The Silicon Review ^Asia

MukeshAmbani, India’s richest man is the only Indian to be listed on Forbes’s list of top 20 of the richest individuals. Ambani has held the title of India’s richest man consistently for more than ten years. Forbes most recent publishing pegs Ambani at the 13th spot with a net worth of $50 billion, up from 19th last year, when his overall assets and holdings were valued at $40.1 billion.

Born to an entrepreneur father, Mukesh and his younger brother Anil fought a bitter court battle to split up their father, DhirubhaiAmbani’s massive business holdings. While Anil got the financial services, infrastructure development, power generation and communication divisions of his father’s Reliance Industries, Mukesh got, petrochemicals and oil & gas from the conglomerate.

The brothers signed a non-competing agreement in order to avoid mutual competition. However, that agreement was annulled in 2010 and Mukesh set out to launch his own telecommunication venture, Jio to compete with his brother. Jio proved to be a massive runaway success, with the brand accumulating over 250 million subscribers within a year. With its cheap calling rates and internet data prices, Jio stormed the telecommunications market in India. The immensely successful telecommunication venture combined with the booming oil & gas and petrochemicals businesses have cemented Ambani’s place as the richest Asian and the 13th wealthiest person in the world.