Apr 19, 2023
By: Malini BhuptaMukesh Ambani, is the eldest son of Dhirubhai Ambani, who founded the Reliance Group in 1958. He is affectionately called MDA in business circles and Muks by close family members.
Credit: Reliance-Industries
India’s richest man, who turns 66 today, was not born in India. He was born in Aden, a British Crown Colony (present day Yemen). His father Dhirubhai Ambani was a gas station attendant back then and was so fearless that he used to swim in the sea with sharks.
Credit: BCCL
Mukesh Ambani’s origins are humble even though he currently lives in a $1 bn mansion called Antilia in Mumbai. His early life was spent in a modest two-room apartment in Mumbai’s crowded Gujarati-dominated area called Bhuleshwar.
Credit: Reliance-Industries
His family and particularly wife Nita Ambani has to keep a strict vigil on him because he is known to indulge in sev puri and chaat from the streets even though meals and snacks come to Maker IV, RIL’s headquarters.
Credit: BCCL
One of his favourite eateries is a modest but popular south Indian eatery called Cafe Mysore in King’s Circle.
Credit: Cafe-Mysore
Mukesh Ambani dropped out of Stanford University in 1980, because he believes real life teaches more than classrooms do. He is a chemical engineer and has passed out from the Institute of Chemical Technology. He went to Hill Grange High School in Peddar Road.
Credit: BCCL
Despite running India’s largest company by revenues and most valued company by market cap, he still takes inputs from other people. He is often sent articles on management by other promoters/business leaders and he often acts on these suggestions to improve processes.
Credit: Reliance-Industries
MDA’s best friends from school and college are now his close business associates. Anand Jain, his best friend, later became a close business associate during the launch of Reliance Infocomm in 2003 which eventually went to his brother Anil when they split after Dhirubhai’s death.
Credit: BCCL
Mukesh’s right hand man is his classmate and close friend Manoj Modi, who joined Reliance Industries in 1980. He is a power to reckon with and is the Albus Dumbledore of Reliance Group. His is the hand that rocks the cradle too.
Credit: Reliance-Industries
He is now working closely with Mukesh Ambani’s three children, who are driving retail, Jio and O2C businesses independently.
Credit: Reliance-Industries
He is now working closely with Mukesh Ambani’s three children, who are driving retail, Jio and O2C businesses independently.
Credit: Reliance-Industries
Mukesh married Nita Ambani in 1985, after Dhirubhai saw her at a function in Mumbai and approached her father Ravindrabhai Dalal. She took her time to say yes as she did not want to be a rich man’s wife only.
Credit: Reliance-Industries
During the high-profile and rather public spat with his brother Anil Ambani back in 2004, Mukesh Ambani relied on his and his father’s close friends. MDA once famously said: “Anil is like a son to me”.
Credit: BCCL
Both brothers divided the empire in 2005 with Mukesh retaining the flagship business (petchem and refining), while Anil Ambani got telecom, financial services and power distribution businesses.
Credit: Reliance-Industries
Prior to the two brothers splitting, both Mukesh and Anil Ambani along with their families lived in Sea Wind, a multi-storied building in Colaba. They occupied different floors of the building while they lived in the same building.
Credit: Reliance-Industries