LIFE HISTORY OF DHIRUBHAI AMBANI

2. Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani
 Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani commonly
known as Dhirubhai Ambani was born on
28 December 1932, at Chorwad,
Junagadh in Gujarat.
 When he was 16 years old, he moved to
Aden, Yemen. Initially, Dhirubhai
worked as a dispatch clerk with A. Besse
& Co. for a salary of Rs.300
 Later married to Kokilaben.
 Dhirubhai also worked in Dubai for
sometime.
 After returning to India, Dhirubhai set up
the business in partnership with
Champaklal Damani from whom he
parted ways in 1965.

3.  Ethnicity: Gujarati
 Family Background: Not a rich or famous family. Second son to
Hirachand Gordhandhas Ambani and Jamnaben.
 Education: Ambani disliked school lessons and chose to do physical work
instead.
 Residence: Sea wind,Cuffee Parade
 Religion:Hinduism(Vaishnav Modh Bania)
 Children: Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani, Nina Kothari, Deepti
Salgaonkar.
 He founded the Reliance Commercial Corporation with an initial capital of
Rs 15000/-.

4. Life in Aden (1949-1958)
• Just after Dhirubhai was through his
annual matriculation examination, Dhirubhai had really
wanted to study for a bachelor's degree, but his ambition
melted.
• He then joined as a clerk with the A. Besse & Co, Aden.
Those days Aden was the second busiest trading and oil
bunkering port in the world after London handling over 6,300
ships and 1,500 dhows a year.
• Their he learnt the ways of commodity trading, high seas
purchase and sales, marketing and distribution, currency
trading, and money management.
• In addition, to learn the tricks of the trade he offered to work
free for a Gujarati trading firm. There he learnt accounting,
book keeping, preparing shipping papers and documents, and
dealing with banks and insurance companies.

5. • After he thought he had learnt the basics of commodities trading,
Dhirubhai began speculating in high seas purchase and sales of all
sorts of goods. For that he borrowed money from friends and small
Aden shopkeepers to carry such speculative trading.
• "Profit we share and all loss will be mine" became his motto.
• By the late 1950s it became clear that the British rule in Aden
would not last long in the face of growing Yemeni movement for
independence supported by Gamal Abdel Nasser's revolutionary
government from across the Suez. The large Indian community of
Hindu and Parsee Guajarati's began preparing to move out of Aden.
Aden Indians those days were allowed to settle in Britain.
• Dhirubhai was then 26 years (1957), full of youthful vigor and
vitality, and filled with high hopes for himself and for the new India
of Nehru's dreams. He then decided to return India , instead of
going to London to live a life of ease there.

6. Career Graph of
Dhirubhai Ambani
Dhirubhai Ambani founded Reliance Industries in 1958. After that it
was a story of
expansions and success.
• 1958 - Moved to Mumbai to start his own business "Majin”
• 1965 - Champaklal Damani and Dhirubhai Ambani ended their
partnership and Dhirubhai started on his own.
• 1977 - Started his first textile mill at Naroda, in Ahmedabad
• 1982 - Ambani began the process of backward integration
He then diversified into chemicals, petrochemicals, plastics, power.
The final phase of Reliance’s diversification occurred in the 1990
when the company turned aggressively towards petrochemicals and
telecommunications.

7. Majin Commercial Corporation
• Ten years later, Dhirubhai Ambani returned to India and started
"Majin" in partnership with Champaklal Damani, his second cousin,
who used to be with him in Aden, Yemen. Majin was to import
polyester yarn and export spices to Yemen.
• The first office of the Reliance Commercial Corporation was set up
at the Narsinatha Street in Masjid Bunder.
• In 1965, Champaklal Damani and Dhirubhai Ambani ended their
partnership and Dhirubhai started on his own.
• While Damani was a cautious trader and did not believe in building
yarn inventories, Dhirubhai was a known risk-taker and believed in
building inventories, anticipating a price rise, and making profits.
• Ambani's net worth was estimated at about 1 million by late 1970s.

8. Reliance Textiles
• Sensing a good opportunity in the textile business, Dhirubhai
Ambani, along with Amit Mehra, a Delhi-based chartered
accountant and company secretary residing in Ashok Vihar, Delhi,
started the first textile mill at Naroda, in Ahmedabad in the year
1966.
• Dhirubhai started the brand "Vimal", which was named after his
elder brother Ramaniklal Ambani's son, Vimal Ambani.
• In the year 1975, a Technical team from the World Bank visited the
Reliance Textiles' Manufacturing unit. This unit has the rare
distinction of being certified as "excellent even by developed
country standards" during that period.

9. Initial public offering
• Dhirubhai Ambani is awarded with starting the equity cult in
India.
• More than 58,000 investors from various parts of India
subscribed to Reliance's IPO (Initial public offering) in 1977.
• In 1986, the annual general meeting of Reliance Industries
had number of first-time retail investors investing in Reliance.
• Ambani's net worth was estimated at about 1 billion by early
1980s.

