The succession plan for Reliance Industries is already underway, with Mukesh Ambani – India’s richest man and the 11th richest man in the world with a colossal real-time net worth of $111.1 billion (approximately Rs 9.2 lakh crore), according to Forbes – and Nita Ambani’s children heading different subsidiaries. Akash Ambani is heading Reliance Jio, Isha Ambani is heading Reliance Retail and Anant Ambani is heading Reliance New Energy. Despite their ultra-affluent lifestyle, the trio had been humbled early on about money by their mother…
Here’s how Nita Ambani humbled her and Mukesh Ambani’s children about money at a young age:
Nita Ambani, in a 2011 interview with iDiva, had shared how she kept her children grounded when it comes to matters of money. The businesswoman revealed that she would give her kids Isha Ambani, Akash Ambani and Anant Ambani Rs 5 as pocket money every week.
Recalling how she brought up her children to respect people, values and money, Nita Ambani shared, “When my kids were still young, I’d give them Rs 5 each every Friday to spend in the school canteen. One day, my youngest, Anant [Ambani], came running into my bedroom and demanded he be given Rs 10 instead. When I questioned him, he said his pals in school laughed whenever they saw him take out a five-rupee coin saying,‘Tu Ambani hai ya bhikari!’ Mukesh and I couldn’t help but crack up.”
Besides being a hands-on mum, Nita Ambani also made sure that Mukesh Ambani had a significant influence over their children. She insisted that her husband had to spend Sundays helping their kids with homework: “I told him you may be busy influencing the future of Reliance and the country, but you better influence the future of your kids too. I believe that it’s not just quality but also the quantity of time spent with the kids that makes them sound individuals.”
During their appearance on Rendezvous with Simi Garewal, Nita Ambani recalled another such incident when it was Akash Ambani, who was schooled by his father. Akash was speaking on the phone with their watchman and for some reason, he raised his voice: “Mukesh heard him doing that. He said, go down immediately and go and say sorry to him. And I was watching this at a distance and I realised that Akash had to do this because it’s going to help him to become a good human being,” via DNA India. Nita Ambani further added that when at home, the Ambanis lead a very simple lifestyle, like any other Gujarati family.
