Anil Ambani

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Tina Ambani
(m. 1991)
Anil D Ambani
Anil Ambani Reliance.jpg
Ambani in 2012
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office
2004 (2004)–2006 (2006)
Children2
Parents
Relatives
Alma mater
Occupation Businessman

Anil Dhirubhai Ambani (born 4 June 1959) is an Indian businessman Chairperson and managing director of Reliance Group (a.k.a. Reliance ADA Group). The Reliance Group was created in July 2006 following a demerger from Reliance Industries Limited. He led several stocks listed corporations including Reliance Capital, [2] Reliance Infrastructure, [3] Reliance Power and Reliance Communications. [4]

Contents

Ambani, once the sixth richest person in the world, declared before a UK court in February 2020 that his net worth is zero and he is bankrupt, although the veracity of that claim is in question. [5] He served in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India from Uttar Pradesh as an Independent MP between 2004 and 2006. [6] [7]

Life and education

Anil Ambani is the youngest son of the founder of Reliance Industries, Dhirubhai Ambani and his wife Kokilaben Ambani. Ambani has said that his father would lead the brothers on "incentive-oriented outings" where they would be rewarded with a box of mangoes for a 10-km (6 mile) hike, but also punished them for acting out in front of guests. [8] He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Kishinchand Chellaram College and received a Master in Business Administration at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1983. [9]

Business career

Ambani's father Dhirubhai died in 2002 without leaving a clear succession plan. After bickering between Anil and his brother Mukesh, their mother Kokilaben mediated and split the family owned businesses between the two brothers. [10]

Anil Ambani received parts of Reliance Group with interests in telecom, entertainment, financial services, power and infrastructure. [11] Ambani is also credited with India's largest IPO, that of Reliance Power, which in 2008 was subscribed in less than 60 seconds, the fastest in the history of Indian capital markets to date. [12]

In 2005 Ambani made his debut in the entertainment industry with an acquisition of a majority stake in Adlabs Films, a company with interests in film processing, production, exhibition and digital cinema. The company was renamed Reliance MediaWorks in 2009. [13] [14] [15] In 2008 a joint venture worth US$1.2 billion with Steven Spielberg's production company DreamWorks cast Ambani's entertainment business on to a global platform. [16] He has contributed to the production of several Spielberg films, including the Academy Award-winning Lincoln. [17] [18]

Ambani gained notoriety as one of the fastest destroyers of shareholder wealth in the last 100 years with the combined group market cap declining by 90% since the formation of the Reliance ADA Group. [19] [20]

In early 2019, a court in Mumbai held Ambani in criminal contempt for non-payment of personally guaranteed debt Reliance Communications owed to Swedish gear maker Ericsson. Instead of jail time, the court gave him a month to come up with the funds. At the end of the month, Ambani was bailed out by his elder brother, Mukesh Ambani. [8] [21]

In April 2019, three ADAG Companies reached standstill agreement with Franklin Templeton after secured NCD default. This led to SEBI changing mutual fund regulation of reducing unlisted NCDs exposure to 10% and making standstill agreement void. In aftermath, FT India didn't sell the pledged securities and wound 6 debt funds affecting 300,000 investors.

In February 2020, Anil Ambani was locked in a legal battle with 3 Chinese banks. He was asked to set aside US$100 million by the court which led him to make the statement that his net worth is currently zero after considering his liabilities. [22] The dispute still rages on with the UK court ordering him to pay the 3 Chinese banks to the tune of US$716 million. [23] [24]

In October 2021, Anil Ambani was named in the Pandora Papers along with his brother Mukesh. [25] In January 2023, the Bombay High Court questioned the Income Tax Department's accusation of tax evasion against Anil Ambani after a petition by him challenged the decision of the notice issued by the IT department. [26]

Personal life

Ambani belongs to a Gujarati family which hails from the village of Chorwad near Junagarh in the Kathiawar region of Gujarat state. [27] He is the youngest son of the legendary textile entrepreneur Dhirubhai Ambani and his wife, Smt. Kokilaben Ambani, a devoted home-maker who founded the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in suburban Mumbai. Anil is one of four children. He has an older brother, Mukesh Ambani, and two sisters, Smt. Nina Kothari (wife of late Bhadra Shyam Kothari) and Smt. Deepti Salgaocar (wife of Dattaraj Salgoncar). [28]

Anil Ambani is married to the actress Tina Munim. [29] He married her after facing much resistance from his family, due to the fact that she came from the world of fashion and glamour, and her lifestyle choices before marriage had been unconventional. Nevertheless, the couple have had a stable marriage and have two sons, Jai Anmol Ambani and Jai Anshul Ambani. [30] On 20 February 2022, Ambani's elder son, Jai Anmol, married Krisha Shah, daughter of the late Nikunj Shah, a Mumbai-based entrepreneur. [31]

Awards and recognition

Allegations of political connections

In 2018, India's principal opposition party, Indian National Congress, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of favouring Anil Ambani's defence manufacturing company over HAL, a public sector enterprise, in a fighter aircraft deal worth 58,000 crore (equivalent to 780 billionorUS$9.7 billion in 2023) with French manufacturing firm Dassault. Ambani, several of whose companies are debt-ridden, has denied all charges of benefiting from crony capitalism. In factual terms, Reliance Defence stood to get just over 3 per cent of the 30,000 crore (equivalent to 400 billionorUS$5.0 billion in 2023) Dassault Aviation offsets contract, contrary to the impression that it was to be the biggest beneficiary of the Rafale fighter jet deal. [39]

