Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani already had a good deal of bragging rights to go around when he took over Jack Ma's spot as Asia's richest man back in 2018. At that time, his net worth stood at an impressive $44.3 billion from his successes as Reliance Industries Ltd's chairman.
Well, Ambani's got even more to brag about now that his wealth has doubled over the past three years. Now, after Reliance Industries' stock skyrocketed last weekend, he's been inducted into the ever so exclusive $100 billion club. Alongside Google's co-creator Sergey Brin, LVHM frontman Bernard Arnault, and the rest of the kings of wealth, Ambani stands as one of the few richest people in the entire world!
The sixty-four-year-old tycoon from Mumbai saw major profits this year as his wealth increased by $23.8 billion. This put his overall net worth at $100.7 billion, according to the Times of India. In the races of the world's wealthiest, he's placed right underneath Berkshire Hathaway's CEO Warren Buffet, whose net worth is currently $103 billion. This is certainly attributed to Reliance Industries reaching a record high in the stock market last weekend.
"Mukesh Ambani is at the forefront of creating new businesses with new emerging technologies," chief investment officer at TCG Asset Management Co., Chakri Lokapriya, tells The Indian Express, "Creating businesses of scale at speed brings execution challenges, but he has demonstrated his capabilities."
Ambani inherited the helm of Reliance Industries - a conglomerate that deals in petrochemical, energy, and natural gas - after his father passed away in 2005. Almost a decade later, Reliance has quickly become one of the most internationally renowned businesses, even being ranked #55 in Forbes Global 2000 2021. Last month, Ambani proposed a plan for his company to generate 100 gigawatts of electricity through renewable energy by 2030 in order to reduce carbon emissions.
On the heels of his momentous wealth milestone, it was released that Reliance Industries made- not one - but two acquisitions two green energy firms. On October 11th, the conglomerate spent $771 million of enterprise value to take control of REC Solar, Norwegian manufacture of solar panels. Shortly after, Reliance's New Energy Solar arm acquired 40% of stakes in Sterling and Wilson Solar.
There might just be a shake-up in the $100 billion clubs coming soon. As of now, each of the eleven of the world's richest are male. But, heiress to the L'Oreal empire, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, may bring the billionaire boys club to an end. She's currently right underneath Ambani in the race of the richest with a net worth of $82.4 billion.
Sources: The Indian Express, Forbes, Business Standard, Economic Times