Mukesh Ambani, one of Asia’s richest men and the chairman and managing
director of Reliance Industries Ltd, is said to be putting together a
succession plan for his $208 billion empire that stretches from oil refineries
to petrochemicals to telecom, according to a Bloomberg report.

The 64-year-old billionaire has learned significant lessons about
succession plans from his own family’s experience and has been studying
succession plans of billionaire families for years. With his decades of
experience, Mukesh Ambani is expected to consider the Walton family playbook as
the framework for one of the biggest-ever transfers of wealth in recent times.

The Walton family playbook draws from the framework put together by Sam
Walton, the founder of the world’s biggest retailer Walmart Inc. The Walton
family playbook is a simple succession model to keep the family central but
delegating management.

Mukesh Ambani, who has a net worth of over $94 billion, hasn’t said
anything officially about stepping away from his responsibilities so far. But
sources close to the developments who spoke to Bloomberg said that it is
apparent from the company’s current functioning that the billionaire is
actively looking to prepare a succession plan.

As per the company’s filings, the Ambani family’s current share in Reliance
Industries has increased to 50.6% from 47.27% in March 2019.

Also Read | Bulk deal: Micro Labs buys stake in Bal Pharma, Ipca
purchased Lyka labs shares

Addressing the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) in June, Mukesh
Ambani had indicated that his children will now hold a prominent position in
the family’s vast empire. He said that he is confident that the next generation
of leaders at Reliance, led by Isha, Akash, and Anant, will further enrich this
precious legacy.

Mukesh Ambani’s twin children Akash and Isha, are both active in the
group’s new-age ventures line Reliance retail and Jio telecom. In 2014,
they both were appointed as directors on the boards of RIL’s telecom and retail
businesses.

Also Read | Bulk deal: Dolly Khanna buys stake in Ajanta Soya, Ipca
purchased Lyka labs shares

Anant Ambani is currently serving as a director at Jio Platforms Ltd, which
is a fully-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries. He is also heading the
renewable energy and oil and chemical units of Reliance as a director.

Also Read | India mulls ban on private crypto: What it means for
investors

Walton family succession plan

Founded by American businessman Sam Walton and owned by Walton Family,
Walmart is the largest retailer in the world. Sam’s son Rob Walton and his
nephew Steuart Walton, are both part of the Walmart board. In 2015, Sam’s
grandson-in-law Greg Penner was appointed as the company chairman.

Also Read | Explained: Why is Reliance, Saudi Aramco re-evaluating
its multi billion deal?

Sam had started planning for the succession around 40 years before he died.
He divided 80% of the business among his four children — Alice, Rob, Jim, and
John. This saved the empire from collapsing and the Walton family from paying
minimum estate taxes. Even today, the Walton family owns about 47% of Walmart
via trusts and Walton Enterprises LLC.

Mukesh Ambani’s succession plan

From what has been revealed so far, Mukesh Ambani is planning to shift the
family’s holdings into a trust-like structure, to ensure a smooth transfer. The
trust will assume complete control of Reliance Industries. All of Mukesh Ambani’s
family members, including wife Nita Ambani and children Akash, Isha and Anant
will be on the board of this new entity.

Also Read | India announces bill to ban all private cryptocurrencies

Mukesh Ambani’s close allies may also be included in the board of the
entity overseeing the Reliance empire. The Ambani succession playbook will
appoint external professionals to largely handle the main operations of the
company.