Mukesh Ambani is the chairman of Reliance Industries Limited, an Indian conglomerate (RIL). He is one of the world’s wealthiest individuals. He is India’s richest man and is often regarded as one of the world’s most powerful figures. The fact that his company is today India’s most valuable corporation in terms of market value demonstrates his genius and success. He joined ‘Reliance Industries’ after finishing his education and aided his father in the construction of a textile factory. He gradually expanded the business to new areas, including petrochemicals, retail, and telecommunications, through hard effort and integrity. Following his father’s death, he and his brother Anil split off, resulting in the company’s partition. His keen business acumen and desire to achieve greater heights made him a role model for India’s aspiring business leaders. Not only for his family, but also for thousands of his stockholders and employees, he has amassed enormous fortune. He is regarded as a living legend in India’s business sector and an inspiration to millions of people around the world.
Childhood and Adolescence
Dhirubhai Ambani and his wife, Kokilaben Ambani, had him on April 19, 1957, in Aden, Yemen. Dipti Salgaoncar and Nina Kothari are his sisters, and Anil Ambani is his younger brother.
Dhirubhai Ambani worked for a company in Yemen before moving to Mumbai in 1958 to start his own spice business. Later, he shifted his concentration to the textile industry and grew to become one of India’s most well-known commercial magnates.
Mukesh, like his brother, had his early education at Mumbai’s ‘Hill Grange High School.’ He went on to Matunga’s ‘Institute Of Chemical Technology,’ where he earned his BE in chemical engineering.
He went on to get a master’s degree in business administration from ‘Stanford University,’ in the United States (MBA). However, he eventually dropped out to help his father build ‘Reliance Industries.’ After returning to the United States, he assisted his father in the establishment of a polyester filament yarn (PFY) production factory. He officially joined the ‘Reliance Industries’ in 1981.
He was the driving force behind Reliance’s backward integration from textiles to polyester fiber and, eventually, petrochemicals. During this time, he oversaw the construction of 51 new world-class production facilities using a variety of technologies, boosting Reliance’s manufacturing capacity.
He also assisted in the founding of ‘Reliance Infocomm Limited,’ a company dedicated to information and communication technology efforts. His younger brother took over the company, which is now known as ‘Reliance Communications Limited,’ after the business was divided between the two brothers.
In 2008, his business, ‘Reliance Industries,’ paid $111.9 million for the Mumbai Indians, a cricket franchise in the ‘Indian Premier League.’
He is now the chairman, managing director, chairman of the ‘Finance Committee,’ and a member of the ‘Reliance Industries Limited Employees Stock Compensation Committee.’
Exploration and production, refining and marketing, petrochemicals, retail, and telecommunications are the five key divisions in which his company currently operates. It is one of the Fortune Global 500 corporations and India’s most valuable company in terms of market capitalization.
He was a member of the ‘Bank of America Corporation’ board of directors as well as the ‘International Advisory Board of the Council on Foreign Relations.’ He has also served on the ‘Board of Indian Institute of Management Bangalore’ (IIMB).
By establishing the digital infrastructure of a 4G network and launching the ‘Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited,’ popularly known as ‘Jio,’ which was made available in September 2016, he transformed Indian network communications.
Many worldwide companies, like ‘BP plc’ (British Petroleum Company plc), ‘Niantic Inc.,’ ‘Network 18,’ and ‘Eros International,’ have worked with his company ‘Reliance.’
Major Projects of Ambani
Jamnagar, India, became home to the world’s largest grassroots petroleum refinery as a result of his concept. Petrochemicals, power generation, a port, and related infrastructure are all incorporated into the refinery.
The founding of ‘Reliance Communications Limited,’ one of the world’s largest and most complicated information and communications technology endeavors, is one of his most remarkable accomplishments.
Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, his company, was one of the first to bring the 4G network to India. The company also offers free Wi-Fi hotspot services, which are available in cities across India.
Achievements & Awards
In 2004, he was honored by ‘Total Telecom’ with the ‘World Communication Award’ for ‘Most Influential Person in Telecommunications.’
The ‘United States-India Business Council Leadership Award’ was bestowed upon him by the ‘United States-India Business Council’ in 2007. In the same year, he received the Gujarat government’s ‘Chitralekha Person of the Year Award.’
In 2010, he was named ‘NDTV India’s Business Leader of the Year’ and ‘Financial Chronicle’s Businessman of the Year.’
The ‘University of Pennsylvania’ awarded him the ‘School of Engineering and Applied Science Dean’s Medal’ in 2010.
He also received the ‘Global Leadership Award’ from the ‘Business Council for International Understanding’ in 2010. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate (Doctor of Science) by the Maharaja Sayajirao University in Baroda in 2010.
On Forbes’ list of the world’s most powerful people in 2014, he was placed 36. He was placed 32 on the same list in 2018.
The ‘Asia Society Leadership Award’ was bestowed upon him by the ‘Asia Society,’ Washington, D.C., USA.
In 2017, he received the ‘ET Business Leader Award’ for ‘Corporate Excellence.’
He was also named one of the ’50 Greatest Leaders of 2018′ by Fortune magazine.
Personal History and Legacy
He has a wife named Nita Ambani. The couple has three children: Anant and Akash, two males, and Isha, a daughter.
In February 2019, he assisted his younger brother Anil Ambani in obtaining a bailout of about 463 crores after the latter was found guilty of contempt of court in connection with a collaboration with ‘Ericsson.’
Estimated Net Worth
Ambani is estimated to be about $100.6 billion.
Trivia
His family currently resides in Mumbai’s ‘Antilia,’ a luxurious 27-story structure. Antilia is thought to be the most expensive residence in history, valued at $1 billion. According to the ‘Robin Hood Index’ published by the US news outlet Bloomberg in 2018, Ambani’s personal wealth could operate the Indian Federal Government for 20 days.