South Asian Business news and information

It is big news indeed. India has now the richest man in the world- Mukesh Ambani. Last year, I wrote that Mukesh Ambani was one of the top ten richest men in India. In fact, he was the third richest man that time. Now, thanks to the big gains in the share market, Mukesh Ambani has benefited enormously and according to some media reports, he is today the richest man in the world.

To know about the gift of Mukesh Ambani read this:

Most Expensive Birthday Gift from Mukesh Ambani: A Private Jet of $59 Million Only

Economic Times wrote:

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani on Monday became the richest person in the world, surpassing American software czar Bill Gates, Mexican business tycoon Carlos Slim Helu and famous investment guru Warren Buffett, courtesy the bull run in the stock market.

Following a strong share price rally on in his three group companie, India's most valued firm Reliance Industries, Reliance Petroleum and Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Ltd, the net worth of Mukesh Ambani rose to $63.2 billion (Rs 2,49,108 crore).

In comparison, the net worth of both Gates and Slim is estimated to be slightly lower at around $62.29 billion each, with Slim leading among the two by a narrow margin.

This is great news for the people of India. I am sure that many people who read the news were happy that India could produce the richest man in the world even for one day.

Wikipedia has acknowledged this fact and wrote:

Mukesh Ambani (April 19, 1957 Aden, Yemen) is the chairman, managing director and the largest shareholder of Reliance Industries, India's largest private sector company and a Fortune 500 Company. [2] His personal stake in Reliance Industries is 48%.[3] His wealth was US$64 billion as of October 2007, making him the world's richest person. However, his wealth was valued at US$ 64 billion in October 2007 taking into account his holding in Reliance Industries and group companies. This made Mukesh the richest Indian and the richest man in the world, ahead of steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal.[4] Mukesh and younger brother Anil are sons of the late founder of Reliance Industries, Dhirubhai Ambani. As a result of a strong share price rally on 29 October 2007 (in his three group companies - Reliance Industries, Reliance Petroleum and Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Ltd.) Mukesh Ambani became the richest man in the world with a net worth of $63.2 billion.

What is interesting to me is that I found this news item mainly in Indian media sites. So far, I did not find confirmation of this fact in any western media website.

Merabsp.com wrote:

After the rally today, experts have reported that Mukesh Ambani's networth has touched 2,49,108 crore (US$63.2 billion) based on the martket value of his stock holding in Reliance Industries, Reliance Petroleum and Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Ltd.

If market the estimates are correct then Bill Gates and Carlose Slim Helu whose net worth are pegged at US$ 62.29 billion and US$ 62.2993 billion respectively were displaced by the Indian business industrialist Mukesh Ambani as the world's richest man.

Well, there is some doubt whether Mukesh Ambani has really become the richest man in the world or not. I visited the website of Reliance Industries Limited but did not find anything there. Instead, I found another report in Timesnow that stated that Mukesh Ambani might not be the richest man in the world today.

Timesnow wrote:

Just minutes after wire agencies came out with reports that Billionaire Mukesh Ambani had surpassed American software czar Bill Gates as the world's richest man on Monday (October 29) came the quick clarification from RIL saying that the calculations estimating Ambani's wealth are inaccurate.

So, I am a bit confused. I hope that by tomorrow, this matter will become clear. Anyway, I think that even if Mukesh Ambani has not become the richest man in the world at least, he has become the richest man in India.

What do you think about Mukesh Ambani?

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