Mukesh Ambani

Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani
Born Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani
(1957-04-19) 19 April 1957
Aden, Colony of Aden (now Yemen)[1][2]
Residence Antilia, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Nationality Indian
Alma mater Institute of Chemical Technology (B.E.)
Stanford University (dropped out)[3]
Occupation Chairman and managing director, Reliance Industries
Net worth DecreaseUS$44.7 billion[4] (October 2018)
Spouse(s)
Nita Ambani (m. 1985)
Children 3, including Isha Ambani
Parent(s) Dhirubhai Ambani
Kokilaben Ambani
Relatives Anil Ambani (brother)
Website Mukesh Ambani

Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani (born 19 April 1957) is an Indian business magnate, the chairman, managing director, and the largest shareholder of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), a Fortune Global 500 company and India's most valuable company by its market value.[5]

Mukesh was born in Aden, Yemen and brought up in Mumbai, India. He received his degree in Chemical Engineering from the Institute of Chemical Technology in the early 1970s. Mukesh started working alongside his father Dhirubhai Ambani in their family business, Reliance, since 1981. Reliance Industries Limited deals mainly in refining, petrochemicals, and in the oil and gas sectors. Reliance Retail Ltd., another subsidiary, is the largest retailer in India.[6] The business has expanded over the years to provide products and services like Retail Markets and Telecommunications. Reliance’s Jio has earned a top five spot in the country’s telecommunication services since its public launch on September 5, 2016.

As of 2016, Ambani was ranked 38 and has consistently held the title of being India's richest person on the Forbes magazine's list for the past ten years.[7] He is the only Indian businessman on Forbes' list of the world's most powerful people.[8] As of January 2018, Mukesh Ambani was ranked by Forbes as the 18th-wealthiest person in the world. He surpassed Jack Ma, executive chairman of Alibaba Group, to become Asia's richest person with a net worth of $44.3 billion in July 2018. He is also the wealthiest person in the world outside North America and Europe.[9] As of 2015, Ambani ranked fifth among India's philanthropists, according to China’s Hurun Research Institute.[10]

Through Reliance, he also owns the Indian Premier League franchise Mumbai Indians. In 2012, Forbes named him one of the richest sports owners in the world.[11] He resides at the Antilia Building, one of the world's most expensive private residences with its value reaching $1 billion.[12]

Early life

Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani was born on 19 April 1957 to Dhirubhai Ambani and Kokilaben Ambani in Aden, Yemen. He has three siblings, a younger brother, Anil Ambani and two sisters Dipti Salgaoncar and Nina Kothari.

Mukesh lived briefly in Yemen after his father decided to move back to India in 1958.[13] His family moved from Yemen to India so that his father can start a business in trading spices which later shifted to a business in textiles originally named "Vimal" but later changed to "Only Vimal."[14] The Ambani family lived in a modest two-bedroom apartment in Bhuleshwar, Mumbai until the 1970s.[15] Life was initially hard for the Ambanis when they moved to India because Mukesh had to live in a communal society, use public transportation, and never received an allowance.[16] Dhirubhai later purchased a 14-floor apartment block called 'Sea Wind' in Colaba, where, until recently, Mukesh and Anil lived with their families on different floors.[17]

Mukesh and his siblings were loosely monitored by their father and more by Mahendrabhai, who was their caretaker, during their childhood years. Growing up Mukesh played all kinds of sports like football and hockey, enjoyed annual trips to villages, and explored the different areas of Bombay, which is now renamed to Mumbai, all under the supervision of Mahendrabhai. Dhirubhai cared very little about Mukesh's grades, but he cared more so about his all-around performance.[18]

He attended the Hill Grange High School at Peddar Road, Mumbai, along with his brother and where Anand Jain, his close associate, was his classmate.[19] He received his BE degree in Chemical Engineering from the Institute of Chemical Technology(UDCT), Matunga.[20] Mukesh later enrolled for an MBA at Stanford University but withdrew in 1980 to help his father build Reliance, which at the time was still a small but a fast growing enterprise.[21] Dhirubhai believed that real life skills were harnessed through experiences and not by sitting in a classroom, so he called Mukesh back to India from Stanford to take command of a yarn manufacturing project in his company.[16] Professors like William F. Sharpe and Man Mohan Sharma during Mukesh's college years, had an impact on him because they are "the kinds of professors who made you think out of the box."[18]

