“Our dreams have to be bigger. Our ambitions higher. Our commitment deeper. And our efforts greater. This is my dream for Reliance and for India.”
– Dhirubhai Ambani
You have often heard about Mukesh and Anil Ambani. But do you know that these two business tycoons are actually sons of magnate Dhirubhai Ambani? It was Dhirubhai who founded Reliance Industries, a conglomerate that operates in several segments such as exploration, refining, retail stores, telecommunications and petrochemicals.
Reference: Dhirubhai.net
- The Economic Times – Lifetime Achievement Award
- TNS-Mode Survey – India’s Most Admired CEO
- Chemtech Foundation – Man of the Century Award
- FICCI – Indian Entrepreneur of the 20th Century Award
- Asia Week – Dhirubhai among Asia’s 50 most powerful peopleThe Excerpt from Asia Week 1998The Excerpt from Asia Week 2000
- The Times of India – Dhirubhai Ambani voted “Creator of Wealth” of the Century
- Business Baron – Dhirubhai Ambani voted “Indian Businessman of the Century”The complete cover story
- Dhirubhai Ambani in Asia Week Hall of FameThe cover story
- Wharton’s Dean Medal for Dhirubhai Ambani
- Business Week – Dhirubhai Ambani one of “The Stars of Asia”The complete cover story
- Business India – Dhirubhai Ambani, Businessman of the Year 1993
Humble Beginning of Dhirubhai Ambani
Dhirubhai Ambani wasn’t a born rich man with a silver spoon in his mouth. In fact, as a third son of a school teacher, he didn’t even have enough money to fulfil his basic necessities. So, how did he manage to grow and thrive?
- He moved to Yemen at the age of 16, where he worked as a dispatch clerk with A. Besse & Co. His hard work promoted him to maintain and manage company`s oil filling station at the port of Aden.
More than anything else I learnt that nothing big can ever be achieved without money, influence and power and I also learnt that money, influence and power alone cannot achieve anything in life, big or small, without a certain soft, delicate, sensitive, understanding human touch in all one’s deeds and words.
– Dhirubhai Ambani
- In 1958, he came back to India with Rs 50,000 and started the business of polyester yarn import-export at Masjid Bunder of South Mumbai and later founded the Reliance Commercial Corporation with an investment of 15,000.
Dhirubhai continued to live in one bedroom flat with his wife and children for almost a decade until 1968 when he moved to Altamount Road in South Mumbai.
- In 1966, Dhirubhai started his own textiles manufacturing unit at at Naroda, in Ahmedabad. He launched his first brand “Vimal” sometime in 1969-70
1977 – Breakthrough Year for Dhirubhai Ambani
In 1975, a technical team of the World Bank certified that the Reliance textile plant was ‘excellent’ by developed country standards. That was just the beginning of his global recognitions.
- The biggest breakthrough in his life came in the year 1977, when he managed to attract over 58,000 investors in the very first IPO of Relience Commercial Corporation
He never looked back ever since. A humble beginning helped him to stand his empire worth $64 billion. Today the group has the largest family of shareholders in the world. Today, the group’s activities span petrochemicals, synthetic fibres, fibre intermediaries, textiles, oil and gas, financial services, refining and marketing, power, insurance, telecom and infocom initiatives.
Inspiring Messages from Ambani
He once said, “give the youth a proper environment. Motivate them. Extend them the support they need. Each one of them has infinite source of energy. They will deliver”. That completely resonates with the promise and foot-print across the globe by young entrepreneurs of India.
His wise quotes are very inspiring and motivate us to lift our life-vibrations to achieve our goals.
- “Only when you dream it you can do it.”
- “Think big, think fast, think ahead. Ideas are no one’s monopoly”
- “Our dreams have to be bigger. Our ambitions higher. Our commitment deeper. And our efforts greater. This is my dream for Reliance and for India.”
- “You do not require an invitation to make profits.”
- “If you work with determination and with perfection, success will follow.”
- “Pursue your goals even in the face of difficulties, and convert adversities into opportunities.”
- “Between my past, the present and the future, there is one common factor: Relationship and Trust. This is the foundation of our growth”
- “We bet on people.”
- “Meeting the deadlines is not good enough, beating the deadlines is my expectation.”
- “Don’t give up, courage is my conviction.”
Let us know, how much you know about Dhirubhai Ambani’s life and how it inspired you to achieve greater things!
