What is Anil Ambani's Net Worth?
Anil Ambani is an Indian businessman, investor, and philanthropist who has a net worth of $0. Anil Ambani is best known as the owner, chairman, and CEO of the conglomerate Reliance Group, which was created in 2006 from a demerger of the family company Reliance Industries. Anil Ambani was at one point one of the richest people in India with a multi-billion dollar net worth. In a February 2020 court filing Anil claimed his net worth was "ZERO":
"My net worth is zero after taking into account my liabilities. In summary, I do not hold any meaningful assets which can be liquidated for the purposes of these proceedings." At the time a judge ordered him to set aside $100 million in a court account while he is being sued over a $700 million debt owed to several state-controlled Chinese banks."
Anil Ambani's older brother, Mukesh Ambani, owns a rival company and is the richest man in India with a net worth topping $80 billion. Mukesh and Anil's father Dhirubhai Ambani grew up born dirt poor, started working as a gas station attendant in Yemen and eventually built an empire. Dhirubhai Ambani died suddenly in 2002 without a will. The two brothers fought bitterly to control the empire until 2005 when their mother stepped in and helped broker a truce. The result was that Mukesh took control of the refining and petrochemical businesses and Anil took control over financial services and power generation units. Unfortunately for Anil, time would prove Mukesh's half of the business to be far more valuable.
In 2009, Ambani invested $825 million into Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks Studios. Anil's contribution helped produce the Academy Award winning movie "Lincoln" in 2012. He is also one of the largest Bollywood movie producers within India. Combined, Ambani owns more than 44 FM radio stations, animation studios, and a number of movie theaters in India. Meanwhile, in the political sphere, he served in the upper house of the Parliament of India from Uttar Pradesh as an Independent MP from 2004 to 2006.
Early Life and Education
Anil Ambani was born on June 4, 1959 in what was then Bombay, India to Gujarati parents Kokilaben and Dhirubhai, the latter a legendary textile entrepreneur who founded the multinational conglomerate Reliance Industries. In addition to his older brother Mukesh, he has two sisters named Nina and Deepti. For his higher education, Ambani first went to Kishinchand Chellaram College, from which he earned his Bachelor of Science degree. After that, he moved to the United States to attend the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, from which he obtained his Master of Business Administration degree in 1983.
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Reliance Group
Upon the death of Ambani's father in 2002, there was great uncertainty as to who would inherit the family company, Reliance Industries. This was because Ambani's father had declined to leave a clear plan of succession, creating tension between Ambani and his brother Mukesh. Ultimately, their mother stepped in and decided to split the family business between the two brothers, who together went on to run Reliance Industries. In 2006, the brothers demerged Reliance Industries, resulting in the creation of Reliance Group, of which Anil Ambani became the owner, chairman, CEO, and managing director. He also gained responsibility over the subsidiary companies Reliance Infocomm, Reliance Energy, and Reliance Capital. Notably, he was credited with India's largest IPO when he took Reliance Energy, renamed Reliance Power, public in early 2008. Among his other notable executive activities, Ambani acquired a majority stake in Adlabs Films, which in 2009 was renamed Reliance MediaWorks. Through the company, he has contributed to the productions of several Steven Spielberg films.
Business Legal Issues
In connection to Reliance Group and his fortune, Ambani has been entangled in a number of legal issues. A court in Mumbai held him in criminal contempt in early 2019 for non-payment of personally guaranteed debt that Reliance Communications owed to Swedish gear maker Ericsson. In lieu of going to jail, Ambani was given a month to cough up the funds; he ultimately had to be bailed out by his brother. About a year later, Ambani became locked in a legal battle with three Chinese banks, to which he was ordered to pay $716 million. However, in front of a UK court, he declared that he was bankrupt, a claim that drew a considerable amount of skepticism. In late 2021, along with his brother Mukesh, Ambani was named in the Pandora Papers as possessing secret offshore accounts. The following year, he was accused by the Income Tax Department of tax evasion.
Political Career
As a politician, Ambani served in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India from Uttar Pradesh, between 2004 and 2006. He was officially an Independent MP.
Honors and Awards
For his business career, Ambani has earned various honors and accolades. In the December 1998 issue of Business India magazine, he was named Businessman of the Year for 1997. A few years later, Ambani was bestowed with the First Wharton Indian Alumni Award by the Wharton India Economic Forum. His other honors include the Entrepreneur of the Decade Award from the Bombay Management Association and the Platts Global Energy Award for CEO of the Year for 2004.
Personal Life
In 1991, Ambani married actress Tina Munim. Initially, he faced great resistance from his family for deciding to wed someone from such a different vocation. Despite that, the couple went on to have a loving marriage, with two sons named Jai Anmol and Jai Anshul.
