Reliance empire succession: what to know about Akash Ambani, from his support of Mumbai Indians, Ivy League education to love of luxury cars
- Akash, who has a twin sister, is eldest son of billionaire Mukesh, grandson of business founder Dhirubhai, and now leads India’s biggest telecoms firm
- Changing of the guard at the top of nation’s most valuable conglomerate comes years after Mukesh and his brother Anil argued over family fortune
Mukesh, 65, one of Asia’s and, indeed, the globe’s wealthiest men, had been working on a blueprint to ensure his gargantuan firm was not buffeted by succession warfare, according to media reports last year, after he and his younger brother Anil were involved in a long, public and acrimonious battle over their own father’s fortune.
With any outstanding issues apparently ironed out, Mukesh, a father of three, has now resigned from the board of his US$217 billion group’s telecoms arm but will remain chairman of Jio Platforms Ltd, the flagship subsidiary company owning all Jio digital services brands, a press release said.
Mukesh, who has a personal net worth of over US$109 billion and is said to have once given his wife Nita an Airbus aeroplane for her birthday, will also continue as chairman and managing director of parent company Reliance Industries Ltd. Nita, 58, is on the Reliance board too.
His son Akash, who has a twin sister, Isha, was previously a non-executive director at Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. The changing of the guard at the very top of India’s most valuable conglomerate has seen the young man trending on Twitter since the announcement of his new role on Tuesday.
His grandfather Dhirubhai, who started the business and took it public in the 1970s – he initially imported fabric and exported spices – died in 2002 but did not leave clear succession instructions.