Business career

1980s - 1990s

In 1980, the Indian government under Indira Gandhi opened PFY (polyester filament yarn) manufacturing to the private sector. Dhirubhai Ambani applied for a licence to set up a PFY manufacturing plant. Obtaining the licence was a long-drawn-out process requiring a strong connection within the bureaucracy system because the government, at the time, was restricting large-scale manufacturing, making the importation of yarn for the textiles impossible.[22] In spite of stiff competition from Tatas, Birlas and 43 others, Dhirubhai was awarded the licence, more commonly addressed as License Raj.[23] To help him build the PFY plant, Dhirubhai pulled his eldest son Mukesh out of Stanford, where he was studying for his MBA, to work with him in the company. Mukesh then continued to work for Reliance and did not return to his university program after that. He led Reliance's backward integration, where companies own their suppliers to generate more revenue and improve efficiency, in 1981 from textiles into polyester fibers and further into petrochemicals, which the yarns were made from.[5] After joining the company with his father, Rasikbhai Meswani, who was the executive director at the time, was held responsible for Mukesh. Mukesh had been given the opportunity to contribute to the company from his first day where he would daily report to Rasikbhai and take orders from him. The company was being built from scratch with the principle of everybody contributing to the business and not heavily depend on selected individuals. This principle came into play after Rasikbhai's death in 1985 along with Dhirubhai suffering a stroke in 1986 when all the responsibility shifted to Mukesh and Anil.[24] Mukesh Ambani set up Reliance Infocomm Limited (now Reliance Communications Limited), which was focused on information and communications technology initiatives.[25] At the age of 24, Mukesh was given charge of the construction of Patalganga petrochemical plant when the company was heavily investing in oil refinery and petrochemicals.[26] Mukesh's father treated him as a business partner allowing him the freedom to contribute even with little experience.[27]

2000s - Present

On 6 July 2002, Mukesh's father Dhirubhai died after suffering a second stroke in the span of sixteen years.[28] The death of Dhirubhai elevated tensions between the brothers Mukesh and Anil due to Dhirubhai not leaving a will behind for the distribution of the empire in 2004.[29] Kokilaben, their mother, had to intervene to stop the feud, she conclude that the company will split into two where Mukesh will gain control of Reliance Industries Limited and Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited which was later approved by the Bombay High Court in December 2005.[30]

Ambani directed and led the creation of the world's largest grassroots petroleum refinery at Jamnagar, India, which had the capacity to produce 660,000 barrels per day (33 million tonnes per year) in 2010, integrated with petrochemicals, power generation, port and related infrastructure.[31] In December 2013 Ambani announced, at the Progressive Punjab Summit in Mohali, the possibility of a "collaborative venture" with Bharti Airtel in setting up digital infrastructure for the 4G network in India.[32] On 18 June 2014, Mukesh Ambani, addressing the 40th AGM of Reliance Industries, said it will invest Rs 1.8 trillion (short scale) across businesses in the next three years and launch 4G broadband services in 2015.[33] In February 2016, Mukesh Ambani-led Jio launched its own 4G smartphone brand named LYF.[34] In June 2016, it was India's third-largest-selling mobile phone brand.[35] Mukesh's success gradually increased after the release of the service Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, commonly known as Jio, in September 2016, because of the great quality service it provided to users for cheap which Reliance's shares increased.[36] During the 40th annual general meeting of RIL, he announced bonus shares in the ratio of 1:1 which is the country’s largest bonus issue in India, and announced the Jio Phone at an effective price of ₹0.[37] 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.[38]

In February 2014, a First Information Report (FIR) alleging criminal offences was filed against Mukesh Ambani for alleged irregularities in the pricing of natural gas from the KG basin.[39] Arvind Kejriwal, who had a short stint as Delhi's chief minister and had ordered the FIR, has accused various political parties of being silent on the gas price issue.[40] Kejriwal has asked both Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi to clear their stand on the gas pricing issue.[41][42] Kejriwal has alleged that the Centre allowed the price of gas to be inflated to eight dollars a unit though Mukesh Ambani's company spends only one dollar to produce a unit, which meant a loss of Rs. 540 billion to the country annually.[43][44]

