June 2008


Shri Mukesh D. Ambani is a Chemical Engineer from the University of Bombay and pursued MBA from Stanford University, USA. He is the son of Shri Dhirubhai H. Ambani, Founder Chairman of the Company. Shri Ambani joined Reliance in 1981 and initiated Reliance’s backward integration from textiles into polyester fibres and further into petrochemicals, petroleum refining and oil and gas exploration and production. In this process, he directed the creation of several new world-class manufacturing facilities involving diverse technologies that have raised Reliance’s petrochemicals manufacturing capacities from less than a million tonnes to about twenty million tonnes per year.

Shri Ambani directed and led the creation of the world’s largest grassroots petroleum refinery at Jamnagar, India, with a current capacity of 660,000 barrels per day (33 million tonnes per year) integrated with petrochemicals, power generation, port and related infrastructure.

Shri Ambani had set up one of the largest and most complex information and communications technology initiative in the world in the form of Reliance Infocomm Limited (now Reliance Communications Limited).

Shri Ambani is also steering Reliance’s initiatives in a world scale, offshore, deep water oil and gas exploration and production program, setting up of a second petroleum refinery at Jamnagar, development of infrastructure facilities and implementation of a pan-India organized retail network spanning multiple formats and supply chain infrastructure.

Shri Ambani’s accolades include:

  • Bestowed the US-India Business Council (USIBC) ‘Global Vision’ 2007 Award for Leadership in 2007.
  • Invited to be a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). He is the only Indian CEO to be a Council Member of WBCSD.
  • Conferred ‘ET Business Leader of the Year’ Award by The Economic Times (India) in the year 2006.
  • Conferred the Degree Honoris Causa, Honorary Doctorate by the Maharaja Sayajirao University in 2007.
  • Conferred the India Business Leadership Award by CNBC-TV18 in 2007.
  • Received the first NDTV-Profit ‘Global Indian Leader Award’ from Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Manmohan Singh in New Delhi in the year 2006.
  • Had the distinction and honour of being the cochair at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
  • Ranked 42nd among the ‘World’s Most Respected Business Leaders’ and second among the four Indian CEOs featured in a survey conducted by Pricewaterhouse Coopers and published in Financial Times, London, in November, 2004.
  • Conferred the World Communication Award for the ‘Most Influential Person’ in Telecommunications by Total Telecom, in October, 2004.
  • Conferred the ‘Asia Society Leadership Award’ by the Asia Society, Washington D.C., USA, in May, 2004.

Shri Ambani is a member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Trade and Industry, Government of India and the Board of Governors of the National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi. He is a member of the Indo-US CEOs Forum, the International Advisory Board of Citigroup, International Advisory Board of the National Board of Kuwait and McKinsey Advisory Council.

He is the Chairman, Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore and a member of the Advisory Council of the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai. He is also a member of the Advisory Council for the Graduate School of Business of the Stanford University.

Shri Ambani is the Chairman of Reliance Petroleum Limited and Reliance Retail Limited and a Director of Reliance Europe Limited, and Pratham India Education Initiative.

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Mukesh Ambani


Airbus 319

While last week news tapped Mukesh Ambani as the newly minted world’s richest men and also tagged him as one of the world’s most overgenerous spenders. He proved it lately by gifting $59 mn Airbus 319 to his wifeNita on her 44 birth anniversary. Her pricey toy also a corporate jet features a bar, spacious bedroom, showers, an entertainment cabin packed with games, music and movies as well as a cabin for business with wireless and satellite systems

via -elitechoice

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A Maybach is a high-end, ultra-luxury sedan. It can hold up to four passengers in regal splendor. Prices range from $300,000 to $400,000.Maybach comes in two models — the Maybach 57 and the Maybach 62. The 57 is 5.7 meters long, and the 62 is 6.2 meters long, hence the model names. The two models are very nearly identical except for the length. The extra length of the 62 is used to increase the rear seat leg room.
The Maybach 62 also offers several options unavailable in the 57. For example, the 62 has fully reclining rear seats because it has extra leg room available in the rear to accommodate them.

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Mukesh Ambani Gifts His Wife $50 mn Airbus 319 on Her Birthday

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Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries has got the rare honour of becoming India’s first trillionaire – his wealth estimated to be Rupees 1,11,000 crores ($27 Billion). This was possible due to the sharp surge in the Reliance Share prices in recent days. Not only that, the younger brother Anil Ambani is the close 2nd who may soon become the second to get this honour. His wealth is estimated to be around Rupees 90,000 crores.

So the combined holding of Ambani brothers is nearly $50 billion, which is nearly 5% of India’s GDP…WOW !!!

The combined market capitalisation of the four Mukesh Ambani Group companies — RIL, Reliance Petroleum (RPL), IPCL and Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Ltd (RIIL) has crossed the Rs 2,50,000 crore mark. The total promoter holding in these companies is worth over half at about Rs 1,30,000 crore.

The total investors’ wealth in the four Anil Ambani Group firms — Reliance Communications (RCOM), Reliance Capital (RCL), Reliance Energy (REL) and Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL) has reached 1,42,384 crore, while total promoter holding is estimated at about Rs 87,000 crore.

While Anil Ambani holds control of most of these shareholdings, his stakes in some other listed companies such as Adlabs Films takes his total wealth in capital market to around Rs 90,000 crore.

