Looking at Mukesh Ambani's life journey on his 61st birthday
Mukesh Ambani is one name that demands respect and envy at the same time. As India's richest businessman, thousands want to live his extra-ordinary life, and an equal number aspire to become as successful as he is. The largest shareholder of Fortune 500 company Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), turns 61 today. On his birthday, here's looking at his life, his empire and much more.
While most of us know Mukesh Ambani translates to money in jargon, his net worth of $40.3 billion is enough to sustain the Indian government for 20 days. In Forbes 2018 billionaires list, Mukesh Ambani featured as the richest Indian and 19th globally. The magazine termed Reliance, which generates $51 billion revenue, India's most valuable company.
Speaking about the humongous success of Reliance, Mukesh Ambani had once said, "It is a matter of great pride for me that, since Reliance's IPO in 1977, our shareholders' money has doubled every two and a half years, for the last 40 years."
Mukesh Ambani lived with his family in a two-bedroom flat in Mumbai, before father Dhirubhai Ambani purchased a 14-floor apartment in Colaba. Notably, he could not clear IIT-JEE, back in the day. He has a degree in Chemical Engineering from Institute of Chemical Technology (UDCT), Matunga. Mukesh Ambani dropped out of his MBA from Stanford to build Reliance with his father.
He now lives in the world's most expensive house. The 27-storey Antilia, spread over 400,000 sq ft, is more spacious than Palace of Versailles, France. Built mostly on glass, Antilia is the first billion-dollar home, with 600 employees taking care of it. It has a garden, 50-person home-theater, a health spa, a salon, a ballroom, various swimming pools, yoga room, a snow room, and above all a helipad.
Nita Ambani had impressed her in-laws long before she met her husband, Mukesh Ambani. He was in awe of young Nita's dancing skills, and her passion for teaching. Despite working late, young Mukesh Ambani kept romance with Nita Ambani alive. Famously, one day when stuck in Mumbai traffic, Mukesh popped the question inside the car amid screaming horns; Nita said yes.
In 2014, Mukesh Ambani gave 0.4% of his wealth, amounting to Rs. 603 crore, to philanthropy. Reliance Foundation, headed by Nita Ambani, works diligently to improve lives in rural India. Apart from the rural transformation, it also focuses on health-care, education, disaster response, cultural revival, and urban renewal. Reliance Foundation has been the top CSR spender of India from 2015-2017.
