[News Inside] Asia's Richest Person Receiving Love Calls from Billionaires Worldwide

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries India

▲Mukesh Ambani [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The richest person in Asia who surpassed Jack Ma. This is the story of Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, often referred to as the Rockefeller family of Asia.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index on the 10th, Ambani's assets increased by $23.8 billion (about 28 trillion KRW) just this year, reaching $101 billion (about 120.796 trillion KRW), ranking 11th globally. He ranks first among Indian billionaires. Ambani has firmly held the title of India's richest person since 2008. In 2007, he even surpassed Microsoft founder Bill Gates to become the world's richest person.

Ambani is the eldest son of Dhirubhai Ambani, the founder of Reliance Group. Dhirubhai Ambani, known as the "Rockefeller of India," was born in Gujarat in northwest India and started as a gas station attendant after graduating high school, later building one of India's top companies and becoming a legendary entrepreneur.

Ambani was born in 1957 as the eldest of four siblings of Dhirubhai Ambani. After graduating high school, he majored in chemical engineering at the University of Mumbai in 1974, then went to the United States to study business administration at Stanford Graduate School of Business (MBA). After graduating from Stanford's MBA program in 1977, he joined Reliance Group as a director.

▲Mukesh Ambani Chairman (right) [Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Ambani is regarded as having inherited his father's management skills. He expanded Reliance's business from being limited to textile manufacturing to include polyester, petrochemicals, refining, oil and gas exploration, and information and communications sectors. Currently, he is driving the retail business by launching the global convenience store chain 7-Eleven for the first time in India.

When entering the telecommunications market, he adopted a bold strategy of lowering call rates to one-tenth of existing competitors to outpace rivals. Backed by solid financial strength accumulated from the energy business, Reliance Industries' subsidiary Reliance Jio Infocomm launched aggressive marketing from the early stages of its telecom entry. As a result, despite being a latecomer, by 2020 it secured 390 million subscribers, surpassing existing operators Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel to become India's largest telecom company.

He is also known recently as the individual who has received the most investment love calls from billionaires worldwide. This is thanks to his foresight in recognizing the expansion potential of the Indian internet market and making early investments. Facebook invested $5.7 billion (about 7.5 trillion KRW) in Reliance Jio, which is six times more than the approximately 1.2 trillion KRW it paid to acquire Instagram.

▲Mukesh Ambani, Chairman (right), and his wife Nita Ambani (left) [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Following Facebook's investment news, US private equity firms Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, and KKR all rushed to announce their intentions to invest. US PEF manager Texas Pacific Group (TPG), luxury company LVMH's affiliate investment firm L Catterton, as well as 'oil money' from Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Mubadala, the sovereign wealth fund of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have all bet on the Indian market. This year alone, Reliance Industries has received over $10 billion (about 12 trillion KRW) in investments.

Ambani is also famous for having the most dazzling global network. His daughter, Isha Ambani, held a wedding in 2018 that was dubbed the "wedding of the century" due to its ultra-luxurious guest list. Attendees included Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, singer Beyonc?, and CEOs from Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Standard Chartered, as well as business magnates from Nokia, Ericsson, and HP.

▲Chairman Mukesh Ambani's ultra-luxurious residence 'Antilia'

The cost of Isha Ambani's wedding alone was reportedly $100 million (about 112.9 billion KRW), which is said to be similar to the amount spent on the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana 37 years ago.

Ambani is also known as the owner of the ultra-luxurious 27-story (equivalent to 60 floors in height) residence "Antilia" in Mumbai. This mansion features three helipads and a "snow room" designed to escape the heat. It employs about 600 staff members, and the mansion's value is estimated at around $1 billion. It is considered the most expensive private residence in the world.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.