Nixon Shock
ETA Group was started in Dubai in 1973 as a partnership with a friend, Abdullah Al-Ghurair, Chairman of the Al Ghurair Group of companies. The global asset bubble triggered by Nixon Shock catapulted him into a rupee billionaire in the 1970s; and diversification made him a dollar billionaire by the 1990s. Originally a civil construction contractor, ETA-Ascon expanded into trading, elevator and electrical installations, real estate, mechanical engineering, building maintenance, car dealerships, and, most recently, shipping and aviation. It employs over 54,000 people across 16 industry verticals. ETA-Ascon is today the flagship of BSA Rahman's vast industrial empire.