India has many reasons to be proud. It is one of the oldest civilizations of the world. It has a vibrant democracy. It has emerged as one of the fastest growing economies on the planet. There are many, the nation owes a lot to, those who have made this dream come true and sculpted the country in its present form. Reading this, one name that pops up easily in one’s mind is Anil Ambani. He has become synonymous with India’s corporate rise and the yuppie lifestyle a modern Indian relates himself to.
Education : Born on June 4, 1959, Anil Ambani did his Bachelors in Science from the University of Bombay and Masters in Business Administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Currently, he serves as a member of the Wharton Board.
Personal Life : Married to yesteryear Bollywood actress Tina Munim. Has two sons named Anmol and Jai Anshul. He likes to eat Kesar pista ice cream. He has a Bell 412 7-seat helicopter. He is a fitness freak, runs 18 km daily, to keep fit. He also takes part in the Mumbai Marathon.
Tryst with Reliance : Anil Ambani is one of the foremost entrepreneurs of Independent India. He is the Chairman of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. Earlier, before the split in the Reliance Group, Anil Ambani had held the post of Vice Chairman and Managing Director in Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).
Anil Ambani joined Reliance in 1983 as Co-Chief Executive Officer. He pioneered India Inc's forays into overseas capital markets with international public offerings of global depository receipts, convertibles and bonds. Starting from 1991, he led Reliance in its efforts to raise, around US 2 billion from overseas financial markets. In January 1997, the 100-year Yankee bond issue was launched under his stewardship.
After the split in Reliance Group, Anil Ambani founded Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. He is the Chairman of all listed Group companies, which include Reliance Communications, Reliance Capital, Reliance Energy and Reliance Natural Resources Limited.
Anil Ambani was elected as an independent member of Rajya Sabha in June 2004. But he resigned voluntarily on March 25, 2006.
He has been linked with several starlets in his long career including his current wife of more than 15 years. He is a close friend of movie star Amitabh Bachchan. One of his major achievements in the entertainment industry is the takeover of Adlabs, the movie production to distribution to multiplex company that owns Mumbai's only dome theatres.
After entertainment, Anil Ambani is now all set for some “sporty” action.
Anil Ambani is known for his varied tastes and has now laid his eyes on the English Premier League club – Newcastle United.
Contribution to Film World : He has shown a lot of interest in Film Industry. He is reportedly putting in between $500 million and $600 million to back famous Hollywood director Steven Spielberg and his team at DreamWorks as they leave Viacom Inc's Paramount Pictures later this year, according to the Wall Street Journal. Besides the Hollywood deals, Ambani is launching 20 TV channels and owns FM stations in India. His plans appear highly ambitious.
Honors and Recognition : • Voted the 3rd most powerful person in India in the 2009 India Today Power List, in March.
• Voted Businessman of the Year 2006 by Times of India-TNS poll
• Adjudged as the CEO of the Year at the prestigious Platts Global Energy Awards for 2004.
• Voted as 'MTV Youth Icon of the Year for 2003' in September 2003.
• Conferred 'The Entrepreneur of the Decade Award' by the Bombay Management Association, October 2002.
• Awarded the First Wharton Indian Alumni Award by the Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF) in recognition of his contribution to the establishment of Reliance as a global leader in many of its business areas, December 2001.
• Conferred the ' Businessman of the Year 1997' award by India's leading business magazine Business India, December 1997.