Richie Rich

In late October, the more pre-emptive of our media had suggested Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, RIL, riding an unprecedented bull run, had become the richest man in the world. The claim was rebuffed the very next day, but the writing on the wall was clear. The market cap of Reliance flagship RIL, where Mukesh (50) has a 48 per cent stake, has surged 83 per cent to over a staggering Rs 4,00,000 crore in the past year. Already, the Ambanis (including younger brother Anil) are the richest family anywhere. With the Ambani brothers’ net worth pegged at Rs 3,76,000 crore, they have displaced Wal-Mart scions, the Walton family. Mukesh continues to make waves on the retail front, too. Fittingly, in Fortune’s billionaire list for 2007, Mukesh Ambani came at #14, from #56 a year ago.