10. Diversification
• Ambani began the process of backward integration, setting
up a plant to manufacture polyester filament yarn.
• He subsequently diversified into chemicals, petrochemicals,
plastics, power.
• The company as a whole was described by the BBC as "a
business empire with an estimated annual turnover of $12
billion, and an 85,000-strong workforce".
• The final phase of Reliance’s diversification occurred in the
1990s when the company turned aggressively towards
petrochemicals and telecommunications.

11. Criticism
• Dhirubhai courted controversy all throughout his life.
• Many a times, he has been accused of unethical
business practices and has been accused of having
manipulated government policies to suit his own
needs.
• He was involved in an open spat with Nusli Wadia of
Bombay Dyeing.
• The end to this tussle came only after Dhirubhai
Ambani suffered a stroke.
• While Dhirubhai Ambani was recovering in San Diego,
his sons Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani managed
the affairs.

12. • The Indian Express had turned the guns against Reliance and was directly
blaming the government for not doing enough to penalize Reliance
Industries.
• The battle between Wadia - Goenka and the Ambanis took a new direction
and became a national crisis.
• Gurumurthy and another journalist, Mulgaokar consorted with President
Giani Zail Singh and ghost-wrote a hostile letter to the Prime Minister on
his behalf.
• The Indian Express published a draft of the President's letter as a scoop,
not realizing that Zail Singh had made changes to the letter before sending
it to Rajiv Gandhi.
• Ambani had won the battle at this point. Now, while the tussle was
directly between the Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Ramnath Goenka,
Ambani made a quiet exit.

13. Dhirubhai Ambani's awards
Dhirubhai did not win any Indian Government awards for civilians.
• November 2000 – Conferred 'Man of the Century' award by Chemtech Foundation
and Chemical Engineering World in recognition of his outstanding contribution to
the growth and development of the chemical industry in India
• June 1998 - Dean's Medal by The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, for
setting an outstanding example of leadership. Dhirubhai Ambani has the rare
distinction of being the first Indian to get Wharton School Dean's Medal.
• August 2001 – Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence for Lifetime
Achievement
• Dhirubhai Ambani was named the Man of 20th Century by the Federation of
Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
• A poll conducted by The Times of India in 2000 voted Him "Greatest Creator of
Wealth In The Centuries". He is the true son of India‘
• Dhirubhai Ambani won many words and accolades during his life. In November
2000, he was conferred the 'Man of the Century' award by Chemtech Foundation
and Chemical Engineering World for his contribution to the growth and
development of the chemical industry in India.

14. Death
of
Dhirubhai Ambani
• Dhirubhai Ambani was admitted to the Breach Candy Hospital
in Mumbai on June 24, 2002 after he suffered a major stroke.
• This was his second stroke, the first one had occurred in
February 1986 and had kept his right hand paralyzed.
• He was in a state of coma for more than a week. He died on
July 6, 2002, at around 11:50 P.M.

15. Reliance after Dhirubhai Ambani
• In November 2004, Mukesh Ambani in an interview, admitted to having
differences with his brother Anil over 'ownership issues.' He also said that the
differences "are in the private domain."
• On June 18, 2005, Kokilaben Ambani announced the settlement through a press
release.
• With the blessings of Srinathji, I have today amicably resolved the issues between my two sons,
Mukesh and Anil, keeping in mind the proud legacy of my husband, Dhirubhai Ambani.
I am confident that both Mukesh and Anil, will resolutely uphold the values of their father and work
towards protecting and enhancing value for over three million shareholders of the Reliance Group,
which has been the foundational principle on which my husband built India's largest private sector
enterprise.
Mukesh will have the responsibility for Reliance Industries and IPCL while Anil will have
responsibility for Reliance Infocomm, Reliance Energy and Reliance Capital.
My husband's foresight and vision and the values he stood for combined with my blessings will
guide them to scale new heights.
— Kokilaben Ambani

16. RELIANCE
Group
• The Reliance empire was split between the Ambani brothers, Mukesh Ambani
getting RIL and IPCL & his younger sibling Anil Ambani heading Reliance Capital,
Reliance Energy and Reliance Infocomm.
• The entity headed by Mukesh Ambani is referred to as the Reliance Industries
Limited whereas Anil's Group has been renamed Reliance Anil Dhirubhai
Ambani Group (Reliance ADA Group).
• Reliance Institute of Life Sciences, a Dhirubhai Ambani Foundation Initiative,
was established to promote higher education in various fields of life sciences
and related technologies

18. • Type: Public
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• Key people: Mukesh Ambani
(Chairman & MD)
• Revenue US$ 58.55 billion (2012)
• Income US$ 4.54 billion (2012)
• Assets US$ 63.84 billion (2012)
• Equity US$ 34.12 billion (2011)
• Employees22,661 (2012)

19. Products

20. Subsidiaries & Associates

22. • Type: Private
• Key people: Anil Ambani ( Chairman)
• Headquarters:
Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge Center,
Navi Mumbai,Maharastra, India
• Revenue: US$15.4 billion (2012)
• Total assets: US$29 billion(2012)
• Employees: 120,000 (2012)

23. Products

24. Thank You
CORPORATE GURU
Dhirubhai Ambani