An Indian billionaire tied the knot, and the internet collectively lost their minds. When life gives you a silver spoon, you demand the entire damn dinner set. And buy out the dining table too, while at it. In this week’s Behind the Brand blog, we talk about the man behind the 120-million-dollar wedding that broke the internet.
The world’s tippy top descended upon the small Indian town of Jamnagar last weekend to attend the pre-wedding festivities of Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Asia’s richest man. From over five hundred dishes served during the entire day to a nine-page dress code, the celebrations sponsored by Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani were grand enough to put the Oscars to shame.
But how did he garner enough wealth and influence to have the entire Davos lineup be sideshows at a wedding? Briefly breaks down Mukesh Ambani’s net worth and his vast empire.
The context
Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant's pre-wedding celebrations took place in Jamnagar last weekend, from March 1-3. The wedding itself is set to take place in July this year.
The world's elite converged to attend the festivities, including the likes of Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and several former Prime Ministers and Presidents, along with other celebrities.
Even Rihanna broke an eight-year hiatus and performed on stage in, what fans are calling it, one of the most go-girl-give-us-nothing performances they’ve seen since Dua Lipa at the BRIT awards.
The background
Reliance Industries Limited is the Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. The oil-to-telecom behemoth is managed by Ambani who, along with his family, controls a little less than 50% of the entire conglomerate.
By the numbers
RIL is India’s largest public company in terms of market capitalization as well as revenue, and among the top 100 companies in the world.
Ambani is the richest man in India and the 11th richest in the world according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He is reportedly worth 116 billion - enough to eat nearly thirty Fijis for breakfast.
The story behind it all
The eldest son of Dhirubhai Ambani, Mukesh Ambani joined his father's business of yarn and spices along with his younger brother Anil at the age of 20.
He was responsible for turning the company towards petrochemicals and refining in the 1990s, as well retail and telecom in the 2000s.
However, in 2002, Dhirubhai died without a will, leading to a bitter feud between the two brothers that spanned a decade - testament to the fact that income is no bar for in-family fighting over the good china. Eventually, their mother divided up the business, giving electricity, financial services, and telecoms to Anil and textiles, oil and gas, petrochemicals, and refining to Mukesh.
The road not taken
Despite being given multi-billion bequeathments, the two brothers chose very different paths. By 2008, Anil overtook Mukesh in wealth, with a net worth of $42 billion.
However, in the next two decades, while Mukesh Ambani went on to grow his businesses and achieve success after success, Anil’s net worth declined to essentially zero as a result of rising debts, failed mergers, and corruption scandals.
The breakdown
RIL has its fingers in all sorts of pies - energy, petrochemicals, natural gas, retail, telecommunications, mass media, entertainment, and textiles. There is no aspect of an Indian’s everyday lives that the empire doesn’t touch. As far as the sun shines and all that.
Reliance’s businesses can be broken down into three broad categories - oil refining and petrochemicals, retail, and digital services that include telecom. The retail and digital services come under wholly-owned subsidiaries, the oil-to-chemical or O2C business and the new energy arm is a functional division of Reliance.
Bonu$
Mukesh Ambani himself has taken over $50 million out of his kitty to invest in several startups.
Ambani also owns Jio Financial Services, a financial services company originally a subsidiary of RIL. As a side project (no big deal, just a couple hundred million more), the industrialist has built a small cricket empire that began by acquiring an Indian Premier League team and now includes even the MI New York.
The conglomerate has tied up with minimalist Japanese retailer Muji and global American convenience chain 7-Eleven to open stores in India, and has also partnered up with luxury brands like Jimmy Choo, Burberry, Hugo Boss, Michael Kors, Kate Spade, Coach, and Tiffany & Co to operate stores in India.
Of note
Some notable Ambani assets are his $400 million 27-story Mumbai mansion, the Antilla, multi-million-dollar properties in London and Dubai, as well as a Rolls Royce Phantom and a Maybach 62 find home in his home’s 168-car garage.
How it happened
What fueled this economic supernova? Innovation. From telecommunications to energy, retail, and beyond, the Ambani Empire wasn't content with just dipping its toes in the water; it wanted to make waves.
Take Jio, for example—the telecommunications arm of the empire. It didn't just disrupt the market; it flipped it on its head, making internet access as common as a people armed with Tim Hortons cups of coffee in the subway on a Monday morning. With Jio, Ambani didn't just build a network; he built a digital ecosystem.
For Ambani, retail wasn’t just about selling stuff anymore; it was about crafting experiences. Content wasn't just broadcasting news; it was about shaping narratives. What sets the Ambani Empire apart isn't just business acumen; it's the ethos of ambition that permeates every facet.
In the vast cosmos of global business empires, the Ambani Empire is a celestial body that shines with a distinct brilliance, and isn’t just a corporate entity but a universe unto itself.
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