Mukesh Ambani, the elder son of the late legendary business tycoon Dhirubhai Ambani, has played a pivotal role in taking Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), the world's largest oil refining complex, to the pinnacle of success. Now the 19th wealthiest person in the world with a net worth of $44.1 billion (£35.1bn), we track the journey of RIL’s owner, who is as well known for hogging headlines for his lavish lifestyle, including paying Beyoncé to put on a private show at his daughter’s pre-wedding party, as he is for carrying forward his father's legacy.

Mukesh Ambani (pictured) was born on 19 April, 1957 and is the eldest of four siblings. His father Dhirubhai Ambani was a gas station attendant in Aden, Yemen at the time, and the family lived in a modest two-bedroom flat in Bhuleshwar, Mumbai. 

In 1958, Dhirubhai Ambani struck out on his own, trading yarn and spices with Yemen. Around 42 years later, the Ambani family’s relentless entrepreneurial spirit saw Dhirubhai Ambani awarded with the ‘Man of the Century’ accolade by Chemtech Foundation and Chemical Engineering World magazine, in recognition of his contribution to the growth and development of the chemical industry in India. In the 1960s, Dhirubhai Ambani co-founded Reliance Commercial Corporation, a polyester business. 

As his father worked hard on the business, Mukesh was receiving a quality education. After graduating from high school in Mumbai, he received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Bombay. Though at the demands of his father, young Mukesh’s education stopped there.

Mukesh began an MBA at Stanford University but, in 1981, was reportedly summoned by his father to leave his studies to help with the family business, where he worked on diversifying the company. Two years later, Mukesh’s brother, Anil, joined Reliance, as co-chief executive officer.

In 1985, the company was changed to Reliance Industries Ltd to adapt to Mukesh’s diversification of the business, which was now venturing into new areas including petroleum refining, polyester fibres and gas and oil production.

The same year, Mukesh Ambani married Nita. The couple met through Mukesh's father, who first encountered Nita at a dance performance. Dhirubhai liked the idea of arranging Nita and Mukesh's marriage. Nita went on to be the chairperson of the Reliance Foundation, an Indian philanthropic initiative, set up in 2010.

Despite branching out, RIL and Mukesh went through turbulent and challenging times. In the mid 1980s, Dhirubhai suffered a stroke which left him partially paralysed. Mukesh suddenly found himself running the business without his father but retained composure, as he once said in an interview: “There was no sense of panic. The whole picture was in my head. The polyester business was institutionalised and there was a plan in place. We just kept our heads down and executed it.”

True to Mukesh’s word of keeping cool and executing a plan, from 1985 to 1992 the company expanded its capacity for producing polyester yarn by more than 140,000 tonnes a year.

Never one to do things by half, in October 1991 Mukesh and Nita had twins, Isha and Akash Ambani. The couple went on to have another son Anant, born in April 1995.

Polyester yarn wasn’t enough for Mukesh Ambani and his family-run business. In 1993 the company turned to overseas capital markets for funds through a global depositary issue of Reliance Petroleum.

Showing the Ambani family's renowned determination and resounding business spirit, Mukesh and his father began buying up suppliers, as well as oil refineries and petrochemical plants.

During 1998-2000, the Ambanis ambitiously constructed the Jamnagar Refinery in Gujarat, the largest refinery in the world. Now, 20 years later, Mukesh is considering a plan to boost the oil refining capacity of the plant so it can process as much as 30 million tonnes of crude oil a year.

Tragedy hit the Ambani family – and Reliance Industries Ltd – when Dhirubhai died of a stroke in 2002. Without leaving a will, a bitter fraternal feud developed between Mukesh and his brother Anil.

As the patriarch failed to leave a will, his elder son became chairman and managing director of RIL. Younger son Anil was made vice-chairman.

Mukesh reportedly attempted to oust Anil from the Reliance Industries’ board. The ongoing bitter row between the two brothers over their father’s empire was described as a ‘Shakespearean tragedy’ set in India. Such was the intensity of the row that the Indian government stepped in, pleading the brothers to end their feud for the good of India’s economy.

