D.O.B.- 28.12.

1932 He born at Chorwad, of Gujurat

Father - Hirachand Govardhandas Ambani -a school teacher Mother- Jamanaben

Two brothers and two sisters.

CHILDHOOD Extremely demanding child.

As he grew up, he became even more vigorous, and irrepressible. Possessed enormous energy. Always determined to do what he wanted to do, in exactly the way he wanted it done, come hell or high water, as the phrase goes. EDUCATION After he completed his primary education, at the village school, he was sent to the Junagarh Dist. for further studies. Quite popular in his school and well- known for his brilliance and hard-work. Elected general secretary of the Junagarh Students Union. Dhirubhai was pleased and was invited to join the Socialist Party but he had other things in mind.

Starts earning from age 16

After his annual matriculation examination, on the request of his father he had to move to Aden, Yemen to support his family. Started worked with A. Besse & Co. as a dispatch clerk for a salary of Rs.300, immediately on reaching Aden. A. Besse & Co.-- largest transcontinental trading firm east of Suez, engaged in almost every branch of trading business-cargo booking, handling, shipping, forwarding, and wholesale merchandising.

Dhirubhai -first sent to the commodities trading section & later, transferred to the section that handled petroleum products for the oil giant Shell.

quick on the uptake; learnt the ways of commodity trading.

1950s realized that their main In the 1950s, the Yemini administration

unit of currency, the Rial, was disappearing fast. Rials, pure silver coins and was in much demand at the London Bullion Exchange. Young Dhirubhai bought the Rials, melted them into pure silver and sold it to the bullion traders in London. Started understanding the bazaars of Aden where many traders, buy & Sell goods worth millions of pound. Temptation towards speculation- started trading in small things- Learnt the basics. Read newspapers, magazines, book, etc. relating to business, history, and psychology. He did not have enough money of his own for such speculative trading. So he borrowed as much as he could from friends and small Aden shopkeepers on terms nobody had ever offered them. "Profit we share and all loss will be mine" became his motto. During lunch break and after office hours he was always in the local bazaar, trading in one thing or the other

. "I think I had an animal instinct about such trading but there was a lot of reading and understanding of market trends behind that animal instinct of mine. I read every bit of paper I could lay my hands on about what was happening around the world, I listened carefully to every word uttered in the market, picked every bit of gossip in the shipping circles and pondered long through the night in the bed about the pros and cons of every deal I wanted to make."

Refinery Experience & Vision

1954-Ambanis marriage and 1st oil refinery and harbor came up in Aden. Promotion to Ambani. Now he was sent on promotion to the oil filling station at the newly built harbour. He liked the new job to service the ships bunkering for diesel and lubricants. He enjoyed visiting the ships, making friends with sailors and the engine staff I heard from them first hand accounts of their voyages in different parts of the world of which he had until then read about only in books and magazines.

HERE HE FIRST BEGAN DREAMING OF BUILDING A REFINERY OF HIS OWN.

"It was a crazy idea for a petrol pump attendant to want to build a refinery of his own, but that is the sort of crazy ideas I have been playing with all my life,",, went on stream in Jamnagar in 1999. "I have been able to build this refinery because I decided long years ago not to settle for anything else," he said, "I had heard a Yemeni proverb in Aden "la budd min Sana'a wa lau taal al-safr" (You must visit Sana'a, however long the journey takes). I never forgot that saying."

Dhirubhai recalled at the time Reliance's 25million ton oil refinery (the largest grassroots refinery in the world)

BACK to INDIA from Aden(1949-1958)

By the late 1950s it became clear that the British rule in Aden would not last long in the face of growing Yemeni movement for independence supported by Gamal Abdel Nasser's revolutionary government from across the Suez. The large Indian community of Hindu and Parsee Gujaratis began preparing to move out of Aden. Some began returning home to India, while some chose to settle in Britain. After Aden Where to migrate ? Dhirubhais Friend Approach was to Settle him in London considering his talent. But he found better opportunity in india for growing since country was in the midst of implementing the second five-year Plan So he came back to india in 1958

Started Bijiness
Dhirubhai Ambani started "Majin" in partnership with Champaklal Damani, his second cousin, who used to be with him in Aden, Yemen. Majin was to import polyester yarn and export spices to Yemen. The first office of the Reliance Commercial Corporation was set up at the Narsinatha Street in Masjid Bunder. It was 350 sq ft (33 m2). room with a telephone, one table and three chairs. Initially, they had two assistants to help them with their business. In 1965, Champaklal Damani and Dhirubhai Ambani ended their partnership and Dhirubhai started on his own. Dhirubhai was a known risk taker and he believed in building inventories, anticipating a price rise, and making profits.

