By - Furquan Moharkan
Highlights
- Mukesh Ambani is now worth more than US$100 billion.
- Ambani has become the first person from APAC, and 11th globally to enter the elite club.
- Mr Ambani’s net-worth has surged 31% this year.
India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani has made to the elite US$100-billion rich list – and is the first person from the Asia Pacific region to do so.
Mr Ambani is valued at a whopping US$101 billion, as his net worth has surged 31% or US$23.8 billion in the current year.
The surge in Mr Ambani’s wealth is almost in line with the share price spike in India’s most valuable company promoted by him – Reliance Industries Limited (RIL). Shares of RIL have surged 34.3% in 2021 year-to-date, primarily driven by the company’s foray into newer segments like 5G and green energy. Along with his family and the companies controlled by him, Mr Ambani holds more than half of the stake in the company – 50.59%.
India’s richest man now on the elite US$100-billion rich list
Mr Ambani also happens to be the first person to enter the elite club – outside of the US and France.
Before Ambani, there are already 10 members in this elite club, including Elon Musk of Tesla, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Bill Gates of Microsoft, and Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway among others. Prior to Ambani, only one non-American had made it to the list –Bernard Arnault of France.
Interestingly, Mr Arnault happens to be the one of the only two non-technology company founders, who has made it to the US$100 billion club – the other being Mr Buffett. Of all 10 entrants into the club before Mr Ambani, eight had interests in the technology sector – pointing at the fact that the tech sector has been the biggest wealth creator in 21st century.
Interestingly, Mr Ambani’s wealth also saw a boom only after RIL decided to venture into India’s growing digital market through its subsidiary Jio Platforms Ltd. Historically, RIL was primarily an oil-to-chemical company before Mr Ambani ventured into telecom in the second half of the last decade.
As on date, RIL is valued at INR16.93 trillion (US$225 billion) – making it India’s most valued company.