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How Dhirubhai Ambani's son built a refining giant, disrupted Indian telecom and is preparing the next generation
Mukesh Ambani is the chairman of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), a conglomerate spanning oil refining, petrochemicals, telecom, retail, media and new energy. He is one of Asia's richest people and arguably India's most influential businessman — his decisions affect what hundreds of millions of Indians pay for mobile data, groceries and fuel.
Ambani was born on 19 April 1957 in Aden, Yemen, where his father, Dhirubhai Ambani, was working at the time. The family returned to India in the late 1950s and initially lived in a modest two-room apartment in Mumbai, before Dhirubhai's textile and yarn trading business grew into Reliance.
Ambani studied chemical engineering at the University Department of Chemical Technology (now the Institute of Chemical Technology, ICT) in Mumbai. He enrolled in an MBA at Stanford University but left in 1980 to help his father build a polyester filament yarn plant. In 2025 he announced a ₹151 crore grant to ICT as a tribute to his teachers.
Mukesh led Reliance's expansion from textiles into polyester, petrochemicals and finally oil refining — a strategy called backward integration.
His landmark achievement was the Jamnagar refinery in Gujarat, commissioned in 1999 and later expanded into the world's largest single-site refining complex.
After Dhirubhai Ambani died in 2002 without a written will, tensions grew between Mukesh and his younger brother Anil. In 2005, their mother brokered a split: Mukesh kept the core oil, gas and petrochemical businesses, while Anil took telecom, power and financial services.
In September 2016, Ambani launched Reliance Jio, offering free voice calls and extremely cheap 4G data. The move:
In 2020, Jio Platforms raised billions from investors including Meta and Google.
| Business | Highlights |
|---|---|
| Oil-to-chemicals (O2C) | Jamnagar refining and petrochemicals |
| Jio Platforms | India's largest telecom operator, digital and AI services |
| Reliance Retail | One of Asia's largest retail businesses |
| Media | JioStar entertainment and streaming |
| New Energy | Giga-factories for solar, batteries and green hydrogen |
At Reliance's 49th AGM on 19 June 2026, Ambani announced that Jio Platforms had filed its draft IPO prospectus with SEBI, fulfilling a promise to list Jio in 2026. SEBI cleared the filing in August, and reports indicate the IPO could open later in October 2026, potentially becoming India's largest public offering. He also outlined large investments in AI infrastructure and green energy.
Ambani has handed operational leadership of key businesses to his children: Akash Ambani chairs Jio, Isha Ambani leads Reliance Retail, and Anant Ambani oversees the new energy business. Mukesh remains chairman and has indicated he will mentor the next generation.
Ambani married Nita Ambani in 1985; she chairs the Reliance Foundation and owns the IPL team Mumbai Indians. The family lives in Antilia, a 27-storey residence in Mumbai, one of the world's most expensive private homes.
He controls Reliance Industries, which owns Jio, Reliance Retail, the Jamnagar refinery and media and energy businesses.
Reliance Jio began commercial services in September 2016.
Akash, Isha and Anant Ambani, who now lead Jio, Reliance Retail and the new energy business respectively.
Jio filed its draft prospectus in June 2026 and received SEBI clearance in August; reports suggest it may open later in October 2026, though dates should be confirmed from official announcements.
Mukesh Ambani transformed his father's textile business into a diversified giant that touches daily life across India. With the Jio IPO and a generational handover underway, the coming years will test whether Reliance's next chapter — in AI, retail and clean energy — can match the scale of its past.
