eud in India and perhaps in the world. It started in 2002 the year their father died, leaving them to inherit India’s richest company, at that time worth around US$15 billion. Dhirubhai Ambani had died without leaving a will and that had been the catalyst that had brought competitive pressures and simmering hostilities between the brothers to erupt into open warfare.
Theirs has been a tale of public campaigns against each other, probably the f most high profile sibling
With billions at stake, it is no wonder Anil Ambani
occupying it better have the strong karma to live there, otherwise it could well become a target of eyes so envious who knows what manner of tragedy could occur? Te property has a total area of 37,000 sq ft; it has three helipads on its roof, and four levels of hanging gardens to cool down summer temperatures and warm the winters. Garage space on the lower floors can park up to 160 cars. Te family resides in luxurious splendour on the top floors with roofs offering clear views of the Arabian sea in the distance. And perched high above the city, it would seem the feng shui must be quite superb? Nine elevator lifts service the building and 600 employees work through three shifts taking care of the family. Estimates of Mukesh Ambani’s wealth vary widely. Reports put it at around US$29 billion, although with the appreciation of the Indian rupee and the Indian stock markets, estimates of his wealth have been adjusted to as high as US$ 63 billion! Some observers have described the new Sky Palace as obscenely lavish, a blight on the Mumbai skyline. Others better disposed towards them say that it is all quite appropriate and keeping
www.fswmag.com Mukesh Ambani
up with contemporary times, with residential homes going higher and higher in cities. Besides, to many, Mukesh Ambani and his family are “not ordinary people!”
The Stuff of Legends? Indeed, the story of the Ambanis of India is the stuff of Bollywood movies and it should not surprise anyone to know that the founding father’s story has indeed been immortalized in one of Bollywood’s top grossing movies GURU, starring Bollywood royalty Abhishek Bachchan and his wife, the international star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The movie which came out in 2007 is loosely based on the life of Reliance’s patriarch Dhirubhai Ambani and how he started the family’s business in textiles. It was a movie that kept many spellbound because, of course, the story of Reliance is a big story, which in many ways reflects the story of modern India. The Ambani brothers Anil (49
years, born an Earth Boar) and Mukesh (51 years, born a Fire Rooster) are the world’s richest brothers. Anil is the world’s sixth richest man and its fastest growing billionaire, while Mukesh is the world’s fifth richest man!
the brothers declared war as soon as their father died. It has been a feud which even their powerful mother, the family Matriarch, has not been able to set aside. To calm matters between them, she had at first attempted to broker a deal between them, allocating the core oil and gas interests to Mukesh and power, telecoms, entertainment and financial services to Anil. Te family’s assets were split into separate companies and a truce of sorts was negotiated. But it did not last.
As part of the deal, Mukesh was to
agree to sell gas to Anil’s power company at a discounted below the market price. Mukesh has since refused to go along with the deal, declaring it illegal and taking the dispute to the land’s highest courts to settle the price disagreement. At stake was almost a billion dollars differential in what Anil would have to pay each year to Mukesh for the gas. Te fight between the brothers has thus always been predominantly about money! But rivalry between the brothers
goes beyond business matters. Hostilities between them spill into other areas. Only last year for instance they have been locked in a bitter libel case that reflect their international stature and in particular their westernized view of the world. The case involves accusations of defamation brought by Anil against Mukesh over remarks made by the
JAN/FEB 2011 | F ENGSHUIWORLD 23
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