'Ek Tha Billionaire': A Close Friend Of Amitabh Bachchan Was Richer Than Mukesh Ambani, But Ended Up Being Bankrupt

Riches to Rags: Anil Ambani seemed to have experienced everything, from his journey from riches to rags to dealing with court summonses and attempting to pay off his obligations. His wealth has fallen from Rs 4 lakh crore during the financial crisis of 2008 to Rs 250 crore as of 2023.

Reliance Industries: Anil Ambani, who was once among the richest men in the world, is currently facing a dire predicament. A horrible moment arrived for this once-billionaire who was surrounded by billions of dollars of debt, and in 2019, the equity value of his entire company fell to 4292 crore ($523 million). In 2008, Anil Ambani, who had inherited his wealth and had been named chairman of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (Reliance ADAG), rose to become the 6th richest person in the world, according to Forbes, with a net worth of 3447 thousand crore ($42 billion). Reliance Communications, Reliance Capital, Reliance Power, Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Naval, and Reliance Home Finance were a few of the well-known companies that make up the Reliance ADA Group.

Dhirubhai Ambani, the father of Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani, founded the family's multibillion dollar business empire. Dhirubhai, who came from modest origins and rose to become the perfect representation of the Rags to Riches story, began his career as a petrol pump station attendant in Yemen. The precise opposite, as the current scenario suggests, appears to have occurred with Anil Ambani, his younger son.

Anil Ambani: The Beginning

Anil Ambani became co-CEO of his father's company, Reliance Industries, in 1983. Anil Ambani was a well-educated businessman who had earned a Masters in Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1983. He is renowned for his contributions to the growth of the Indian financial sector, including his role in introducing bonds, convertible securities, and global depositary receipts to the world capital markets. Reliance Industries raised $2 billion from the worldwide financial market under the direction of Anil Ambani. In 2004, Anil Ambani was also chosen to serve as a Rajya Sabha member.

Split With Mukesh Ambani

Dhirubhai Ambani passed away in 2002 without leaving a will. Anil was appointed managing director of Reliance Industries following the death of his father. Mukesh was appointed chairman of the company, which at the time was a business empire worth Rs 28,000 crore. A small amount of conflict between the brothers started to build in 2005. The brothers' disagreement over the gas supply resulted in a court battle, which caused the corporation to be divided in half. Mukesh received the oil-refining and petrochemicals companies, while Anil took over the telecom, power generation, and financial services sectors. Until 2010, they also agreed to a "non-compete pact."

Anil Ambani: The Success Story

Anil Ambani received numerous business honors, and his total wealth surpassed Rs. 4 lakh crore in 2007. Reliance Communications served as the catalyst for this fame and wealth. In addition to this, he made history in 2008 by securing a full subscription for the Reliance Power IPO in less than 60 seconds. It was, at the time, the biggest IPO the Indian market had ever seen.

Anil Ambani Misfortune

Anil Ambani had to deal with the effects of the 2008 financial crisis, which was the first of many difficulties that lay ahead of him. Numerous upcoming projects were backed by the record-breaking Rs. 11,563 crore raised during the Reliance Power IPO. The 2008 financial crisis made it difficult to obtain natural gas at a reasonable price, which was necessary to launch the projects.

Anil Ambani: 3 Reason Of Downfall

1. His financial success was greatly aided by Reliance Communications, but it struggled to compete in the telecommunications sector and was eventually shut down in late 2017. This was due to the company's inability to upgrade to 4G networks, its debt-trapped situation, and its reliance on risky commercial ventures to stay afloat. His elder brother Mukesh Ambani's Jio 4G network posed a significant threat as well.

2. Anil Ambani purchased Pipavav Defense, which already had debts totaling Rs. 7000 crore, in a disastrous move. Additionally, due to Pipavav's inability to pay its debts, IDBI Bank and IFCI brought it before the NCLT for an insolvency action.

3. Due to his loan defaults, Anil Ambani's relationships with other banks and lenders were also harmed. He was eventually hauled before the courts, where he filed an appeal and claimed that he had run out of assets to sell.

Anil Ambani seemed to have experienced everything, from his journey from riches to rags to dealing with court summonses and attempting to pay off his obligations. His wealth has fallen from Rs 4 lakh crore during the financial crisis of 2008 to Rs 250 crore as of 2023. Experts have also claimed that his poor business judgement and incapacity to compete in a cutthroat economic environment were to blame for this sudden decline. Anil Ambani's situation appears to be far from over, and only time will be able to reveal what lies ahead for him.