Well-known Indian entrepreneur Dhirajlal Hiralal Ambani who started Reliance Industries is generally known as Dhirubhai Ambani. It was Dhirubhai Ambani who started his business from the scratch and developed it into a multi billion company of India. Dhirubhai was raised in a middle-class household. He initially earned 300 rupees a month working at a gas station, gradually developed his business of worth more than Rs 62 thousand crores. Every young person in India looks up to him because of the perseverance and determination that have allowed him to advance in his career. He was among the most inspiring individuals in India and worldwide.
| Born | 28 December 1932, Chorwad |
| Died | 6 July 2002, Breach Candy Hospital Trust, Mumbai |
| Children | Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani, Nina Kothari, Deepti Salgaocar |
| Organizations founded | Reliance Industries Limited, DA-IICT, Reliance Group, Reliance Capital, Reliance Power |
| Spouse | Kokilaben Ambani (m. 1955–2002) |
| Parents | Hirachand Gordhanbhai Ambani, Jamnaben |
| Grandchildren | Isha Ambani, Akash Ambani, Anant Ambani |
He was born on December 28, 1932, in the home of a typical teacher in the Gujarati village of Chorwad, close to Junagadh. Hirachand Gordhanbhai Ambani, his father, was a straightforward educator. Additionally, his mother, Jamnaben, was a homemaker. Who found it quite challenging to care for their big family.
Early Life
Dhirubhai Ambani was born on December 28, 1932, in Chorwad, Malia Taluka, Junagadh district, Gujarat. He was the son of Hirachand Gordhanbhai Ambani, a village school teacher from the Modh vaniya (Baniya) caste, and Jamnaben Ambani. He attended the Bahadur Khanji School for his education. In 1958, he departed from Aden to venture out on his own in the Indian textile industry. Additionally, he allegedly held a position as a gasoline vendor at a gas station.
Education
Dhirubhai has witnessed extreme poverty since he was a little boy and did not want to live a life of abject poverty. His early schooling was initially completed in a neighbourhood school in Junagadh. He first sold snacks and fruits as a vendor when he first began to work. As he grew older, he decided to help his father to run the household and left school in the mid of his teenage. He dropped out of school in the tenth grade.
Founding of Reliance Industries
After his return to India, Ambani co-founded “Majin” with his second cousin Champaklal Damani [14], who shared a Yemeni residence with him. Majin was scheduled to ship spices to Yemen and import polyester yarn.
Masjid Bunder’s Narsinatha Street served as the location of Reliance Commercial Corporation’s initial office.[16] There was a phone, one table, and three seats in the 350 square foot (33 square meter) space. They started off with two helpers to aid them with their business.
Ambani and his family resided in a two-bedroom apartment in Bhuleshwar, Mumbai’s Jai Hind Estate during this time.[15] Dhirubhai Ambani and Champaklal Damani parted ways in 1965, with Ambani striking out on his own. Both are thought to have had distinct personalities and approaches to doing business.
Marriage
Dhirubhai Ambani got married to Kokilaben in 1955. Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani are the sons of Dhirubhai Ambani and Nina Kothari, and Deepti Salgaocar is their two daughters.
The Early Career of Dhirubhai Ambani
One must take the first step to reach the destination. Dhirubhai Ambani started his career with a modest position. After completing his education, he immediately started working on a fruit and snack truck. He could earn a little money from this, but it was insufficient. He was determined to change his situation and circumstances; he fought hard until he found an opportunity when religious tourism was evolving near his hometown. He began selling pakoras and other food products there by using his wits. Being a popular tourist site, there were a lot of visitors almost every day, which allowed Dhirubhai Ambani to make considerable amount of money.
But with such a seasonal industry, they seldom ever turned a profit. This enterprise was likewise short-lived, and Dhirubhai’s father counselled him to quit and look for employment after several failures. He moved in with his older brother Ramnik Lal, who was working in Yemen in 1949 when he was 17 years old. In Yemen, he found work at a gas station, earning $300 a month. Dhirubhai worked for some time employed in “A. Bessie & Company,” a business firm. Dhirubhai Ambani was promoted to gas station manager when the firm recognised his talent. He continued to work in Yemen for a while.
In 1954, he returned to India after he left his first job while residing in Yemen, and after that, he began to have confidence in his ability to succeed as a business man. Soon after he returned to his hometown, Dhirubhai Ambani travelled to Mumbai with five hundred rupees only. He began to have a deep insight into the market as he worked at the ground level. Polyester was in high demand at the time, just as Indian spices outside. The business began selling spices outside of India and polyester in the country. All Dhirubhai Ambani’s deposits were used to launch his company. Dhirubhai Ambani started his first business, the “Reliance Commerce Corporation,” after exploring the market. He was successful in his effort because of his initiative and the risks he took. Dhirubhai Ambani topped the list of India’s wealthiest people in the year 2000.
