Rydges Plaza Dubai. That same year, Varkey took over control of Our Own English High School from his parents after Dubai Municipality wrote to Varkey’s parents asking them to build appropriate infrastructure to continue teaching. Thereafter, Sunny appointed Qasim Sultan, the then director of Dubai Municipality, as the patron of the school and purchased a piece of land to build some cabins and resumed classes there.
Pictures of our own British high school taken in the 1980s
In 2000, Sunny established GEMS Education Group and established several flagship schools in the UAE. In 2003, Sunny acquired Sheffield School in Hampshire, England. He has since purchased ten more schools in the north of England. In 2004, GEMS Education Group established schools in India and Pakistan. GEMS Education became part of the World Economic Forum’s Global Growth Companies in June 2010. That same year, GEMS became a strategic partner of the Clinton Global Initiative. In 2011, he established a school in Nairobi, Kenya. In 2012, he founded two schools in Chicago. The schools under GEMS Education offer International Baccalaureate (IB), Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) education.
philanthropist
Sunny Varkey founded Varkey GEMS Foundation (now known as Varkey Foundation) in 2010 with the aim of providing free education to the poor and needy. The foundation provides education to one hundred poor children, one of whom attends a school run by GEMS. The Varkey Foundation launched the annual Global Education and Skills Forum in 2013 in partnership with UNESCO and the UAE Ministry of Education. The foundation has since launched a program called “MGCubed – Making Ghana Girls Great” to provide quality education to underprivileged girls. The Varkey Foundation works closely with a number of international NGOs, including UNICEF, the Clinton Global Initiative, Oxfam, Pratham, Dubai Cares and the Brookings Institution.
Awards and Honors
- Global India Business Awards (2007)
- Middle East CEO Awards Corporate Social Responsibility Category (2007)
- Outstanding Asian Businessman of the Year (2007)
- Rajiv Gandhi Outstanding Educator Award (2008)
- Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award (2009)
- Russian Government Public Recognition Award (2011)
- UAE Government Excellence Award (2011)
- Middle East Excellence CEO of the Year (2012) in the Knowledge Development and Education Partnership Category
- Gulf Business Industry Education Business Leader of the Year Award (2012)
- Honorary Doctorate from Heriot-Watt University (2012)
Photos of Sunny Varkey receiving honorary degree
- Arab Business Achievement Awards (2017)
Sunny Varkey wins Arabian Business Achievement Award
- Asia Awards Entrepreneur of the Year (2018)
net worth
As of March 28, 2023, his net worth is estimated to be $3 billion.
Sunny Varkey Net Worth Screenshot
Facts/Trivia
- In 2012, he was appointed as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.
Sunny Varkey holds the certificate he received after becoming a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador
- That same year, Sunny Varkey appeared on the cover of Global Citizen magazine.
Global Citizen magazine cover
- In 2018, Sunny donated $1.4 million to the Kerala Aid Fund.
- Sunny Varkey’s favorite quote is “Even when things get tough, I don’t believe in giving up.”
- Sunny Varkey used to sell fruits when he was a student in Kerala. He said in an interview,
I started selling fruits on the streets of Kerala just to make more money. I have always dreamed of becoming a businessman, it has been my dream since childhood. “
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education