Zia Yusuf

Muhammad Ziauddin "Zia" Yusuf (born October 1986) is a British businessman and political campaigner who has been the Chairman of Reform UK, a right-wing populist political party, since 11 July 2024.

Early life
Muhammad Ziauddin Yusuf was born in Scotland in October 1986. 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.

He was educated at Hampton School in west London, where he met his future business partner, Alex Macdonald. He earned a BSc in international relations from the London School of Economics in 2009.

Career
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. In 2023, they sold the company to Capital One for £233 million, and Yusuf made an estimated £31 million.

Politics
Yusuf was the largest donor to Reform UK in the run-up to the 2024 general election. 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.

Personal life
He is a Muslim. Yusuf describes himself as a "British Muslim patriot".