Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani (born 19 April 1957) is an Indian billionaire and businessman who is the chairman and managing director ofReliance Industries.[4] He is the richest person in Asia and9th richest in the world.[5][6]
Sometimes characterized as aplutocrat,[7] he has attracted both fame and notoriety for reports of market manipulation, political corruption, cronyism, and exploitation.[8][9][10][11][12]
In October 2024, Ambani was ranked 1st on the Forbes list of India's 100 richest tycoons, with a net worth of $119.5 billion.[13]
Early life
Ambani was born on 19 April 1957 in the BritishCrown colony ofAden (present-dayYemen) into aGujaratiHindu family toDhirubhai Ambani and Kokilaben Ambani. He has a younger brotherAnil Ambani and two sisters, Nina Bhadrashyam Kothari and Dipti Dattaraj Salgaonkar.[14]
Ambani lived only briefly in Yemen because his father decided to move back to India in 1958 to start a trading business that focused on spices and textiles.[15] The latter was originally named "Vimal" but later changed to "Only Vimal".[16][17] His family lived in a modest two-bedroom apartment inBhuleshwar,Mumbai until the 1970s.[18] The family's financial status slightly improved when they moved to India but Ambani still lived in acommunal society, usedpublic transportation, and never received an allowance.[19] Dhirubhai later purchased a 14-floor apartment block called 'Sea Wind' inColaba, where Ambani and his brother lived with their families on different floors.[20]
Ambani later enrolled for anMBA atStanford University (whereSteve Ballmer was his classmate[25]) but withdrew in 1980 to help his father build Reliance, which at the time was still a small but fast-growing enterprise.[23] His father felt that real-life skills were harnessed through experiences and not by sitting in a classroom, so he called his son back to India from Stanford to take command of a yarn manufacturing project in his company.[19]
Ambani was influenced by his teachersWilliam F. Sharpe andMan Mohan Sharma because they are "the kind of professors who made you think out of the box."[23]
Career
Mukesh Ambani set up Reliance Infocomm Limited (laterReliance Communications Limited), which was focused on information and communications technology initiatives.[26] At the age of 24, Ambani was given charge of the construction of Patalganga petrochemical plant when the company was heavily investing in oil refinery and petrochemicals.[27]
Ambani directed and led the creation of the world's largest grassroots petroleum refinery inJamnagar, India, which could produce 660,000 barrels per day (33 million tonnes per year) in 2010, integrated with petrochemicals, power generation, port, and related infrastructure.[28] In December 2013, Ambani announced the possibility of a "collaborative venture" with Bharti Airtel in setting up digital infrastructure for the 4G network in India.[29] On 18 June 2014, Ambani said he will invest Rs 1.8 trillion (short scale) across businesses in the next three years and launch 4G broadband services in 2015.[30]
Secretary Clinton meets with India's business leaders. From left to right: Ratan Tata, Charmain of the Tata Group; Secretary Clinton; Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries.
In February 2014, aFirst Information Report (FIR) alleging criminal offences was filed against Ambani for alleged irregularities in the pricing of natural gas from theKG basin.[31]
Ambani was elected as a member of theNational Academy of Engineering in 2016 for engineering and business leadership in oil refineries, petrochemical products, and related industries.[32]
As of 2015, Ambani ranked fifth among India's philanthropists, according to China's Hurun Research Institute.[33] He was appointed as a Director ofBank of America and became the first non-American to be on its board.[34] As of 2016, Ambani was ranked as the 36th richest person in the world and has consistently held the title ofIndia's richest person on Forbes magazine's list for the past ten years.[35] He is the only Indian businessman onForbes' list of the world's most powerful people.[36] He surpassedJack Ma, executive chairman ofAlibaba Group,[37] to become Asia's richest person with a net worth of $44.3 billion in July 2018.[38] He is also the wealthiest person in the world outside North America and Europe.[39]
As of February 2018,Bloomberg's "Robin Hood Index" estimated that Ambani's personal wealth was enough to fund the operations of the Indian federal government for 20 days.[40]
Formanipulating shares ofReliance Petroleum Limited (RPL), Reliance Industries was fined Rs. 950crores (9.5 billion), split into 447 crores (4.47 billion) in retracted gains and 500 crores (5 billion) in interest in 2007.[53] In April 2006, RPL went public as a Reliance subsidiary for Rs. 60 per share. The market crashed by 30% after it floated at roughly Rs. 100, and RPL was back at 60. BySecurities and Exchange Board of India directive, RIL carried out an organised operation with the help of its agents to obtain unauthorised profits from the trading of its formerly listed unit, RPL, which was combined with the former in 2009.[54][55][56][57][58]
Personal life
TheAmbani family at the reception ofDeepika Padukone andRanveer Singh in 2018[59]Mukesh Ambani attending the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre Gala on Day 2
He marriedNita Ambani in 1985 and they have two sons, Akash (born 23 October 1991) and Anant (born April 10, 1995),[60] and a daughter,Isha Ambani, who is Akash's twin.[61][3][62] They met after his father attended a dance performance which Nita took part in and thought of the idea of arranging a marriage between the two.[63]
They live inAntilia, a private 27-storey building in Mumbai, which was valued at US$1 billion and was the most expensive private residence in the world at the time it was built.[64][65] The building requires a staff of 600 for maintenance, and it includes three helipads, a 160-car garage, private movie theatre, swimming pool, and fitness centre.[66]
Ambani was titled "The World's Richest Sports Team Owner" after he purchased theIPL cricket teamMumbai Indians for $111.9 million in 2008.[67][68]
During the fiscal year ending 31 March 2012, he reportedly decided to forgo nearly ₹240 million from his annual pay as chief ofReliance Industries Ltd (RIL). He elected to do this even as RIL's total remuneration packages to its top management personnel increased during that fiscal year. Mukesh Ambani holds a 50.4% stake in the company.[70] This move kept his salary capped at ₹150 million for the fourth year in a row.[71]
In early 2019, a court in Mumbai held his younger brother,Anil Ambani, in criminal contempt for non-payment of personally guaranteed debt Reliance Communications owed to Swedish gearmakerEricsson. Instead of jail time, the court gave Anil a month to come up with the funds. At the end of the month, Mukesh Ambani bailed out his younger brother, paying the debt.[72]In 2021, he was the subject of abomb scare when a greenMahindra ScorpioSUV packed with explosiveswas found near a Mumbai skyscraper housing Ambani.[73] In 2023, he received adeath threat via email.[74]
In 2024 he acquired aBoeing 737 Max 9 aircraft, becoming India's first private owner of the aircraft. Purchased for about Rs 1000 crore, the plane will be used by the Ambani family for their long-distance travels.[84]
