Mukesh Ambani rides RIL wave, Inches closer to exclusive $100 billion club

Breaking into the ranks of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index is no easy feat. In fact, being ranked on the Index is the easy part. The real challenge is in consistently maintaining your ranking. The individuals who populate this list are not the average Joe. They are some of the most charismatic and driven personalities on the planet. It should therefore come as no surprise that Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Chairman, Mukesh Ambani, is a hallowed member of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Ambani is currently Asia’s wealthiest person with a total net worth of $92.6 billion. Now, he is just a few billions shy of breaking into a select group of men with fortunes over $100 billion. A surge in RIL shares was responsible for a jump which same him rank 12^th on the list behind Warren Buffett and L’Oreal’s Francoise Bettencourt Meyers.

India’s richest person has already added close to $16 billion to his personal coffers this year. For comparison, his net worth was $80.7 billion a month ago and before that, $79.9 billion a year ago. The stellar performance of the RIL shares is the major driving force behind this show. RIL shares gained 9 per cent over the last seven trading sessions, adding a whopping $8 billion to his net worth.

The sudden upswing in share prices followed Ambani’s announcement that RIL would commit to the “aggressive” production of green hydrogen. Earlier this year, he had already announced his intentions to enter the renewables market and earmarked Rs. 75,000 crores for such purposes. With global sentiments shifting towards green technology and sustainability, Ambani’s decision to enter the renewables industry certainly helped his cause.

The mainstay of Mukesh Ambani’s business empire has always been the petrochemicals industry. The demand for petrochemicals is steadily increasing and with Saudi Aramco looking to invest in the RIL oil business, it only helped rally RIL stocks in the market. Analysts also expect RIL shares to go up by another 10 per cent this year, which could grant Ambani entry into the coveted $100 billion club.

As the global economy finds its footing in a post-pandemic world, it should only be a matter of time before Mukesh Ambani makes the fateful leap into the exclusive $100 billion club.