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 fow24news.com' 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.
Mukesh Dhirubhai 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. 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.
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. He received his BE degree in Chemical Engineering from the Institute of Chemical Technology(UDCT), Matunga. 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.
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.
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.
In February 2014, an FIR has been filed against Mukesh Ambani for alleged irregularities in the pricing of natural gas from K G Basin. Arvind Kejriwal (Kapil Mishra fame), 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. Kejriwal has asked both Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi to clear their stand on the gas pricing issue. 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.
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.
- Member of Board of Governors Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai
- Chairman, managing director, Chairman of Finance Committee and Member of Employees Stock Compensation Committee, Reliance Industries Limited
- Former chairman, Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited
- Former vice-chairman, Reliance Petroleum
- Chairman of the board, Reliance Petroleum
- Chairman and Chairman of Audit Committee, Reliance Retail Limited.
- Chairman, Reliance Exploration and Production DMCC
- Former Director, Member of Credit Committee and Member of Compensation & Benefits Committee, Bank of America Corporation
- President, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat
| Year of Award or Honor | Name of Award or Honor | Awarding Organization |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year | Ernst & Young India |
| 2010 | Global Vision Award at The Awards Dinner | Asia Society |
| 2010 | Business Leader of the Year | NDTV India |
| 2010 | Businessman of the Year | Financial Chronicle |
| 2010 | School of Engineering and Applied Science Dean's Medal | University of Pennsylvania |
| 2010 | ranked 5th-best performing global CEO | Harvard Business Review |
| 2010 | Global Leadership Award | Business Council for International Understanding |
| 2010 | Honorary Doctorate (Doctor of Science) | M. S. University of Baroda |
| 2013 | Millennium Business Leader of the Decade at Indian Affairs India Leadership Conclave Awards 2013) | India Leadership Conclave & Indian Affairs Business Leadership Awards |
| 2016 | Foreign member, U. S. National Academy of Engineering | National Academy of Engineering |
| 2016 | Othmer Gold Medal | Chemical Heritage Foundation |
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. This move kept his salary capped at ₹150 million for the fourth year in a row.
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