Revision as of 15:04, 25 March 2015

Mukesh Ambani

A profile

India Today

An industrialist

THE ACE OF SPADES because his Midas touch has ensured that his companies keep growing at an exponential rate in spite of a tough business environment. His net worth of $23.6 billion (Rs.1.4 lakh crore) is almost 30 per cent more than that of his nearest rival.

He is India's richest man for eight consecutive years and plans to invest an additional $25 billion (Rs.1.5 lakh crore) in his businesses over the next two years and sits on a pile of cash of Rs.83,000 crore.

He entered the media market with a big bang, engineering a takeover of Network18 group in 2014, and now plans to expand his media empire to emerge as one of India's information and thought leaders.

His expansion into new arenas includes the fledgling Reliance Jio Infocomm, causing a stir in the telecom landscape. The company paid Rs.11,000 crore in spectrum auctions in 2014 to get airwaves in 14 circles, accounting for 70 per cent of the industry's revenues.

Epic ties

He turned venture capitalist in 2013, along with Mahindra & Mahindra boss Anand Mahindra, to back a soon-to-be-launched genre-specific entertainment channel, Epic TV, in his personal capacity. Having made peace with brother Anil Ambani, is stitching together infrastructure-sharing ties with Reliance Communications and Sunil Mittal's Bharti Airtel.

Power show

He got PM Narendra Modi to inaugurate the Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre in Mumbai in October, 2014, during his first visit to the city after the BJP swept the state assembly polls. It included a select gathering of 250 invitees, including tycoons, film stars, cricketers and political honchos.

Wild at heart

Has a hidden passion for wildlife and often takes breaks in sanctuaries such as the Kruger National Park in South Africa, Ranthambore National Park in Sawai Madhopur and Bandhavgarh National Park in Umaria, Madhya Pradesh.

Wife: Nita Ambani

She has emerged as India's most glamorous hostess. Her home, with its art exhibitions and lavish parties, is the new convention centre for the power elite. If you've not been invited to Antilia, you haven't made it yet. She is the face of the IPL's Mumbai Indians and her philanthrophic organisation Reliance Foundation is now working on healthcare, livelihoods and education in 5,500 villages and towns across India.

Qwerty woman

Not one to fancy new gadgets or touch phones, she uses an old Black-Berry with a keypad.

Soccer mom

On the field for 14 hours a day, she often works past midnight, speaking to Indian Soccer League club owners and supervising arrangements.

2014: Nita, Akash and Isha join Reliance boards

Mukesh Ambani's kids join Reliance boards

The Times of India Piyush Pandey, TNN | Oct 12, 2014

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani's twins, son Akash and daughter Isha, were in Oct 2014 inducted into the boards of Reliance Retail and Reliance Jio Infocomm as directors at a board meeting of the two firms. Both companies worth over Rs 75,000 crore are almost fully owned by RIL.

Both firms valued over Rs 75,000 crores are seen as the next big revenue drivers for RIL, as its revenues from its upstream business have fallen and its entry into developing SEZs has failed to take off. RIL still drives most of its revenues from its core refinery and petrochemicals businesses.

Mukesh Ambani's wife, Nita Ambani, was inducted into RIL's board earlier in 2014.

Isha graduated from Yale with double majors in psychology and South Asian Studies. She was a business analyst at McKinsey & Company's New York office before being inducted in RIL group firms' board.

Akash graduated from Brown University with a major in economics and is closely involved in the development of products and digital services applications in Reliance Jio.

See also

The Ambanis <> Anil Ambani <> Mukesh Ambani