The ongoing fraternal feud didn’t hinder Mukesh’s fondness for making obscenely lavish purchases. In 2007, the business magnate acquired the Boeing Business Jet 2, a $73 million (£58m) ‘flying hotel’ with 1,004 square feet of cabin space, an executive lounge and private suites.

In 2015, in a settlement negotiated by the brothers’ mother, Kokilaben Ambani, the family split the business. Mukesh took control of petrochemicals, gas, oil, refining and textiles, and Anil became in charge of asset management, telecommunications, power generation and entertainment.

Despite agreeing to split the Reliance Group, the feud was reignited several years later over an agreement for Mukesh’s exploration company to sell gas to Anil’s power business at discounted rates. However, the deal was vetoed by the Indian government, which said neither company was able to trade the government’s gas at discounted prices.

In 2006, Mukesh built a 27-storey tower block in Mumbai, known as the Antilia. In-keeping with Mukesh’s lavish aspirations, the property overlooks the Arabian Sea, has car parking for 300, an “oxygen room”, several helipads and a 600-strong bevy of staff.

As owning a sports club increasingly became the new status of wealth, in 2008 Mukesh and his wife Nita bought the Mumbai Indians’ cricket franchise for more than $110 million (£88m).

In what was one of India’s biggest energy deals, in 2011 RIL announced the sale of a 30% stake in 23 gas and oil blocks to the UK’s BP Plc, for a cool $7.2 billion (£5.7bn).

In November 2014, Antilia (Mukesh’s home in Mumbai) was officially named the most expensive residential property in the world.

Mukesh’s journey to become one of the richest people in the world by driving the family business to the zenith of success, surpassing rival tycoons like the Birlas and Tatas, has not been without its setbacks. Throughout the Noughties, India’s National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government slapped a series of penalties on the company for failing to meet the gas production commitment from its Andhra offshore field.

Recognising the huge profits available in the telecoms industry, in 2015 Mukesh launched Jio Infocomm Ltd. The Indian mobile network operator operates a national LTE network. The billionaire’s telecom venture is said to have catapulted India as the world’s largest mobile broadband data-consuming nation in less than two years. 

The same year, Prince Charles shared his gratitude to the Ambani family’s Reliance Foundation for pledging to match-fund the millions of pounds to be raised for a new anti-trafficking fund the Prince launched in London.

Mukesh announced that Jio Infocomm was to launch 4G services in almost 90% of urban regions and more than 215,000 villages across India. The move saw the business magnate’s company incur a whopping Rs 70,000 crore ($10bn, £7.9bn) investment in India. Though industry analysts condemned the move, considering it aggressive during a time when telecom companies were vying for 4G dominance.

Following the oil-to-telecom conglomerate, RIL was presented with the 'Drivers of Change' Award at the 2018 Financial Times ArcelorMittal Boldness in Business Awards. In his acceptance speech, Mukesh announced Jio Infocomm had been first seeded by his daughter Isha in 2011. “She was a student at Yale and was home for the holidays. She wanted to submit some coursework – and she said, 'Dad, the internet in our house sucks'," Mukesh recalled. 

Now read about The shocking secrets of Kim Jong-un's luxury life

What seemed like an eternal feud, Mukesh and his brother made inroads in repairing their tumultuous relationship, announcing they were to share a fibre optic network for their rival telecoms companies. 

These 25 massive companies are still family owned

The latest headline to grab the world’s attention about Asia’s richest man was Isha’s recent wedding. On 12 December, 2018, Isha and Anand Piramal, an Indian billionaire industrialist, tied the knot at Mukesh’s Antilia residence in Mumbai. The $100 million wedding even saw Beyoncé being flown in to give a private concert during the pre-wedding celebrations.

If you think that's impressive, check out more of The most expensive and surprising gifts of the mega-rich

With a current net worth of $44.1 billion (£35.1bn), according to Forbes’ annual list of India’s richest billionaires, Mukesh Ambani remains the wealthiest Indian for the 11^th year.

Now discover the Billionaires giving away fortunes to save the world