Board memberships

Awards and honors

Year of Award or HonorName of Award or HonorAwarding Organization
2000 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year[46] Ernst & Young India
2010 Global Vision Award at The Awards Dinner[47] Asia Society
2010 Business Leader of the Year[48] NDTV India
2010 Businessman of the Year[49] Financial Chronicle
2010 School of Engineering and Applied Science Dean's Medal[50] University of Pennsylvania
2010 ranked 5th-best performing global CEO[51] Harvard Business Review
2010 Global Leadership Award[52] Business Council for International Understanding
2010 Honorary Doctorate (Doctor of Science)[53] M. S. University of Baroda
2013 Millennium Business Leader of the Decade at Indian Affairs India Leadership Conclave Awards 2013)[54] India Leadership Conclave & Indian Affairs Business Leadership Awards
2016 Foreign member, U. S. National Academy of Engineering[55][56] National Academy of Engineering
2016 Othmer Gold Medal[57][58] Chemical Heritage Foundation

Personal life

Mukesh was married to Nita Ambani in 1984 and have two sons, Anant and Akash, and a daughter, Isha.[59] They both first met through Mukesh's father when he attended a dance performance which Nita took part in and carried the idea of arranging Nita and Mukesh's marriage ever since.[60]

They live in a private 27-storey building in Mumbai named Antilia valued at US $1 billion and was the most expensive residence in the world at the time of being built.[12][61] The building stands 570 feet tall, requires a staff of 600 for maintenance, includes three helipads, houses a 160 car garage, private movie theater, swimming pool, fitness center, and many more amenities.[62] In 2007 Mukesh had gifted his wife Nita a $60 million dollar private aircraft, Airbus A-319, for her 44th birthday.[63] The airbus, which has a capacity of 180 passengers, has been custom-fitted to include a fancy living room, bedroom, satellite television, WiFi, sky bar, Jacuzzi, and an office.[64] Mukesh was titled The World's Richest Sports Team Owners after his purchase of the IPL cricket team Mumbai Indians for $111.9 million in 2008.[65][66]

In an interview with Rajdeep Sardesai in March 2017, Mukesh said that his favourite food continued to be idli sambar and his favourite restaurant remains Mysore Café, a restaurant in Kings circle (Mumbai) where he used to eat as a student at UDCT from 1974 to 1979.[67] Mukesh Ambani is a strict vegetarian and teetotaler.[68] He is a very big fan of Bollywood movies where he watches three a week because he says "you need some amount of escapism in life."[29][27]

His wife, Nita, describes Mukesh's nature to be very quiet, modest, and shy.[69] Similar to when Dhirubhai took time out of his busy schedule for his children, Mukesh makes it a top priority to spend quality time with his children and family every Sundays.[70][71]

