Dhirubhai Ambani

A perfect example of the rags to riches story, Dhirubhai Ambani brought with him a revolution that completely changed the face of the industrial India. Born in Gujarat to a Gujarati family with modest means, Dhirubhai was extremely hardworking and intelligent. He preferred hard physical labor to cramming up school lessons and was very impatient of the existing system of learning. During weekends, he used to set up potato and onion fries stalls at village fairs from which he earned extra money. He pooled in what he earned o help with the family.

Dhirubhai Ambani started his career as a small time worker with Arab merchants in 1950 and moved to Mumbai eight years later to start his own business in spice. With only a vision and no money, he embarked upon a long journey, the end of which will see him as one of the richest persons in the world.

After making modest profits initially in the business of spices, he graduated to textiles and opened his own mill near Ahmadabad. In 1958, he founded the Reliance Industries along with his cousin brother. What followed was a saga of expansions and successes, something which was beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. Today, Reliance is considered as one of the best run companies in the world which has various sectors like petrochemicals, textiles and has also made a mark in the production of crude oil and gas as well as polyester and polymer products.

Dhirubhai Ambani was extremely popular with his employees and followed an ‘open door policy’ with his colleagues. It is interesting to note that Ambani took his company public in 1977 and by 2007, he had made it to the list of the richest people in the world. In fact, with 60 billion dollars as his combined family income, Dhirubhai Ambani’s family was the second richest in the world, no ordinary triumph for an Indian at that time. Dhirubhai Ambani has been listed among the Forbes billionaires and Top 50 Businessmen in Asia. Inspite of all the odds and coming from a mediocre family, he stopped@nothing and made it to the top with sheer hard work and determination.