Reliance Textiles
Dhirubhai Ambani along with Amit Mehra, a Chartered Accountant and Company Secretary started the first textile mill under brand Vimal at Naroda, in Ahmedabad in the year 1966.

Extensive marketing of the brand "Vimal" in the interiors of India made it a household name.
Franchise retail outlets were started and they used to sell "only Vimal" brand of textiles. In the year 1975, a Technical team from the World Bank visited the Reliance Textiles' Manufacturing unit. This unit has the rare distinction of being certified as "excellent even by developed country standards" during that period.

Initial Public Offering

Dhirubhai Ambani is awarded with starting the equity cult in India. More than 58,000 investors from various parts of India subscribed to Reliance's IPO in 1977. Dhirubhai was able to convince large number of small investors from rural Gujarat that being shareholders of his company would be profitable. Annual General Meetings were held in stadiums.

Diversification
Ambani began the process of backward integration, setting up a plant to manufacture polyester filament yarn. He subsequently diversified into chemicals, petrochemicals, plastics, power. The company as a whole was described by the BBC as "a business empire with an estimated annual turnover of $12bn, and an 85,000-strong workforce". The final phase of Reliances diversification occurred in the 1990s when the company turned aggressively towards petrochemicals and telecommunications

Criticism
Despite his almost Midas Touch, Ambani has been known to have flexible values and an unethical streak running through him. His biographer himself has cited some instances of his unethical behavior when he was just an ordinary employee at a petrol pump in Dubai. He has been accused of having manipulated government policies to suit his own needs, and has been known to be a king-maker in government elections. Although most media sources tend to speak out about business-politics nexus, the Ambani house has always enjoyed more protection and shelter from the media storms that sweep across the country.

Tussle with Nusli Wadia

Nusli Wadia of Bombay Dyeing was, at one point in time, the biggest competitor of Dhirubhai and Reliance Industries. Both Nusli Wadia and Dhirubhai were known for their influence in the political circles and their ability to get the most difficult licenses approved during the times of pre-liberalized economy. During the Janata Party rule between 1977 - 1979, Nusli Wadia obtained the permission to build a 60,000 tonnes per annum DMT (Dimethyl terephthalate) plant. But before the letter of intent was converted into a licence, many hurdles came in the way. Finally, in 1981, Nusli Wadia was granted the license for the plant. This incident acted as a catalyst between the two parties and the competition took an ugly turn.

The Indian Express Articles

At one point in time, Ramnath Goenka was a friend of Dhirubhai Ambani. Ramnath Goenka was also considered to be close to Nusli Wadia. On many occasions, Ramnath Goenka tried to intervene between the two warring factions and bring an end to the enmity. Goenka and Ambani became rivals mainly because Ambani's corrupt business practices and his illegal actions that lead to Goenka not getting a fair share in the company. Later on, Ramnath Goenka chose to support Nusli Wadia. At one point of time, Ramnath Goenka is believed to have said "Nusli is an Englishman. He cannot handle Ambani. I am a bania. I know how to finish him"....[

DHIRUBHAISM (Nine great management lessons )

No 1: Roll up your sleeves and help. No 2: Be a safety net for your team No 3: The silent benefactor No 4: Dream big, but dream with your eyes open No.5: Leave the professional alone! No.6 : Change your orbit, constantly! No.7 : The arm-around-the- shoulder leader No.8 : The Dhirubhai theory of Supply creating Demand No.9 : Money is not a product by itself, it is a by-product, so don't chase it

Movie based on Dhirubhai Ambani