Mukesh Ambani, the Chairman and Managing director of Reliance Industries is the second richest person in Asia with a whopping net worth of around 92 billion US dollars! He was consistently holding the position of the richest person in India until recently when Adani took over the spot in 2021.

The Inspiring Journey of Ambani

The story of Ambani and his empire is very much inspiring. The name Ambani in itself is a household name and a recognized brand throughout the country and whenever there is talk about getting rich, people are swift in using his name.

In this article, I’m going to share with you the real story of Ambani and the multibillion-dollar empire he has been able to construct over the decades.

Early life and education

Ambani was born in the year 1957 to Dhirubhai Ambaniand Kokilaben Ambani. His father was a well-known businessman then and soon after the birth of Mukesh, the family returned to India from Yemen. In 1958, Dhirubhai Ambani started a new business in India and they continued their stay in Mumbai.

Mukesh did his schooling and college studies in Mumbai and has a degree in Chemical Engineering. He got admission to Stanford University to do his MBA. While pursuing the same he had to return to India in 1980 to help his father in setting up a new business in the field of Yarn Industry.

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Life as a new businessman

Mukesh started his carrier as a businessman by helping Reliance set up its yarn manufacturing Industry from scratch. He learned every aspect of running a successful business under the guidance of his father. It is said that Dhirubhai Ambani treated his son as a partner and gave him enough freedom in making important decisions despite the latter being inexperienced and in his early 20s.

In the late 80s, Dhirubhai Ambani suffered a stroke and it gradually became the duty of Mukesh to take control of Reliance Industries which by then had its wings in multiple verticals. Reliance had its presence in the petrochemical industry, Yarn and Textiles, Telecommunication and many more.

Mukesh Ambani at the helm of Reliance Industries

• In the late 80s and 90s, the Reliance Industry was almost entirely managed by Mukesh Ambani. After Dhirubhai Ambani’s death in 2002, there existed tension between Mukesh Ambani and his brother Anil Ambani regarding the distribution of wealth.

• Their mother Kokilaben came to the rescue and the two brothers got their fair shares of companies. Mukesh Ambani received control of Reliance Industries Limited and Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited.

• 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.

Jio – The word that overhauled an entire Industry

• Mukesh Ambani announced the rollout of 4G in 2014 and launched JIO in 2016. The advent of Jio was nothing less than a revolution. The telecommunication companies of that time were literally plundering the market by providing 2G and 3G data plans at very expensive rates.

• Mukesh Ambani smelled the opportunity in the market and penetrated it with pure conviction. Jio started giving out unlimited free internet at a very high speed for several months. The competitors never expected this coming this way and took it for granted.

• What India and the telecommunication industry saw after that is history. Multiple telecom operators were pushed to shut down their businesses because of the invincible presence of Jio.

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Life after Jio

• After the advent of Jio, Reliance Industries, literally, is in a constantly bullish world. The LYF phone launched by the Reliance group was a great success during the 2016, 17, and 18 periods. They offered the phone at an effective cost of 0(zero)!

• The years followed gathered extensive international attention and gave way to attracting FDI (Foreign direct investments) in billions of dollars. In 20220-21 MNCs like Facebook started showing interest in Jio and invested billions of dollars in it. This was a great milestone which caused the sudden surge of Reliance’s Stock price in the market.

• Currently, Reliance Industry is the top company in India boasting of having its business in every nook and corner of the country. There is hardly any aspect of the life of a normal Indian not touched by the reliance Industries.

• Reliance has a stunning presence in the media industry. A large network of satellite channels and websites is owned by the company. News 18 network, Moneycontrol website etc the list is quite large.

Ambani’s affinity towards sports and Charity

• Ambani owns the richest IPL franchisee in India. He purchased Mumbai Indians in 2008 and is still one of the strongest teams in the League. He and his family are known for the love they have towards cricket.

• He is also well-known for his generous charity work across India. He is in 5thplace among the top charity workers in the country. He is quite generous in helping people in need.

• At the same time, the Ambanis are also known for the ultra-luxurious lifestyle they lead. They live in a 27-story house named Antilia which was the most expensive private residency at the time of its inauguration. It was valued at 1 billion USD and almost 600 staff work there to maintain the building.

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Future Plans of the Reliance Industry

Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries have plans to expand their presence in various parts of the world. They are also launching 5G network in India. As of October 2022, 5G network has been rolled out in major metro cities in India and Jio is planning to expand its reach to every nook and corner of the country within a couple of years from now.

Jio’s motto while offering 5G is that they provide true 5G while others like airtel aren’t. In August 2022 Jio announced a $25 billion plan for launching 5G. Jio is developing infrastructure throughout the country and is committed to providing 1GB/s data speed even in the remotest of areas in the country.

What makes Reliance and Mukesh Ambani Stand out?

• Sensing opportunity and acting on it at the right time is the most important thing that separates Mukesh from other businessmen. Although there were multiple billionaire businessmen in the country and no apparent dearth of funding for them nobody realized the need for the market and the great opportunity lying in the telecom industry.

• He sensed the opportunity and jumped into the arena with pure dedication and conviction. In the end, he along with the company is enjoying the great results.

• Each and every business aspirant has a lot of things to learn from the story of Mukesh Ambani ranging from how he remains humble to how to act on time on matters sensed of having great potential in the future.