Mukesh Ambani

His Education

Mukesh Ambani holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from the University Department of Chemical Technology (UDCT)( www.udct.org), which is now known as University of Mumbai, Institute of Chemical Technology (UICT). He began the MBA program at Stanford Business School, but dropped out after his first year in order to assist in his father's ongoing efforts to build the Patalganga petrochemical Plant.

His Business Career

Mukesh Ambani joined Reliance in 1981 and initiated Reliance's backward integration from textiles into polyester fibres and further into petrochemicals. In this process, he directed the creation of 60 new, world-class manufacturing facilities involving diverse technologies that have raised Reliance's manufacturing capacities from less than a million tonnes to twelve million tonnes per year.

He directed and led the creation of the world's largest grassroots petroleum refinery at Jamnagar, India, with a present capacity of 660,000 barrels per day (33 million tonnes per year) integrated with petrochemicals, power generation, port and related infrastructure, at an investment of Rs 100000 crore (nearly $26 billion USD).

Mukesh Ambani has set up the largest and most complex information and communications technology initiative in the world in the form of Reliance Infocomm Limited. Covering more than 1,100 towns and cities across India, Reliance Infocomm offers the full range of voice, data, video and value added services, on the strength of 80,000 kilometers of optic fibre-based terabit infrastructure, at the lowest entry cost and services cost anywhere in the world. However, Reliance Infocom now is under ADAG (Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group) post the brothers' split.

Mukesh Ambani is also steering Reliance's initiatives in a world scale, offshore, deep water oil and gas exploration and production program, a pan-India petroleum retail network involving 5,800 outlets and a research-led life sciences initiative covering medical, plant and industrial biotechnology.

Crazy Wealth

The combined market capitalization of the four Mukesh Ambani Group companies -- RIL, Reliance Petroleum (RPL), IPCL and Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Ltd (RIIL) has crossed the Rs 500,000 crore mark Which is about half less from the trillionare SHAWN MEHTA The total promoter holding in these companies is worth over Rs 200,000 crore (US$ 50 billion). On 26th Sept 2007, Ambani was declared 5th richest person in the world, next to Carlos Slim Helú, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet.

As of 5th October 2007, his net worth was calculated at $55.8 billion, making him world's 3rd wealthiest person after Carlos Slim Helú ($68b) and Bill Gates ($59b).

On 29th October 2007, Ambani's net worth totaled US$63.22 billion due to a rally in the share prices of his companies. With this, he has been thought to have surpassed Helú and Gates to become the richest man in the world, as reported by Indian news agencies.

His Family

Ambani is the son of one of the most prominent industrialists in India, the late Dhirubhai Ambani. His brother Anil Ambani heads other companies in the Reliance Group. The Ambani brothers had a well-publicized spat after their father's death, which led to the Reliance Group being split between the two.

Mukesh Ambani is married to Nita Ambani, who looks after the social and charitable arm of Reliance Industries. They have 3 children: Akash, Isha and Anant.

Ambani is currently building a US$1 billion residential building, Antilia in Mumbai for his family. It is expected to be ready in September 2008.

Source: Wikipedia