Ambani, who boasts the highest net worth in all of India, boosted his wealth by another $1.5 billion yesterday, as shares in his industrial conglomerate Reliance Industries gained more than 4 percent in trading, reaching an all time high. The shares surged on expectations that its telecoms unit would announce a new, attractive data plan, and also develop new gas fields, Reuters reported.
Ambani is known, among other things, for building the most expensive private residence in the world. Known as Antilia, the 60-story skyscraper employs a staff of 600 and reportedly cost between $1 billion and $2 billion to build. In other words, Ambani could pretty much afford to build another extravagant residence along the lines of Antilia just using the increase to his net worth this week.
Antilia has been controversial from the beginning. A proposal to build three helipads atop the structure was apparently shot down, and many Indians, according to the New York Times, have said the tower itself is an offensive display of wealth. The Times also reported the Ambanis don’t even spend much time there because the tower ended up violating certain principles of a revered Indian architectural philosophy.
Ambani inherited Reliance from his father, who founded the company in the mid-1960s. Reliance now enjoys annual revenues greater than $50 billion. Ambani now has a net worth of $39.2 billion, making him the 20th-richest person in the world, according to Bloomberg.
