Mukesh Ambani
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Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani (born 19 April 1957) is an Indian billionaire and businessman who is the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries.<ref name="aboutus2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As of May 2025, he is the richest person in Asia and 13th richest in the world, with a net worth of US$108 billion.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Sometimes characterized as a plutocrat,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> he has attracted both fame and notoriety for reports of market manipulation, political corruption, cronyism, and exploitation.<ref name="auto">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="auto4">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="auto1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="auto3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Early lifeEdit
Ambani was born on 19 April 1957 in the British Crown colony of Aden (present-day Yemen) into a Gujarati Hindu family to Dhirubhai Ambani and Kokilaben Ambani. He has a younger brother Anil Ambani and two sisters, Nina Bhadrashyam Kothari and Dipti Dattaraj Salgaonkar.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The latter was originally named "Vimal" but later changed to "Only Vimal".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His family lived in a modest two-bedroom apartment in Bhuleshwar, Mumbai until the 1970s.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The family's financial status slightly improved when they moved to India but Ambani still lived in a communal society, used public transportation, and never received an allowance.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref> Dhirubhai later purchased a 14-floor apartment block called 'Sea Wind' in Colaba, where Ambani and his brother lived with their families on different floors.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
EducationEdit
Ambani did his primary schooling from the Scindia School, Fort, Gwalior<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and senior secondary schooling from Hill Grange High School at Peddar Road, Mumbai, along with his brother and Anand Jain, who later became his close associate.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After his secondary schooling, he studied at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He then received a BE degree in chemical engineering from the Institute of Chemical Technology.<ref name="childhood">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Ambani later enrolled for an MBA at Stanford University (where Steve Ballmer was his classmate<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>) but withdrew in 1980 to help his father build Reliance, which at the time was still a small but fast-growing enterprise.<ref name="childhood" /> 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.<ref name=":1" />
Ambani was influenced by his teachers William F. Sharpe and Man Mohan Sharma because they are "the kind of professors who made you think out of the box."<ref name="childhood" />
CareerEdit
Mukesh Ambani set up Reliance Infocomm Limited (later Reliance Communications Limited), which was focused on information and communications technology initiatives.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Ambani directed and led the creation of the world's largest grassroots petroleum refinery in Jamnagar, 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In February 2014, a First Information Report (FIR) alleging criminal offences was filed against Ambani for alleged irregularities in the pricing of natural gas from the KG basin.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Ambani was elected as a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2016 for engineering and business leadership in oil refineries, petrochemical products, and related industries.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
As of 2015, Ambani ranked fifth among India's philanthropists, according to China's Hurun Research Institute.<ref name="Balachandran2">Template:Cite news</ref> He was appointed as a Director of Bank of America and became the first non-American to be on its board.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As of 2016, Ambani was ranked as the 36th richest person in the world and has consistently held the title of India's richest person on Forbes magazine's list for the past ten years.<ref name="Forbes20162">Template:Cite news</ref> He is the only Indian businessman on Forbes' list of the world's most powerful people.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He surpassed Jack Ma, executive chairman of Alibaba Group,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> to become Asia's richest person with a net worth of $44.3 billion in July 2018.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He is also the wealthiest person in the world outside North America and Europe.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Through Reliance, Ambani also owns the Indian Premier League franchise Mumbai Indians and is the founder of the Indian Super League, a football league in India.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Board membershipsEdit
- Member of Board of Governors Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai
- Chairman, managing director, Chairman of Finance Committee and Member of Employees Stock Compensation Committee, Reliance Industries Limited
- Former chairman, Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited
- Former vice-chairman, Reliance Petroleum
- Chairman of the board, Reliance Petroleum
- Chairman and Chairman of Audit Committee, Reliance Retail Limited
- Chairman, Reliance Exploration and Production DMCC
- Former director, Member of Credit Committee and Member of Compensation & Benefits Committee, Bank of America Corporation<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- President, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat
- Member of the Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Awards and honorsEdit
| Year of Award or Honor | Name of Award or Honor | Awarding Organization | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
Ernst & Young India |
| 2010 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
Asia Society |
| 2010 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
University of Pennsylvania |
| 2010 | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
Harvard Business Review |
| 2010 | Global Leadership Award<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | Business Council for International Understanding | |
| 2016 | Foreign associate, U.S. National Academy of Engineering<ref name="West">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="NAEMembership">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
National Academy of Engineering |
| 2016 | Othmer Gold Medal<ref name="NetIndian">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="OthmerMedal">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
Chemical Heritage Foundation |
Stock manipulation and penaltyEdit
For manipulating shares of Reliance Petroleum Limited (RPL), Reliance Industries was fined Rs. 950 crores (9.5 billion), split into 447 crores (4.47 billion) in retracted gains and 500 crores (5 billion) in interest in 2007.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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. By Securities 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Personal lifeEdit
He married Nita Ambani in 1985 and they have two sons, Akash (born 23 October 1991) and Anant (born April 10, 1995),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and a daughter, Isha Ambani, who is Akash's twin.<ref name="All About Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's 3 Children: Akash, Isha and Anant">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="marriage" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
They live in Antilia, 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.<ref name="auto2">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="theage1">Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Ambani was titled "The World's Richest Sports Team Owner" after he purchased the IPL cricket team Mumbai Indians for $111.9 million in 2008.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Mukesh Ambani is a strict vegetarian and teetotaler.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
During the fiscal year ending 31 March 2012, he reportedly decided to forgo nearly ₹240 million from his annual pay as chief of Reliance 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This move kept his salary capped at ₹150 million for the fourth year in a row.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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 gearmaker Ericsson. 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.<ref name="sibling_rivalry">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2021, he was the subject of a bomb scare when a green Mahindra Scorpio SUV packed with explosives was found near a Mumbai skyscraper housing Ambani.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2023, he received a death threat via email.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On July 12 to 14, 2024, the wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant was held as a three-day event that took place at the Antilia building and Jio Convention Center in Mumbai.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It had been described as India's "wedding of the year"<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and "India's own royal wedding".<ref name="Ellis-Petersen">Template:Cite news</ref> The New York Times described it as introducing "the world to [India]'s Gilded Age".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Estimates for the wedding's cost range from $300 million<ref name=":3">Template:Cite news</ref> to $600 million,<ref name="Ellis-Petersen"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and had led to criticism regarding wealth inequality in India.<ref name=":5">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Anant Ambani recently donated a crown to Lalbaugcha Raja worth 15 crores.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2024, he acquired a Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft, becoming India's first private owner of the aircraft. Purchased at about Template:INR1000 crores, it is be used by the Ambani family for their long-distance travels.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>