Dr. Azad Moopen: The Doctor Who Built Aster DM Healthcare From a Two-Room Clinic

Dr. Azad Moopen is the Indian-born physician who founded Aster DM Healthcare in Dubai in 1987, starting with a single-doctor clinic in a two-room apartment in Bur Dubai. Today Aster is one of the largest healthcare groups in the Middle East and India, with more than 1,000 facilities and over 65,000 people. His net worth is estimated at $2 billion, according to Forbes in August 2026.

Born in Kerala, India, in 1953, Moopen was a gold-medallist medical graduate who taught at a medical college before moving to Dubai. He saw that expatriate workers had little access to quality, affordable healthcare — and built a business around fixing that. Nearly four decades later, he still leads the company as Founder, Chairman and Managing Director, while his daughter Alisha runs the Gulf business.

Dr. Azad Moopen at a Glance

• Full name: Dr. Azad Moopen
• Born: 1953, Kalpakanchery, Malappuram district, Kerala, India
• Age: 73 (as of 2026)
• Education: MBBS (gold medal) and MD in General Medicine, Calicut Medical College; Diploma in Chest Diseases, Delhi University
• Best known for: Founder, Chairman and Managing Director, Aster DM Healthcare
• Net worth: $2 billion (Forbes, August 2026)
• Family: Wife Naseera Azad; three daughters — Alisha, Ziham and Zeba

Early Life and Education

Azad Moopen was born in 1953 in Kalpakanchery, a village in Kerala’s Malappuram district. He was the youngest of five siblings. His father, Ahmed Unni Moopen, was a freedom fighter and social leader who helped build the village’s hospital, school and post office. His father died when Azad was barely 15.

He studied medicine at Government Medical College, Kozhikode (Calicut Medical College), where he passed his MBBS with a gold medal and completed an MD in general medicine. He also earned a diploma in chest diseases from Delhi University. In 1982, he joined Calicut Medical College as a medical lecturer, teaching there for five years.

From Lecturer to Dubai

In 1987, Moopen came to Dubai on a philanthropic errand — to raise funds for his village back in Kerala. The visit changed his plans. He saw that the city’s large expatriate workforce had almost no access to good, affordable healthcare, and decided to stay.

In December 1987, he leased a two-room apartment in Bur Dubai and opened the Al Rafa Polyclinic. He was the only doctor on the premises. It was a one-man practice: he saw patients, ran the clinic and built trust one visit at a time.

Building Aster DM Healthcare

From that single clinic, Aster grew steadily — first more clinics, then pharmacies, diagnostic centres and hospitals. A defining chapter was the Malabar Institute of Medical Sciences (MIMS) in Calicut, the hospital Moopen helped build in Kerala, where patients had previously travelled hundreds of kilometres for advanced treatment.

Today Aster DM Healthcare is one of the largest integrated healthcare providers in the GCC and India. In the GCC alone it operates 15 hospitals, 126 clinics and 338 pharmacies across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Jordan, serving more than 17 million patients a year. Across seven countries the group runs over 1,000 facilities and employs more than 65,000 people, including over 5,600 doctors and 10,000 nurses.

Aster Today: Demerger and New Investment

In 2024-25, Aster demerged into two separately listed entities. The GCC business is now backed by a Fajr Capital-led consortium and led by his daughter Alisha Moopen as Managing Director and Group CEO, while the India business is in the middle of a transformative merger.

The group is still expanding. In early 2026, Aster announced major investments of $272.3 million in the UAE and $250 million in Saudi Arabia, along with surgical robots and AI tools in its hospitals. In September 2026, Forbes Middle East ranked Moopen third on its Top Healthcare Leaders 2026 founders list.

Philanthropy

Healthcare as a service, not just a business, has been Moopen’s public message throughout his career. In 2017, he founded Aster Volunteers, which has grown into a force of more than 85,000 volunteers and impacted over 7 million lives through healthcare, education, disaster response and social empowerment work.

Through the Aster DM Foundation and the Dr. Moopen Family Foundation, he has pledged 20 percent of his personal wealth to philanthropy. His work has earned him India’s Padma Shri (2011) and the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (2010).

Dr. Azad Moopen Net Worth

Forbes estimated Azad Moopen’s net worth at $2 billion as of August 2026. His wealth comes mainly from his stake in Aster DM Healthcare, whose shares are listed in India and, after the demerger, in the Gulf.

Estimates vary with share prices: Forbes’ real-time tracker has put him near $1.78 billion, while older lists put him around $1 billion in 2024. Some bio sites still quote $5.9 billion — an outdated 2017 Forbes figure. The $2 billion Forbes estimate from August 2026 is the most recent reliable figure.

Personal Life

Moopen is married to Naseera Azad, and they have three daughters: Alisha, Ziham and Zeba. Alisha Moopen, the eldest, is Managing Director and Group CEO of Aster’s GCC business. He keeps a low public profile and is known for long hours and hands-on involvement in his hospitals. He still cites his Kerala village roots — and the father who built its hospital — as why he went into medicine.

Frequently Asked Questions