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Mukesh Ambani Gifts His Wife $50 mn Airbus 319 on Her Birthday

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Mukesh Ambani’s Home

The house (called Antilla) is being valued at Rupees 4000 crores and will be 173 metres tall. Normally that is the equivalent of a 60 storeyed tower, but in this case each floor is more than twice the height of a normal floor, with the result that the building will only have 27 floors when completed. Given the prevailing state of skyscrapers in Mumbai, this building will be more than twice as tall as the earlier tallest buiilding. The view from the top will be breathtaking, no doubt.

Some other absurd facts about this ‘house’..

  1. 3 helipads on top. Mumbai corporation has not given permission for making this operational yet.
  2. Hanging gardens within the structure
  3. Swimming pool within the structure
  4. A two storey Health centre
  5. Parking space for 168 cars (6 floors). I initially thought that meant there will be a mini office in the building but apparently that is not the case. All these cars will belong to Mukesh Ambani! Just in case you are interested, he drives a 5 crore Maybach now.
  6. A floor exclusively for servicing these automobiles within the building.
  7. A floor for Home theatre – sitting capacity of 50

Most absurd of all, the house will have a staff of 600 to do the maintenance activities. That gives a ratio of 1:100 for people living in the house and those who are paid to take care of it. The six lucky ones are the man himself, his wife, his 3 children and his mother Kokilaben. The family will be moving in from their old home ‘Sea Wind’ which was a 14 floor building at Cuffe Parade.

In fairness, Mukesh bought the property in 2002. So he has not spent anywhere close to the $1 billion people are now valuing the property at. And it is not just him, plenty of other rich tycoons have indulged in their residences. Two people who immediately come to mind are Mittal & Gates.

UK-based steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal (he is still an Indian citizen though) bought the most expensive house in London last year, paying £60m for a place in Kensington Palace Gardens.Microsoft founder Bill Gates had built as technology showpiece several years back. The house is reputed to have cost upwards of $100 million. I will write about this particular property sometime in the future. It is much more interesting than the Ambani house, because Gates tried to implement many new, yet to be proven technologies in his blueprint.

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skyscraper being built in Mumbai by Mukesh Ambani, the richest person in India, could be the world’s largest and costliest home with a price-tag nearing two billion dollar, according to Forbes magazine.

“When the Ambani residence is finished in January, completing a four-year process, it will be 550 feet high with 4,00,000 square feet of interior space,” Forbes said in a report on its website.

Earlier in March, Mukesh Ambani was ranked as the fifth richest person in the world with a net worth of 43 billion dollars by the Forbes magazine in its annual list of world’s wealthiest billionaires. While Lakshmi Mittal, who is an Indian citizen was ranked higher at fourth, he is a British resident. Among resident Indians, Mukesh was ranked at top.

“The only remotely comparable high-rise property currently on the market is the 70 million dollar triplex penthouse at the Pierre Hotel in New York, designed to resemble a French chateau, and climbing 525 feet in the air,” Forbes said in its report titled, “Inside The World’s First Billion-Dollar Home.”

Mukesh Ambani heads India’s most valuable firm Reliance Industries, an oil and petrochemicals giant.

“Like many families with the means to do so, the Ambanis wanted to build a custom home. They consulted with architecture firms Perkins + Will and Hirsch Bedner Associates, the designers behind the Mandarin Oriental, based in Dallas and Los Angeles, respectively,” the report said. “Plans were then drawn up for what will be the world’s largest and most expensive home: a 27-story skyscraper in downtown Mumbai with a cost nearing 2 billion dollars.”

According to Forbes, Mukesh, along with his wife Nita Ambani and three children, currently live in a 22-story Mumbai tower.

The report further noted that the cost for the Ambani residence, called Antilla whose shape is based on Vaastu, would be more than a hotel or high-rise of similar size because of its custom measurements and fittings.

While a hotel or condominium has a common layout, replicated on every floor, and uses the same materials throughout the building, the Ambanis’ home has no two alike in either plans or materials used, it said.

“At the request of Nita Ambani, say the designers, if a metal, wood or crystal is part of the ninth-floor design, it shouldn’t be used on the eleventh floor, for example. The idea is to blend styles and architectural elements so spaces give the feel of consistency, but without repetition,” it said.

“Atop six stories of parking lots, Antilla’s living quarters begin at a lobby with nine elevators, as well as several storage rooms and lounges. Down dual stairways with silver-covered railings is a large ballroom with 80 per cent of its ceiling covered in crystal chandeliers.”

The report said that Ambanis plan to use the residence occasionally for corporate entertainment also and they want its interiors to have a “distinctly Indian” look and feel.

“The top floors of entertaining space, where Ambani plans to host business guests (or just relax) offer panoramic views of the Arabian Sea… For more temperate days, the family will enjoy a four-story open garden,” it noted.





more -rediff \iloveindia\wikipedia \portfolio \ril

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Mukesh Ambani Gifts His Wife $50 mn Airbus 319 on Her Birthday

Mukesh Ambani’s Maybach

The only trillionaire of the india -mukesh ambani

Mukesh Ambani

RICH MAN -POOR COUNTRY=Mukesh Ambani

Mukesh Ambani’s Home