Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani (born on 19 April 1957) is an Indian business magnate. He is the chairman and managing director of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, the largest private sector enterprise in India listed in Fortune 500 magazine. His personal stake in Reliance Industries is 48%. On the 29th of August' 2011, Reliance Industries regained its status as the most valued firm in India, after a heady contest with ONGC and Coal India Ltd., both public sector units as well as energy giants.
In 2010, he was named among the most powerful people in the world by Forbes in its list of "68 people who matter most" As of 2011, he is the second richest man in Asia and the ninth richest man in the world with a personal wealth of US$27 billion. In 2007, a strong rally in the Indian stock market and the appreciation of the Indian rupee boosted the market capitalisation of Reliance group companies, briefly making him the world’s richest man.
He is a member of the board of directors of Bank of America Corporation and a present member of the international advisory board of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Early life and education
Mukesh Ambani is the eldest son of Dhirubhai Ambani, the late founder of Reliance Industries. He has a brother, Anil, and two sisters - Dipti Salgaoncar & Neena Kothari.
The Ambani family lived in a two bedroom apartment in Bhuleshwar, Mumbai until the 1970s. Dhirubhai Ambani then purchased a 14-floor apartment block called 'Sea Wind' in Colaba, where, until recently, Mukesh and Anil each lived with their families on different floors.
Mukesh Ambani was educated at Abaay Morischa School in Mumbai and completed his graduation with a bachelor`s degree in chemical engineering from the UDCT, now Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai.He stood sixth in the University exams. Mukesh later enrolled for an MBA from Stanford University but completed only one year of the two year program and dropped out in the year 1980. Indira Gandhi administration threw open the doors of PFY (Polyester Filament Yarn) manufacturing to the private sector in early 1980. Dhirubhai Ambani had applied for a licence to setup PFY manufacturing plant. In spite of stiff competition from Tatas, Birlas and 43 others, Dhirubhai was awarded the licence. To help him build the PFY plant, Dhirubhai pulled his eldest son Mukesh out of Stanford where he was studying for his MBA. Mukesh Ambani, then dropped out to help his father and initiated Reliance`s backward integration from textiles into polyester fibres and further into petrochemicals, beginning in 1981.
Career
He joined Reliance Industries in 1981. He initiated Reliance's backward integration journey from textiles into polyester fibres and further into petrochemicals, petroleum refining and going up-stream into oil and gas exploration and production.
Ambani set up one of the largest and most complex information and communications technology initiatives in the world in the form of Reliance Infocomm Limited (now Reliance Communications Limited).
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.
Personal Life
He is married to Nita Ambani and has three children. They live in a private 27-story building in Mumbai named Antilia. The construction cost was estimated to be approximately US$77 million and it is claimed to be the most expensive home in history.
He owns the Indian Premier League team the Mumbai Indians.
From : www.wikipedia.org
