Indian industrialist and Founder of Reliance Industries
NAME – Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani
PROFESSION– Businessman
BORN – 28/ 12 / 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH – Chorwad, Junagadh district, Gujarat
FATHER’S NAME – Hirachand Gordhanbhai Ambani
MOTHER’S NAME – Jamnaben Ambani
SPOUSE – Kokilaben Ambani
SIBLINGS -3
CHILDREN -4
EDUCATION – Took his education from Bahadur Khanji School after which he went to Junagarh to study further
COMPANIES– Reliance Commercial Corporation later known as Reliance Industries.
NET WORTH– His net worth was $25.6 billion upon his death.
AWARDS –
Dhirubhai Ambani was named the “Man of 20th Century” by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
In October 2011 he was posthumously awarded the ABLF Global Asian Award at the Asian Business Leadership Forum Awards.
In January 2016 he was posthumously awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the country’s second highest civilian award.
BACKGROUND –
Dhirubhai Ambani was a successful Indian businessman who founded Reliance Industries. He took Reliance public in 1977 after the nationalized banks refusal to finance him. He built the company from that to a net worth of $25.6 billion upon his death. He was honored with the Padma Vibhushan in 2016 for his contributions to trade and industry.
Dhirubhai Ambani was born to a modest family. His father was a school teacher. He took his education from Bahadur Khanji School. Ever since has childhood, he was very ambitious and cheerful; he took great risks to achieve what he wanted.
He never showed much interest in formal education but was very hard working and intelligent; he showed great skill in retailing and selling oil.
He went to the British colony of Aden when he was 17 years old and started his career as a clerk at A. Besse & Co., where he learned the art of accounting, trading, distribution and business.
In 1958, he returned to India and started “Majin” to import polyester yarn and export spices to Yemen. The first office of the Reliance Commercial Corporation was a 350 sq ft big with very less furniture. In 1966 Reliance Commercial Corporation was formed which later became known as Reliance Industries.
In the mid 1980’s he handed over the operations of his company to his sons, Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani. He died in 2002 due to a stroke.
CAREER TIMELINE –
1950- He started working as clerk at A. Besse & Co., which was the largest transcontinental trading firm at that time.
1950- He began a business of spices calling his venture Reliance Commercial Corporation.
1958- He returned to India.
1966- Established his first Reliance textile mill.
1977- Reliance became public.
1980- Handed over the operations of his company to his sons.
2002- Died of a major stroke.
CONTROVERSIES/CASES –
The rise of the textile tycoon was not without its controversies. Dhirubhai realized the importance of keeping politicians and bureaucrats happy. He never made it a secret that he had no ego when it came to paying obeisance before government officials.
Once in 1998, the income tax authorities issued a show-cause notice to the company, Reliance replied by offering a sum of Rs 25 crore to ‘buy peace’.
Reliance group was often accused of manipulating the share prices. Two companies which existed by the names of Reliance Poly-Ethylene and Reliance Poly-Propylene openly stated that the share value had been increased though thin and circular trading.
The mid-eighties, there was a major feud between Reliance and Bombay Dyeing headed by Nusli Wadia. These companies were producing competing products. Reliance was manufacturing purified terephthalic acid (PTA) while Bombay Dyeing was manufacturing di-methyl terephthalate (DMT).
This battle was won by Ambani after which Wadia influenced many articles against Reliance. This was retaliated many years later when Ambani released an article in a newspaper owned by him alleging that Wadia and was the holder of two passports and was the grandson of was Mohammed Ali Jinnah.
In 1985, Senior executive of Reliance, Kirti Ambani was arrested for conspiring to kill Nusli Wadia. Though it was never proved in a court of law.
An article of the Express exposed how Reliance imports spare parts of textile machinery to double its rates, it accused Ambani of smuggling the spare parts.