How did Mukesh Ambani get so rich?

Born on April 19, 1957, Indian billionaire Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani is the world's 11th richest and India's richest man with a net worth of $116 billion, according to Forbes. 

These days, the Ambani family is the headline for the pre-wedding festivities of their youngest son, Anant, to Radhika Merchant.

Mukesh Ambani is a global giant. From expensive cars to his 27-story skyscraper home, Antilia, the businessman remains in the headlines due to his family's lavish lifestyle, Fin Cash reported.

How did Mukesh Ambani come to be as wealthy as he is today?

Mukesh, the eldest son of Dhirubhai, joined his father's business of yarn and spices along with his younger brother Anil at the prime age of 20.

After joining, he manoeuvred in manufacturing textiles and fabrics and found a new company named Reliance Industries.

He contributed largely to turning the company towards petrochemicals and refining in the 1990s.

In the 2000s, Reliance Industries ventured into retail and telecom. Mukesh significantly contributed to the establishment of Reliance’s first substantial manufacturing project at Patalganga and the world’s largest refining complex at Jamnagar.

Later in 2002, when Dhirubhai passed away, brothers Mukesh and Anil got into a dispute that lasted for more than 10 years over property issues as Dhirubhai had not written a will.

Eventually, their mother Kokila had to step in to settle the dispute.

She divided the assets by giving electricity, financial services, and telecoms to Anil, which was worth more than INR25,000 crores at the time, and Mukesh was given control of textiles, oil and gas, petrochemicals, and refining.

The companies under Mukesh Ambani were called "Reliance Industries" and those under Anil Ambani were called "Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group" or "Reliance Group". 

This split of assets also accompanied a non-competition clause, and the brothers were prohibited from venturing into one another’s businesses for 10 years.

Reliance Industries steadily, but progressively, reached new heights under Mukesh's direction. 

When it comes to market capitalisation, it became the first Indian corporation to surpass the $100 billion threshold by 2007. Reliance Industries eventually expanded into other industries as well, including, apparel, solar energy, retail, entertainment (Reliance Eros), and logistics.

The most significant move made by Mukesh Ambani was his entry into the telecom sector and the founding of Jio Infotel also referred to as Jio.

With the launch, Mukesh forced the telecom industry's established competitors to join with one another and drove them towards enormous losses.