Mukesh Ambani, Asias wealthiest, enters $100 billion club

Mukesh Ambani,
Asia’s wealthiest person, is now part of the rarefied group of people with
fortunes of $100 billion. Ambani entered the $100 billion club on Monday after
the value of his family stake in Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) surpassed
the $100 billion-mark, reports Business Standard.

The Ambani family’s
49.14% stake in RIL was worth $107 billion and the company’s market capitalisation
(m-cap) reached $218 billion, according to numbers sourced from Capitaline
database. This includes the company’s partly paid shares.  

The numbers suggest
that Mukesh Ambani first entered the elite $100 billion club on Monday and
added nearly $8 billion (Rs 54,000 crore) to his net worth over the last week.

Mukesh Ambani’s
shares surged after he said that his company, Reliance Industries, will pursue
production of cheaper green hydrogen. Known as a disruptor of industry’s status
quo, Ambani’s recent foray into telecommunications through the Reliance Jio
framework has been a resounding success. Jio has become the dominant player in India’s
huge telecom market.

Meanwhile,
Reliance’s digital footprint has increased with major investors such as
Facebook. Further, Saudi Aramco is looking to acquire a stake in Reliance’s oil
refining business said to be worth $25 billion.

Further, Ambani
unveiled a plan to invest $10 billion in clean energy this year in a bid to
combat climate change and slash imports into the world’s largest oil consumer.

RIL and Mukesh
Ambani have been the biggest beneficiaries of the post-second pandemic wave
rally on the stock exchange.

Meanwhile,
Ambani-owned Reliance Jio is gearing up to launch the Reliance JioPhone Next on
September 10. The smartphone is expected to be the cheapest smartphone in the
world. Developed by Reliance in collaboration with Google, the phone is said to
come with features customised for Indian users.

Given Jio’s
familiarity with the Indian market and India’s huge telecom potential, the phone
may become the country’s next big thing.