The funding spree in Jio Platforms has catapulted Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani to the top 10 richest in the world and the lone Asian in the current list. According to the latest ranking by Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Mukesh Ambani’s net worth has jumped to $64.5 billion, after RIL raised more than $15 billion in just 58 days.
Ambani overtook Larry Ellison of Oracle and France’s Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, the wealthiest woman, to reach the No. 9 spot. He added $5.8 billion to his net worth in the same time last year. The Reliance chairman is now in the company of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (who leads the list with a net worth of $160 billion), Bill Gates ($112 billion), Mark Zuckerberg ($90 billion) and Warner Buffet ($71.5 billion).
Ambani owns 42 per cent in RIL, owner of the world’s largest oil refining complex. However, the man who famously said that “data is the new oil”, has managed to amass quick wealth with Jio Platforms, the telecom arm of RIL, which debuted as late as December, 2015. The Mumbai-based conglomerate’s other businesses include a 4G wireless network across India. The billionaire also owns a residential property worth more than $400 million and the Mumbai Indians professional cricket team.
RIL’s shares hit a new all-time high of Rs 1,788.60 on the BSE on Friday before ending at Rs 1,759.50 (up over 6 per cent) following Ambani’s statement on Friday that the company had become net debt-free ahead of its March 2021 deadline. As the share prices shot up, RIL on Friday became the first Indian company to be valued at $150 billion or above Rs 11 lakh crore in rupee terms.
As of March 2020, Reliance had a net debt of Rs 1.61 lakh crore. The company managed to turn itself net debt-free after raising Rs 1.68 lakh crore via a 24.7 per cent stake sale in Jio Platforms and the rights issue.