In a possibly related controversy, one of his businesses partly financed a French film in which former French president Francois Hollande's then-partner had acted around the same time the aircraft deal was being negotiated. [40]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reliance Industries</span> Indian multinational conglomerate

Reliance Industries Limited is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. Its businesses include energy, petrochemicals, natural gas, retail, telecommunications, mass media, entertainment, and textiles. Reliance is the largest public company in India by market capitalisation and revenue, and the 100th largest company worldwide. In 2023, the company was ranked 45th in the Forbes Global 2000. It is India's largest private tax payer and largest exporter, accounting for 7% of India's total merchandise exports. The company has relatively little free cash flow and high corporate debt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reliance Communications</span> Indian telecommunications company

Reliance Communications Limited (RCOM) was an Indian mobile network provider headquartered in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra that offered voice and 2G and 3G and 4G data services. In February 2019, the company filed for bankruptcy as it was unable to sell assets to repay its debt. It has an estimated debt of 500 billion against assets worth 180 billion.

Ambani is a surname and may refer to the following people:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dhirubhai Ambani</span> Indian business tycoon and entrepreneur (1932–2002)

Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani was an Indian businessman who founded Reliance Industries in 1958. Ambani took Reliance public in 1977. In 2016, he was honoured posthumously with the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian honour for his contributions to trade and industry. Ambani faced numerous accusations of market manipulation, tax evasion, and cronyism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mukesh Ambani</span> Indian billionaire (born 1957)

Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani is an Indian billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, India's most valuable company by market value. With an estimated net worth of $117.8 billion according to Forbes as of March 2024, he is the richest person in Asia and 9th richest in the world. Sometimes characterized as a plutocrat; he has attracted both fame and notoriety for reports of market manipulation, political corruption, cronyism, and exploitation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tina Ambani</span> Indian actress (born 1957)

Tina Ambani is a former Indian actress. She is married to Anil Ambani, chairman of Reliance Group. She was one of the leading actresses of the hindi film industry during the late 70s and 80s. She is actively involved in many foundations and charities. Many of these were established in the memory of her in-laws, Dhirubhai and Kokilaben Ambani. Her work ranges from elder care to promotion of Indian art.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reliance Capital</span> Indian Financial Services company

Reliance Capital Limited is an Indian diversified financial services holding company promoted by Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. Reliance Capital, a constituent of Nifty Midcap 50 and MSCI Global Small Cap Index, is a part of the Reliance Group. It is amongst India's leading and most valuable financial services companies in the private sector. As on 31 March 2017, the net worth of the company stood at ₹16,548 crore, while its total assets as on the date stood at ₹82,209 crore. In Fortune India 500 list of 2018, Reliance Capital was ranked as the 77th largest corporation in India with 5th rank in 'Non-Banking Finance' category.

Reliance Group is an Indian conglomerate, headquartered in Mumbai, India. The company, which was formed after Dhirubhai Ambani's business was divided up, is headed by his younger son Anil Ambani. Reliance Group has five listed companies, Reliance Power, Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Home Finance, and Reliance Health. The group provides financial services, construction, entertainment, power, health care, manufacturing, defence, aviation, and transportation services.

Anand Jain is an Indian business executive. He is the Chairman of Jai Corp Limited. He has 30 years of experience in various businesses, with an expertise in real estate, finance and capital markets.

Reliance Power Limited (R-Power), formerly Reliance Energy Generation Limited (REGL) is a part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. It was established to develop, construct, operate and maintain power projects in the Indian and international markets. Reliance Infrastructure, an Indian private sector power utility company and the Reliance ADA Group promote Reliance Power. The present CEO of Reliance Power is K. Raja Gopal since 2 May 2018.

Reliance Health is a subsidiary organisation of Reliance Group. The organisation looks after the health-care component of the conglomerate. The organisation is headed by the Indian businessman Anil Ambani. It runs two major hospitals and multiple medical centres throughout India.

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Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital is a tertiary-care hospital in Four Bungalows, Mumbai, India. The hospital is named after Kokilaben Ambani, wife of industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani, who was the founder of Reliance Industries.

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Nita Ambani is an Indian philanthropist. She is the chairperson and founder of the Reliance Foundation, Dhirubhai Ambani International School and a director of Reliance Industries. She is married to Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani. With a family fortune estimated in excess of US$117.8 billion, the Ambanis are among the richest in the world. She is also an art collector and the owner of the Indian Premier League cricket team Mumbai Indians.

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The Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex is a mega project being developed by Reliance Industries in Jamnagar, Gujarat, India. This is a fully integrated renewable energy manufacturing complex that will build gigafactories for photovoltaic panels, energy storage, green hydrogen, electrolyzers and fuel cells systems. The complex is being built on a 5,000 acres site and is expected to cost ₹75,000 crores. The first phase of the project, which includes the construction of a 20 GW solar photovoltaic module factory, is expected to be completed by 2023, 5 GWh annual cell to pack manufacturing facility by 2024, and further scale up to 50 GWh & 100 GWh annual capacity by 2027 & 2030.

References

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