Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, is ranked No. 21 on the Forbes 2026 World’s Billionaires list with a net worth of $99.7 billion. He is the richest person in Asia, according to Wikipedia.
Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani was born on April 19, 1957, in Aden, in present-day Yemen, to Dhirubhai Ambani, the founder of Reliance Industries, and Kokilaben. His father moved the family back to India in 1958 to start a trading business, and they lived in a modest two-bedroom apartment in Bhuleshwar, Mumbai, until the 1970s.
Net Worth and Rank
- Forbes 2026 list: No. 21, with $99.7 billion
- Later estimate: Wikipedia reports a net worth of $91.8 billion as of June 2026, making him the richest person in Asia and the 22nd richest in the world
Education
Ambani studied at St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai and the Institute of Chemical Technology. He enrolled in an MBA at Stanford University, where Steve Ballmer was his classmate, but withdrew in 1980 to help his father build Reliance.
Building Reliance
- Energy: he expanded the company’s energy business and directed the setting up of its largest petroleum refinery at Jamnagar in Gujarat
- 2002: his father died, and ownership of the group was later divided between Mukesh and his younger brother, Anil Ambani
- New businesses: he expanded into telecommunications, retail, media, finance and healthcare; Reliance’s telecom arm Jio is preparing a public offering that is scheduled to open on October 21, 2026
Cricket and Family
Reliance owns the Indian Premier League team Mumbai Indians, which Ambani bought in 2008 for $111.9 million. He lives in Antilia, a 27-storey private building in Mumbai that was valued at $1 billion. On July 12–14, 2024, his son Anant Ambani married Radhika Merchant in a three-day event at Antilia and the Jio Convention Centre.
Criticism
Wikipedia notes criticism of Ambani over his wealth and reports of cronyism. Reliance has also been criticised for buying Russian oil: India imported 42% of its oil from Russia in 2025, up from 3% in 2021, and Reliance was the largest importer.
Why It Matters
Reliance is India’s largest listed company by market value, so Ambani’s fortune reflects the value of its oil, retail and telecom businesses.
Net worth figures change daily with share prices. Rankings here follow the Forbes 2026 World’s Billionaires list, with wealth measured on March 1, 2026.
Image: Mukesh Ambani (right) shaking hands with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso in Tokyo, October 22, 2008, with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh looking on. Photo: Prime Minister’s Office, Government of India / Wikimedia Commons (GODL-India)
