Life of the Richest Man in Asia
Who is Mukesh Ambani? The mainstream media hardly write about him but he is the richest man in Asia and the 10th richest in the world according to Forbes as of December 2019. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos remains at the top spot with a fortune estimated at $110.8 billion, followed by Bill Gates at $106.5 billion. Ambani’s current net worth is $60.4 billion. That’s like 6000 people having $1million combined.
That is also like 3000 Nigerians having N1billion combined. Mad ooh!
Background
Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani (born 19 April 1957) is an Indian business magnate, and the chairman, managing director, and largest shareholder of Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), a Fortune Global 500 company and India’s most valuable company by market value. Mukesh was born in Yemen, Ambani lived only briefly in Yemen because his father decided to move back to India in 1958, to start a trading business that focused on spices and textiles.
His family lived in a modest two-bedroom apartment in Bhuleshwar, Mumbai until the 1970s. The family’s financial status slightly improved when they moved to India but Ambani still lived in a communal society, used public transportation, and never received an allowance.
He received a BE degree in Chemical Engineering from the Institute of Chemical Technology, India. Ambani later enrolled for an MBA at Stanford University but withdrew in 1980 to help his father build Reliance, which at the time was still a small but fast-growing enterprise. Ambani’s father believed that real-life skills were harnessed through experiences and not by sitting in a classroom, so he called him back to India from Stanford to take command of a yarn manufacturing project in his Company.
Ambani’s father believed that real-life skills were harnessed through experiences and not by sitting in a classroom,
From his background, we can say Ambani was born into a relatively middle-class family, they could afford the basic things and later grew beyond.
Career
At age 24, he started to help his father Dhirubhai Ambani run their family business, Reliance Industries Limited. By this time, it has already expanded so that it also deals in refining and petrochemicals. The business also included products and services in the retail and telecommunications industries. At the age of 24, Ambani was given charge of the construction of the Patalganga petrochemical plant when the company was heavily investing in oil refinery and petrochemicals. He also set up Reliance Infocomm Limited (now Reliance Communications Limited), which was focused on information and communications technology initiatives.
In 2004, 47yrs old, he was named one of the world’s most respected business leaders by the professional-services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
Reliance’s Jio (information and communications technology initiatives) has earned a top-five spot in the country’s telecommunication services since its public launch on 5 September 2016.
Ambani directed and led the creation of the world’s largest grassroots petroleum refinery in 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.
Same thing Dangote is trying to build in Lagos… Imagine how Dangote is going to be super-wealthy soonest. Mad money!
Ambani has been credited with creating the globe’s largest start-up petroleum refinery as well as spearheading the creation of several state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities that vastly increased RIL’s production capabilities. In 2006 he was chosen to co-chair the India Economic Summit of the World Economic Forum (WEF) — an international organization made up of some of the world’s prominent business leaders, politicians, policymakers, scholars, philanthropists, trade unionists, and representatives of non-governmental organizations that convenes annually to discuss global commerce, economic development, political concerns, and important social issues.
Family
He married Nita Ambani in 1985, he was 28yrs old and they have two sons; Anant and Akash, and a daughter, Isha.
They live in Antilia, a private 27-storey building in Mumbai valued at US$1 billion that was the most expensive residence in the world at the time it was built. The building requires a staff of 600 for maintenance and includes three helipads, houses a 160 car garage, private movie theater, swimming pool, and fitness center. His wife, Nita, describes him as very quiet, modest, and shy.
Business Tips from the life of Mukesh Ambani to Become Rich
- Mukesh Ambani keeps close watch on business strategy. He does contemplation before making any business moves. He also believes in planning and he plans everything in advance.
- Mukesh Ambani is a good executor & opportunist. He continues striving for excellence.
- Mukesh Ambani remains cool and patient in all situations, he never takes the stress. Mukesh Ambani’s associates say that they have not seen him annoyed or shouting on any person.
- Mukesh Ambani likes to take a morning walk and during the walk, he likes to think about new business ideas or discussion points.
- Mukesh Ambani believes in vegetable diet, he believes vegetable diet gives mental stability
- Sunday is a creative day for Mukesh and he aims to do something creative every Sunday
It’s not solving problems, but it is finding the problems. Once you find the problem, then you solve it- Mukesh Ambani
Narrating his experience as an entrepreneur and listing out the formulae that helped him become a successful corporate leader, Ambani recalled he learned the first important lesson in business from his father, the late Dhirubhai Ambani, founder of Reliance Group. The first piece about entrepreneurship was taught to me by my father after I returned from the US.
I asked him for my roles and responsibilities and my job, and he told me if I want to do a job, I have to be a manager. An entrepreneur will figure out what to do, Ambani said, recalling what his father told him.
Mukesh Ambani is one of those names whose success in the business world is a testament to India’s rise as a business force to reckon with. The story of Reliance gives hope and fortitude to all the entrepreneurs for generations to come. A man with no capital, no connections and an Ivy League degree showed the world what is possible with grit, resilience and hard work, Mukesh Ambani is adding more feathers to the legacy that his father left.
