Mukesh Ambani

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Mukesh Ambani
Mukesh Ambani.jpg
Born (1957-04-19) 19 April 1957 (age 67)
Aden, Colony of Aden (now Yemen)[1][2]
Residence Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Nationality Indian
Ethnicity Gujarati[3]
Alma mater Institute of Chemical Technology
Forest School (Walthamstow)
Stanford University (discontinued)[4]
Occupation Chairman of Reliance Industries
Net worth Increase US$22.1 billion (January 2016)[5]
Spouse(s) Nita Ambani
Children Akash Ambani
Anant Ambani
Isha Ambani[6]
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 who is the chairman, managing director and largest shareholder of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), a Fortune Global 500 company and India's second most valuable company by market value.[7][8][9] He resides at the Antilia Building, the world's most expensive property.[10][11] He holds a 44.7% stake in the company.[12] He is the elder son of the late Dhirubhai Ambani and Kokilaben Ambani and the brother of Anil Ambani. RIL deals mainly in refining, petrochemicals, and in the oil and gas sectors. Reliance Retail Ltd., another subsidiary, is the largest retailer in India.[13]

In 2014, he was ranked 36 on Forbes list of the world's most powerful people[5] and in 2010, he was included in Forbes's list of "68 people who matter most".[14] As of 2013, he is India's richest man and second richest man in Asia.[5] Ambani retains his title as India's richest person for the ninth consecutive year.[15] 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.[16][17]

He has served on the board of directors of Bank of America Corporation and the international advisory board of the Council on Foreign Relations. He was the chairman of the board of Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, which is one of the leading business schools in India.

Early life

Mukesh Ambani was born on 19 April 1957 to Dhirubhai Ambani and Kokilaben Ambani. He has a younger brother, Anil Ambani, and two sisters, Dipti Salgaoncar and Nina Kothari. The Ambani family lived in a modest two-bedroom apartment in Bhuleshwar, Mumbai until the 1970s.[18] 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.[19]

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.[20] He received his BE degree in Chemical Engineering from the Institute of Chemical Technology, Matunga.[21] Mukesh later enrolled for an MBA at Stanford University but discontinued the program to help his father build Reliance, which at the time was still a small but fast growing enterprise.[22]

Business career

In 1980, the Indian government under Indira Gandhi opened PFY (polyester filament yarn) manufacturing to the private sector. Dhirubhai Ambani applied for a license to set up a PFY manufacturing plant. In spite of stiff competition from Tatas, Birlas and 43 others, Dhirubhai was awarded the licence.[23] To help him build the PFY plant, Dhirubhai pulled his eldest son Mukesh out of Stanford where he was studying for his MBA. Mukesh Ambani, then discontinued the program to help his father and initiated Reliance's backward integration from textiles into polyester fibres and further into petrochemicals, beginning in 1981.[24]

Mukesh Ambani set up Reliance Infocomm Limited (now Reliance Communications Limited), which was focused on information and communications technology initiatives.[25]

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.[26]

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.[27]

In February 2014, an FIR has been filed against Mukesh Ambani for alleged irregularities in the pricing of natural gas from K G Basin.[28] Arvind Kejriwal, who had a short stint as Delhi's chief minister and had ordered the FIR against has accused various political parties of being silent on the gas price issue.[29] Kejriwal has asked both Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi to clear their stand on the gas pricing issue.[30][31] Kejriwal has alleged that the Centre inflated the price of gas 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.[32][33]

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.[34]

Board memberships

Awards and honors

Year of Award or Honor Name of Award or Honor Awarding Organization
2000 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year[37] Ernst & Young India
2010 Global Vision Award at The Awards Dinner[38] Asia Society
2010 Business Leader of the Year[39] NDTV India
2010 Businessman of the Year[40] Financial Chronicle
2010 School of Engineering and Applied Science Dean's Medal[41] University of Pennsylvania.
2010 Global Leadership Award[42] Business Council for International Understanding
2010 Honorary Doctorate (Doctor of Science)[43] M. S. University of Baroda

Personal life

Mukesh is married to Nita Ambani and has two sons, Anant and Akash, and a daughter, Isha.[44] They live in a private 27-storey building in Mumbai named Antilia valued at US$1 billion and it is said to be one of the most expensive homes ever built.[45][11]

During the fiscal year ending 31 March 2012, Mukesh, it was reported, decided to forgo nearly Rs 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. This move kept his salary capped at Rs 150 million for the fourth year in a row.[46]

See also

References

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  4. 'Always invest in businesses of the future and in talent'. Rediff.com. 17 January 2007
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  15. "Mukesh Ambani richest Indian with wealth of $21 billion: Forbes". CNN-IBN. 25 October 2012
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  20. Anand Jain: A bone of contention between the Ambani brothers. India Today. 17 January 2005
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External links