Mukesh Ambani

Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries

Net worth: US$31.1 billion (28 April 2017)

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. He holds a 44.7% stake in the company. RIL deals mainly in refining, petrochemicals, and in the oil and gas sectors. Reliance Retail Ltd., another subsidiary, is the largest retailer in India.

He is the elder son of the late Dhirubhai Ambani and Kokilaben Ambani and the brother of Anil Ambani. In 2016, he was ranked 38, and is the only Indian businessman, on Forbes' list of the world's most powerful people. As of 2016, Ambani has consistently held the title of India's richest person on the magazine's list for ten years. 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. He resides at the Antilia Building, one of the world's most expensive private residences. Its value is close to $1 Billion. As of 2015, Ambani ranked fifth among India's philanthropists, according to China’s Hurun Research Institute.

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. 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.

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

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.

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.

In February 2016, Mukesh Ambani-led Jio launched its own 4G smartphone brand named LYF. In June 2016, it was India's third-largest-selling mobile phone brand.

Hundred million users in 170 days is just the beginning for Reliance Jio, promoted by India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, as it promises to offer more, cutting into rivals’ space and changing the way India uses data. Ambani proudly announced that India is the number one country in data usage. Jio users alone consume 33 million GB of data every day, he said. That’s more than the entire data consumption of the US, and 50% more than that of China. The Jio eco-system consists of apps for payments (through JioMoney), movies and other video content, instant messaging, news, games, shopping, and even booking an Uber ride. Through its mobile wallet—Jio also has a payments bank licence—it will soon add lakhs of merchants on its network and will offer financial services.

2000 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year

2010 Global Vision Award at The Awards Dinner

2010 Business Leader of the Year

2010 Businessman of the Year

2010 School of Engineering and Applied Science Dean's Medal

2010 Ranked 5th-best performing global CEO

2010 Global Leadership Award

2010 Honorary Doctorate (Doctor of Science)

2013 Millennium Business Leader of the Decade at Indian Affairs India Leadership Conclave Awards

2016 Foreign member, U. S. National Academy of Engineering

2016 Othmer Gold Medal