Mukesh Ambani, a name in need of no introduction at all. His name is revered as one of the world’s most influential and wealthiest individuals. Even Hollywood’s biggest celebrities consider it an honor to be part of their family functions and other gatherings. All the time, Mukesh Ambani and his family are in the headlines and the limelight owing to a great reputation set by them. His journey from inheriting his father’s business to becoming such a business titan is truly a tale of visionary leadership and relentless ambition. Let’s find out some lesser-known facts about Mukesh Ambani and explore the secrets to his resounding business success:
The family background
Mukes Ambani is the son of the legendary businessman, late Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani, who was the founding head of Reliance Industries. Mukesh was born in the Ambani family in 1957. Well, as expected, he was born with a great fervor for business and entrepreneurship. He learned the nuances of establishing a highly lucrative business from his visionary father.
Making Reliance Group a stronger entity
Mukesh Ambani pursued his chemical engineering from the Institute of Chemical Technology in Mumbai. Later, as he was undergoing the MBA program at Stanford University, he decided to drop out to chase his business pursuits. This led him to join his father’s well-established business in 1981. Reliance Industries was initially started as a textile company. Since Mukesh joined the group, it gradually expanded into petrochemicals, refining, and oil exploration. Who knew that these business expansions would become the backbone of Reliance Industries in the future?
The biggest step that caught the global eye was when Reliance Industries, under Mukesh’s leadership, set up the world’s largest grassroots petroleum refinery in Jamnagar, Gujarat. And now, this refinery is said to be the crown jewel of the group that brings the majority of value to the company’s revenue.
The Jio Revolution
In 2016, the launch of Jio brought a huge wave of revolution in the telecommunications industry. When the industry giants were constantly raising the prices of recharge and data plans, Jio introduced free voice calls and free data, with free SIM cards being offered to the Indian population. It brought a huge relief to people who felt tormented by the increasing telecom service prices. Behind the success of Jio, Mukesh strived to create a digitally empowered nation as his vision for societal changes. Within a few months, Jio shook the monopolies in the market and led to an unimaginable disruption. Jio became the largest telecom operator in India by 2020, attracting millions of subscribers. In view of leading this digital revolution, Mukesh decided to launch JioTV, JioSaavn, and JioFiber, which added more momentum to Jio’s popularity. Now, Reliance happened to establish itself as an undisputed tech powerhouse, leading to collaborations with conglomerates like Facebook, Google, and Qualcomm.
Reliance Retail
It won’t be an exaggeration to say that Mukesh is a well-versed trend predictor. He foresaw how retail and e-commerce would be proving key differentiators to India’s economic future. This led him to launch Reliance Retail as it tapped into India’s middle-class expectations. Now, with time, Reliance Retail has positioned itself as India’s largest retailer that offers a huge range, be it groceries, electronics, or fashion. By tapping into the e-commerce market, JioMart became quite a big competitor for well-established players like Amazon and Flipkart.
The philanthropic approach
Yes, Mukesh is a highly regarded businessman who has a knack for establishing successful ventures. And we have a lot to learn from his success story. He knows how to disrupt any industry and adapt as per the customer needs. But one more aspect that makes him stand out from the rest is the philanthropic initiatives through the Reliance Foundation. This institution is spearheaded by his wife, Nita Ambani. Together, they are serving industries like education, healthcare, rural development, disaster relief, and much more.
