In 2008, Anil Ambani was the 6th richest person in the world. His wealth was $42 billion more than his brother Mukesh Ambani’s. But fast forward 16 years to 2024, and Anil Ambani is nowhere to be seen among the wealthy. Debtors are chasing after him, several court cases are pending against him, and SEBI has banned him from the Indian market for the next five years. How did this happen? The story of his downfall is based on a fight between two brothers, which is not widely known. This fight impacted the political and financial systems of our country. Politicians from different parties were involved in this fight. Let’s find out the entire story of the Ambani brothers in this article.
Anil Ambani & Mukesh Ambani : Major Role in Story of Ambani Brothers
The story begins with their father, Dhirubhai Ambani. At one point, Dhirubhai Ambani worked as a gas station attendant, but by the 1980s, he was one of the biggest businessmen in India. In February 1986, he suffered a stroke, which left his right hand paralyzed. It was only after this that he began handing over his businesses to his sons, Mukesh and Anil.
Mukesh Ambani was an introvert, so he handled operations, focusing on setting up mega projects within time and budget. On the other hand, Anil Ambani was an extrovert, which made him the public face of Reliance. His role included public relations, corporate affairs, lobbying, and government marketing. In 1991, Dhirubhai appointed Mukesh Ambani as the vice-chairman of Reliance, while Anil Ambani remained the company’s joint managing director. This clearly indicated that Dhirubhai Ambani favored Mukesh, and it was seen as a sign that Mukesh would take over Reliance after Dhirubhai. Beginning of a new chapter in the story of Ambani brothers
Over time, Mukesh began taking over more and more of Reliance’s activities, placing his friends like Anand Jain and Manoj Modi in key roles within the company. You might wonder why Dhirubhai preferred Mukesh over Anil. There were several reasons, one of which was family dynamics, particularly related to Anil’s decision to marry Tina Munim.
Anil Ambani &Tina Munim Marriage
Tina Munim was a glamorous Bollywood celebrity of her time. She had been a Miss India, and her debut film Des Pardes was a big hit. In the 1980s, she was seen as a modern Indian woman. Anil met her at a party, and they quickly developed a mutual attraction. Anil decided to marry her, but there was a problem—a social hurdle. The Ambani family was conservative and Gujarati, and they were reluctant to accept Tina as their daughter-in-law. Dhirubhai Ambani opposed the marriage.
In fact, Dhirubhai went to great lengths to break them up. According to Gas Wars: Crony Capitalism and the Ambanis on page 41, Dhirubhai used his influence within the government to orchestrate an ED raid on Tina. A 2015 article in The Caravan magazine also confirms that an ED raid took place on Tina. But despite his father’s objections, Anil was adamant about marrying her. He later found out that the ED team had misbehaved with Tina, and after this, Anil threatened Dhirubhai that if he didn’t accept Tina as their daughter-in-law, Anil would leave the family. This was nothing short of a dramatic, film-like situation. Eventually, family and friends intervened and convinced Dhirubhai to allow the marriage. Anil and Tina were married in February 1991, and Tina Munim became Tina Ambani.
Mukesh Ambani & Nita Dalal Marriage
On the other hand, Mukesh’s story was the complete opposite. He married the girl his mother chose for him. His mother, Kokilaben, saw Nita Dalal at a Bharatanatyam dance recital, which eventually led to Mukesh and Nita’s marriage. Dhirubhai and Kokilaben relied on Nita for important family decisions, while Tina barely played any role in family matters.
In 1994, Sandeep Tandon, an IRS officer who had once raided Tina’s house, joined Reliance as a consultant—with Mukesh’s approval. Anil was very upset about this. It’s said that Mukesh believed only he could lead Reliance into the 21st century. The world began noticing this when Reliance entered the telecom sector. Reliance Infocomm Private Limited was founded, but neither Anil nor his supporters were given major roles in the company. Reliance Infocomm was owned by another company, Reliance Communication Infrastructure Limited, with Mukesh and Nita Ambani holding 50.55% of the shares, and RIL holding 45%.
RIL was Reliance’s main company, with Mukesh Ambani himself as the chairman and managing director. Top positions were held by loyalists like Manoj Modi, Anand Jain, and Bharat Goenka. Anil Ambani saw this as a clear sign that Mukesh was sidelining him and did not view him as an equal partner. Along with this, Anil also stepped back from his role, feeling unappreciated for managing politicians, bureaucrats, and media. Anil, who dealt with global fund managers to ensure Reliance’s growth, was upset that Mukesh gave more importance to his loyalists. Although Dhirubhai Ambani was still alive by 1999, a rift had developed between the Ambani brothers, dividing the Reliance group into two factions: the pro-Mukesh group and the pro-Anil group.
Story of Ambani Brothers: Power Struggles and Business Battles
Dhirubhai knew that his sons weren’t on friendly terms, but instead of dividing the business, he took a different route. He announced a mega-merger of Reliance companies, merging Reliance Petroleum with Reliance India Pvt Ltd. It’s believed he did this to make it difficult to divide the Reliance Group, thinking it would force the brothers to work together. However, this plan did not work. On July 6, 2002, Dhirubhai Ambani passed away. After this, Mukesh took control of Reliance, with Anil as the second in command. But a few months later, tensions between the two brothers started to grow further.
Anil Ambani felt that Mukesh was using RIL to finance his telecom venture and obtain personal benefits for himself and his friends. Meanwhile, Nita Ambani’s role in Reliance Infocomm was rising, as she was beginning to oversee its operations, which Anil opposed. He voiced his disapproval, and by July 2004, the Reliance board restricted Anil’s powers, giving Mukesh full financial authority. Another proposal was passed stating that the vice-chairman should work under the chairman’s supervision. Anil began to realize Mukesh was trying to sideline him entirely. After Dhirubhai’s death, Anil wanted their mother to become Reliance’s chairperson, but Mukesh refused, saying it would send the wrong message to international investors.
From Mukesh’s perspective, old articles suggest he felt Anil wasn’t serious about business due to his closeness with Samajwadi Party leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh, which made Mukesh uncomfortable. While Dhirubhai had ties with politicians like Indira Gandhi, he maintained good terms with all parties. But Anil was growing increasingly close with the Samajwadi Party.
Anil’s Rajya Sabha Bid: A New Rift with Mukesh
In June 2004, Anil filed a Rajya Sabha nomination as an independent candidate from UP and won, with support from Amar Singh and Mulayam Singh Yadav. This concerned Mukesh, as Congress had just won the central government, and the Samajwadi Party was one of Congress’s main rivals. Unlike today, when the two parties are allies, they opposed each other back then. Mukesh felt this alliance with an opposition party could hurt Reliance’s business interests, as Congress might disapprove.
Furthermore, Anil’s Rajya Sabha nomination required him to declare his and his wife’s wealth, which displeased Mukesh, who disliked such public disclosures. Another reason for Mukesh’s dissatisfaction was Anil’s power generation project. Anil had announced plans for a gas-based power plant in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, stating that the gas would come from the Krishna Godavari basin discoveries. Mukesh believed Anil had forced this project on Reliance just to please Amar Singh and Mulayam Singh Yadav.
By late 2004, the relationship between the two brothers had reached a breaking point. The Times of India ran a front-page report on a feud between the brothers of a major business group. At that time, most publications dared to publish daring news—not like today, when many aim to please certain groups. Following this, on November 18, 2004, two interesting things happened: Mukesh Ambani attended a CNBC TV18 business seminar, where Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Mukesh’s classmate and friend from Stanford Business School, was also present.