During the fiscal year ending 31 March 2012, Mukesh 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 44.7% stake in the company.[72] This move kept his salary capped at ₹150 million for the fourth year in a row.[73]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Nolan, Jeannette. "Mukesh Ambani". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  2. ↑ "The Rediff Business Interview/ Mukesh Ambani". Rediff.com. 17 June 1998. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  3. ↑ 'Always invest in businesses of the future and in talent'. Rediff.com. 17 January 2007
  4. ↑ https://www.forbes.com/profile/mukesh-ambani/#4d95dedd214c. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. 1 2 "Mukesh Ambani :: RIL :: Reliance Group of Industries". RIL.com. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2013. 8250964307
  6. ↑ "Ambani tops retailer list, too". Business Standard. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  7. ↑ "Bill Gates richest man in world, Mukesh Ambani at 36th: Forbes". The Economic Times. March 2, 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  8. ↑ "The World's Most Powerful People".
  9. ↑ "Billionaire Mukesh Ambani topples Jack Ma as Asia's richest person - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
  10. ↑ Balachandran, Manu (5 January 2015). "India's biggest philanthropist is seven times more generous than the next". Quartz India. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  11. ↑ Van Riper, Tom. "Mukesh Ambani in photos". Forbes. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  12. 1 2 Magnier, Mark (24 October 2010). "Mumbai billionaire's home boasts 27 floors, ocean and slum views". Los Angeles Times.
  13. ↑ "How Dhirubhai Ambani changed the style of doing business in India". Rediff. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  14. ↑ "Life story of Mukesh Ambani". www.truthofthoughts.com. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  15. ↑ "Reliance didn't grow on permit raj: Anil Ambani". Rediff.com. 11 May 2002. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
  16. 1 2 Giridharadas, Anand. "Meet Mukesh Ambani: India's Richest Man". Retrieved 2018-07-31.
  17. ↑ Yardley, Jim (28 October 2010). "Soaring Above India's Poverty, a 27-Story Home". The New York Times.
  18. 1 2 "Mukesh Ambani on his childhood, youth". Rediff. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  19. ↑ Anand Jain: A bone of contention between the Ambani brothers. India Today. 17 January 2005
  20. ↑ "Mukesh Ambani on his childhood, youth". Mukesh Ambani on his childhood, youth. Rediff.com. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  21. ↑ "Always invest in businesses of the future and in talent". Rediff Business – Interview with Mukesh Ambani, 2007. Rediff.com. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  22. ↑ "India Before 1991: Stories of Life Under the License Raj". Spontaneous Order. 2016-03-30. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  23. ↑ "Reliance Industries – Company Profile". Reliance Industries Ltd. – Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Reliance Industries Ltd. Read more: Reliance Industries Ltd. – Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Reliance Industries Ltd. - Reference for Business. Advameg Inc. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  24. ↑ "Mukesh Ambani – In His Own Words". wealthymatters. 2011-02-04. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  25. ↑ "Reliance Infocomm Ushers a Digital Revolution in India". Press Release by Reliance Infocomm. Reliance Communications. 27 December 2002. Archived from the original on 23 July 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  26. ↑ Poza, Ernesto J. (2009-01-29). Family Business. Cengage Learning. ISBN 032459769X.
  27. 1 2 Giridharadas, Anand. "Meet Mukesh Ambani: India's Richest Man". Retrieved 2018-08-04.
  28. ↑ "Dhirubhai Ambani passes away - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2018-08-04.
  29. 1 2 "An insight into Mukesh Ambani's empire and how he became Asia's richest man". The National. Retrieved 2018-08-04.
  30. ↑ "The Full Story Of The Massive Feud Between The Billionaire Ambani Brothers". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-08-04.
  31. ↑ "Mukesh Ambani :: Reliance Group :: Reliance Petroleum Limited :: Reliance Industries". RIL. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
  32. ↑ "Mukesh Ambani hints at venture between Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel". The Indian Express. 9 December 2013.
  33. ↑ "Reliance 4G services to be launched in 2015: Mukesh Ambani". ABP Live. 18 June 2014.
  34. ↑ Gloria Singh, Surbhi (May 14, 2016). "Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio Infocomm's LYF mobile: A whopping $1 billion brand?". The Financial Express. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  35. ↑ Agarwal, Sapna; Pathak, Kalpana (June 29, 2016). "How Reliance Jio's LYF became India's third largest selling phone brand". Livemint. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  36. ↑ "Analysis | Who Is Mukesh Ambani, Asia's Newest Richest Man?: QuickTake". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-08-04.
  37. ↑ Verma, Swati (9 April 2018). "Macro cues, Q3 earnings and oil prices to sway market this week". Retrieved 9 April 2018 – via The Economic Times.
