| Zia Yusuf | |
| Office: | Chairman of Reform UK |
| Leader: | Nigel Farage |
| Term Start: | 11 July 2024 |
| Predecessor: | Richard Tice |
| Birth Name: | Muhammad Ziauddin Yusuf |
| Birth Place: | Bellshill, Scotland |
| Alma Mater: | London School of Economics |
| Occupation: | Businessman |
| Party: | Reform UK |
| Otherparty: | Conservative (until August 2024) |
Muhammad Ziauddin Yusuf (born 1986–87) is a multi-millionaire British businessman and political campaigner who has been the Chairman of Reform UK, a right-wing populist political party, since 11 July 2024.[1]
Muhammad Ziauddin Yusuf[2] was born in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, Scotland.[3] His parents migrated from Sri Lanka to the UK in the 1980s, and both worked for the NHS. His father is a doctor and his mother is a nurse.[4]
Yusuf was educated at the fee-charging Hampton School in west London, where he won a 50% scholarship and met his future business partner, Alex Macdonald.[5] Yusuf earned a BSc in international relations from the London School of Economics in 2009.[6] [7]
Yusuf worked for Goldman Sachs, rising to executive director.
In 2014, Yusuf and Macdonald founded a luxury concierge company, Velocity Black, of which he was the CEO.[8] In 2023, they sold the company to Capital One for £233 million, and Yusuf made an estimated £31 million.[9] [10]
Yusuf first met Nigel Farage at a cocktail party hosted by the Eurosceptic millionaire Stuart Wheeler.[11] After selling his business in 2023, he subsequently turned to politics and became the largest donor to Reform UK in the run-up to the 2024 general election.[12] Nigel Farage has suggested that Yusuf might one day lead Reform UK. In June 2024, Yusuf spoke at the NEC in Birmingham.
On 11 July 2024, he succeeded Richard Tice as Chairman of Reform UK.[13]
Yusuf, despite a major donation to Reform UK in June 2024, was a paid-up member of the Conservative Party, until August 2024.[14]
Yusuf describes himself as a "British Muslim patriot".[15]