His Success Story
Ramnik Bhai, Dhirubhai’s elder brother, used to work in Yemen back then. He allowed Dhirubhai to visit Yemen with his assistance. He began working there at a gas station, and with his hard work, he quickly advanced to the manager position in just two years. Even while doing this work, he was thinking less about advancing in the same profession and more about how to achieve entrepreneurial potential. During this period, all he thought about was how he could succeed in business. His love for business is evident in two little incidents. Both occurrences happened when he was working for a corporation.
Dhirubhai used to travel to a big, costly hotel nearby for tea, where he had to spend ? 1, where as his colleagues at the place of his work used to receive tea for only twenty-five paise each cup. When he was asked why he does that, he explained that influential businessman visits luxurious hotels to discuss deals he sees such hotels to listen to them so that he can comprehend the subtleties of the business. Dhirubhai got knowledge about business management in this way.
The second instance demonstrates his eye for detail and propensity for seeing chances. Yemen at the time had silver coinage in circulation. Dhirubhai began selling these coins to a London-based business by melting them after realising that their silver worth was more than the value of the coins. The Yemeni government had already made enormous profits by the time they learned about this. These two occurrences showed that Dhirubhai Ambani had all the necessary traits to succeed in business.
Later, when he returned to India and analysed the market, he founded Reliance Commerce Corporation, and he led his business to great heights. The sale of polyester and spices in international markets, notably India, brought in enormous revenues for the corporation. After that, he started his new venture in the yarn industry. Dhirubhai quickly achieved success in this area as well, and he quickly rose to the position of Surveyor for the largest Bombay Yarn Merchant Association.
In 1966, Reliance Textiles was also founded by Reliance Industries built a textile plant in Naroda, Ahmedabad, that same year. Dhirubhai founded the company “Vimal” in 1966 in honour of Vimal Ambani, who was the son of his elder brother. The Vimal brand gained widespread acclaim in the nation quickly. Clothing from the Vimal brand rose to fame.
After some time, Dhirubhai Ambani rose to prominence as an Indian businessman by creating industries including the textile market, telecommunications, and petroleum. Ambani’s reputation had now elevated to the point where he was charged with secretly influencing government policy and profiting from them. In addition, several other claims were made regarding Dhirubhai Ambani’s success.
When Dhirubhai returned to India, he started a company named Majin in partnership with his second cousin Champaklal Damani who used to live in Daman with him. This company was established to export Indian spices and import polyester yarn from Yemen.
In 1965, Dhirubhai Ambani and his cousin Champaklal Damani ended their business association. Their personalities and business practices were different. So, this collaboration did not endure exceptionally long. Dhirubhai was seen as a risk-taker, whereas Damani was a careful businessman. In 1966, he set up Reliance Commercial Corporation; its first one-room office with two assistants was opened at Narsinatha Street in Masjid Bunder.
In 1966, a textile factory was established in Naroda, Ahmedabad. In this instance, polyester threads were utilized to make the clothing. And Dhirubhai founded the “Vimal” brand. He developed a massive advertising campaign for the brand “Vimal,” making it well-known even in rural India.
In the same year, he formed Reliance Commercial Corporation, which, on 8 May 1973, became Reliance Industries. In 1977, more than 58,000 investors bought shares in Reliance’s IPO. Dhirubhai was successful in persuading the rural residents of Gujarat and other regions to acquire the company’s shares. These shares proved to be profitable to the shareholders, which enhanced their value. Dhirubhai increased Reliance’s operations in several areas during his lifetime. Petrochemical, communications, information technology, energy, electricity, retail textile/textile, and infrastructure are the primary components.
Dhirubhai Ambani launches Reliance Textiles
Dhirubhai Ambani gained a thorough grasp of the clothing industry throughout time. In 1966, Dhirubhai Ambani founded a textile plant in Naroda, Ahmedabad, where polyester threads were used to produce clothing. He later gave this brand the name “Vimal” in recognition of the vast opportunities in this industry.
The Vimal brand is one of India’s lesser-known trademarks, this brand was given its name in honour of Vimal, the son of the elder brother of Dhirubhai Ambani, Ramniklal Ambani, and this brand received extensive promotion throughout the country. It spread from home to house, even in tiny communities, and became well-known. A World Bank technical team visited the “Reliance Textiles” production facility in 1975. and concluded that it was “outstanding, even by the standards of wealthy nations.” In the 1980s, Dhirubhai Ambani obtained a licence from the government to produce polyester filament yarn at the same time. From then on, he kept moving up the success ladder and never looked back on his professional career.