  38. ↑ Strauss, Marine; Lu, Wei (11 February 2018). "What If the World's Richest Paid for Government Spending?". Bloomberg Politics. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  39. ↑ "Arvind Kejriwal rakes up K G Basin gas pricing, orders FIRs against Moily, Deora, Mukesh Ambani". The Indian Express. 11 February 2014.
  40. ↑ Nair, Anisha (23 February 2014). "Arvind Kejriwal calls BJP, Congress puppets of Mukesh Ambani". news.oneindia.in.
  41. ↑ "Arvind Kejriwal's letter to Mukesh Ambani on gas pricing".
  42. ↑ Ghosh, Deepshikha (21 February 2014). "Clear your stand on Mukesh Ambani: Arvind Kejriwal tells Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi".
  43. ↑ "Arvind Kejriwal fires on all cylinders, now writes to Rahul Gandhi over gas prices involving Mukesh Ambani". India Today. 24 February 2014.
  44. ↑ "Arvind Kejriwal asks Narendra Modi to come clean on gas pricing". DNA India. 21 February 2014.
  45. ↑ "Mukesh Ambani – Executive Profile & Biography". Mukesh Ambani – Executive Profile & Biography – Bloomberg Businessweek. Bloomberg.
  46. ↑ "Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award". Retrieved 10 June 2013.
  47. ↑ Mulgund, Shreyas. "Asia Society Awards Dinner Honors Mukesh Ambani, Jeffrey Immelt, and NY Philharmonic". Press Release on Asia Society. Asia Society. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  48. ↑ Mulgund, Shreyas. "Winners of the NDTV Business Leadership Awards". Winners of the NDTV Business Leadership Awards. NDTV Convergence Limited. Archived from the original on 23 July 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  49. ↑ Mulgund, Shreyas (30 December 2010). "FC Businessman of the Year: Mukesh Ambani". Financial Chronicle. Archived from the original on 23 July 2013.
  50. ↑ "IMukesh Ambani awarded the Dean's Medal by University of Pennsylvania". Mukesh Ambani awarded the Dean's Medal by University of Pennsylvania. FORBES. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
  51. ↑ Mulgund, Shreyas (January 2010). "The 100 Best-Performing CEOs in the World". Harvard Business Review. Harvard Business Publishing. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  52. ↑ "BCIU Presents Dwight D. Eisenhower Global Awards to Mukesh D". Bloomberg. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  53. ↑ "M.S. University Confers Degree of Doctor of Science Honoris Causa To Mukesh Ambani". Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  54. ↑ "Priyanka Chopra, Manish Malhotra, Dr. Mukesh Batra, Ratan Tata, Mukesh Ambani, Dr. Laud, Dr. Mukesh Hariawala, Dilip Surana Among Others to Receive Prestigious India Leadership Conclave Awards 2013".
  55. ↑ "Four Indian American Engineers Among Newly Elected NAE Members". India West. Feb 9, 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  56. ↑ "Mr. Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani". National Academy of Engineering. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  57. ↑ "Mukesh Ambani awarded Othmer Gold Medal for Entrepreneurial Leadership". NetIndian News Network. May 17, 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  58. ↑ "Othmer Gold Medal". Science History Institute. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  59. ↑ "India's young billionaire heirs and heiresses". Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  60. ↑ "Nita Ambani's story, from school teacher to India's wealthiest woman, is worth a read! | Free Press Journal". Free Press Journal. 2017-11-24. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
  61. ↑ Kwek, Glenda (15 October 2010). "India's richest man builds first $1-billion home, Antilia,". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
  62. ↑ Hanrahan, Mark (2012-05-18). "Antilia: Inside Mukesh Ambani's 27-Story Mumbai Residence, The World's First $1 Billion Home (PHOTOS)". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  63. ↑ Editorial, Reuters. "Mukesh Ambani gifts wife jet on birthday". IN. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  64. ↑ "Mukesh Ambani gifts Rs 240 cr jet to wife". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  65. ↑ "Big business and Bollywood grab stakes in IPL". Cricinfo. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  66. ↑ Badenhausen, Kurt. "The World's Richest Sports Team Owners 2018". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  67. ↑ DMello, Yollande (16 October 2011). "Number munching at Cafe Mysore". Mid-Day. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  68. ↑ "Mukesh Ambani is India's richest man for the second year in a row". thomaswhite.com. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  69. ↑ "The private life of Nita Ambani - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  70. ↑ "Unplugged: Mukesh Ambani - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  71. ↑ "Mukesh Ambani on his childhood, youth". Rediff. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  72. ↑ Chu, Patrick; Ismail, Netty (5 March 2012). "Mukesh Ambani Backed by India Power Holdings Proves Asia's Top Billionaire". Bloomberg. Retrieved 22 August 2013. Year 2012.
  73. ↑ "Mukesh Ambani forgoes Rs 23.82 crore from his pay package". The Times of India. 9 May 2012.
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