Mukesh Ambani is the largest shareholder, managing director, and chairman of Reliance Industries Limited. It is considered the most valuable entity in India by market value as it is listed among the Fortune Global 500 company. As of March 2020, Ambani was reported to be the richest businessman in India. At that time, his net worth was estimated to be 51 billion dollars. He represents his country on a global platform as a multi-millionaire business magnate. He is an inspiration and a role model to many young Indians who wish to prosper in the business industry.

A picture of Mukesh Ambani speaking

Early life and education

Mukesh Ambani was born on the 19th of April 1957 to Kokilaben and Dhirubhai Ambani in Yemen. Nonetheless, during those times Yemen was a British colony known as Aden. They briefly lived there until 1958 when Mukesh’s father decided to go back to India. His father had a mission of creating a trading entity that would specialize in dealing with textiles and spices. His family moved to Mumbai where they lived in a luxurious two-bedroom apartment. Even though the financial situation in his family improved, Ambani still chose to use public transportation and lived cheaply. Later, his father bought a fourteen-floor apartment where Ambani and his brother resided with their families.

Mukesh and his brother, Anand Jain, went to Hill Grange High School in Mumbai. He attended the Institute of Chemical Technology where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering.  He later joined Stanford University to pursue a Master’s in Business Administration but dropped out and decided to assist his father in building Reliance. During those years, the company was small and was showing the potential of growing into a large business. 

Career

In the early 1980s, Mukesh’s father was struggling to build the company and he realized that he could not do it alone. Therefore he asked his son, Mukesh, who was still at Stanford University to support him. It was at this time that Mukesh decided to withdraw from school and join his father in establishing the family business. In 1981, Ambani and his father gradually expanded the business to the point where they started dealing with petrochemicals. In the early stage of the business, the family adopted an excellent model of operating a business that contributed much to their success. They allowed everyone to contribute and always discouraged the idea of depending on selected people to run the business. Mukesh’s father was proud of how his son handled the family business and always treated him as a business partner. 

Unfortunately, in 2002, Mukesh’s father died after suffering two strokes. There was tension among family members because Mukesh’s father had not written a will on who will take over the family business. Later in 2005, Mukesh Ambani was awarded full control of their businesses by the Bombay High Court.  In 2013 and 2014, Mukesh announced that he was looking forward to collaborating with Airtel company to set up a 4G network in his country. In 2016, he actualized his ambition and launched a 4G smartphone which later became the second-largest-selling Android phone in India.

Conclusion

Mukesh Ambani is truly an inspiration to many people, not only in India but also across the world. He is an excellent example of an individual dedicated to building and growing a family’s business. One of his greatest attributes that separates him from other businessmen is how he manages to balance family relations and business. It is well known that mixing family relations with business leads to failure, and there are numerous pieces of evidence to prove this. Consequently, he is a figure to be emulated especially for people who run or manage the business of their families. His management skills will always place him on the list of one of the most well-respected businessmen in India and across the globe. 


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