Reliance Industries Expansion
A well-known businessperson around the globe, Dhirubhai Ambani increased Reliance’s operations throughout his life. Petrochemicals, telecommunications, information technology, energy, electricity, retail, textiles, infrastructure services, capital markets, and organisations make up the majority of this sector. At the same time, Dhirubhai Ambani’s two sons, especially his elder son Mukesh Ambani have taken his business to the top position in India and globally. Dhirubhai Ambani began the enormous Reliance business with just a small amount of capital. You will be amazed to know that this business, which began in a single room, employed 3,42,982 as of the year 2022. Reliance also contributed 10% of the Central Government’s total tax revenue in 2022, making it one of the top businesses in the world. Dhirubhai Ambani was included among Asia’s most successful businesspeople.
Controversies
Allegation of market manipulation
Reliance Industries faced a rights issue involving partially convertible debentures in 1988. Rumor had it that the corporation was doing everything in its power to keep its stock values from falling. The Bear Cartel, a group of stock brokers based in Calcutta, saw an opening and began short selling Reliance’s shares. In response, a group of stock brokers known as “Friends of Reliance” began purchasing the shares of Reliance Industries that had been shorted on the Bombay Stock Exchange, until recently.
The Bombay Stock Exchange was closed for three working days in order to find a solution. Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) authorities intervened, lowering the “Unbadla” rate to ₹ 2 and requiring the Bear Cartel to deliver the shares within the following several days. The Bear Cartel purchased Reliance shares at a premium from the market. It was also discovered that Dhirubhai Ambani provided the Bear Cartel with those shares, netting him a tidy profit from the group’s venture.
Following this occurrence, the press and his critics raised a lot of questions. Until a few years ago, not many people could comprehend how a yarn trader could bring in such a massive volume of cash flow during a time of crisis. The answer to this was given in Parliament by Pranab Mukherjee, who was the finance minister at the time. He told the house that during 1982–1983, a non-resident Indian had invested as much as ₹ 220 million in Reliance. These investments were made through a number of businesses, including Lota, Fiasco, and Crocodile. The main place of registration for these businesses was Isle of Man. Each of these companies’ owners or promoters shared the surname Shah. The Reserve Bank of India looked into the issue and found that not discover any unethical or unlawful behaviors, transactions, or promotion carried out by Reliance or its backers.
Honors and Awards of Dhirubhai Ambani
- He was honoured with Padma Bhushan in 2016 posthumously, which is India’s second highest civilian award.
- Asia Week Hall of Fame on 16 October 1998.
- Business Week Star of the Asia June 29, 1998.
- 29 May 1998 The Expert from Asia Week 1998.
- Wharton Dean Model Four Dhirubhai Ambani on June 15, 1998.
- Business India – Business Man of the Year on 31 October 1999
- 26 July 1999 TNS-Mode Survey – India’s Most Admired CEO.
- Business Bureau – Indian Businessman of the Year on 6 December 1999.
- CamTech Foundation – Man of the Century Award on 8 November 2000.
- 8 January 2000 in The Times of India – Creator of the Wealth of the Century.
- Federation Of Indian Chambers of commerce and industry (FICCI) – Indian Entrepreneur of the 20th Century on 24 March 2000.
- The Experts from Asia Week 2000 on 26 May 2000.
- 10 August 2001 The Economic Times Lifetime Achievement Award.
Dhirubhai Ambani Death
On 24 June 2002, famous industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani suffered a heart attack and was sent to Mumbai’s Branch Candy Hospital. After this, his health deteriorated, and on July 6, 2002, this great man of India passed away. His eldest son Mukesh Ambani ran his firm efficiently after his death and is now one of India’s wealthiest and most successful businessmen. This new star, who first emerged in the Indian industry three decades ago, was able to dream large and, with the strength of his determination and perseverance, turn those dreams into reality, which allowed him to stay at the top until the very end. I offer my sympathies to the grieving family and join the people of Maharashtra in honouring Ambani’s memory.
Post death
In 1988, Hamish McDonald published an unofficial biography of Dhirubhai Ambani titled The Polyester Prince, which detailed all of his achievements in politics and business. The Ambanis’ threats of legal action prevented the book from being published in India; nevertheless, an updated edition was released in 2010 under the title Ambani and Sons, and the publisher has not yet faced any legal action.
Leave a Reply