Mukesh Ambani ranked world's 5th best CEO

Mukesh Ambani, who heads India's most valuable company Reliance Industries, has been ranked among top five best performing CEOs in the world by the prestigious Harvard Business Review.

He is the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Ltd. He is a chemical engineer from University Institute of Chemical Technology (earlier University Department of Chemical Technology), University of Mumbai (earlier University of Bombay). He has pursued MBA from Stanford University, USA.(PTI photo)

Mukesh has also topped the Forbes list of richest Indians this year with net worth estimated at $32 billion, while his estranged younger brother Anil Ambani ranked third in the list with net worth estimated at $17.5 billion.

Anil Ambani is the chairman of Reliance–Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. He is an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

With a package of over Rs 52 crore in 2008-09, Anil has topped the list of executives in terms of compensation, while Mukesh has emerged as the country's highest dividend earner at Rs 930 crore, as per rankings compiled by Business India magazine.

The Reliance Group, founded by Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani also known as Dhirubhai Ambani, is India's largest private sector enterprise, with businesses in the energy and materials value chain.

Dhirubhai Ambani, son of a village school teacher, took Reliance public in 1977. He passed away in 2002, leaving the Reliance empire to his two sons Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani.

In November 2004, Mukesh Ambani in an interview, admitted having differences with his brother Anil over 'ownership issues.'

He also said that the differences "are in the private domain." He was of the opinion that this will not have any bearing on the functioning of the company saying Reliance is one of the strongest professionally-managed companies.

The brothers had entrusted their mother, Kokilaben Ambani, to resolve the issue.

On June 18, 2005, Kokilaben Ambani announced the settlement through a press release.

The Reliance empire was split between the Ambani brothers with Mukesh getting RIL and IPCL while Anil got Reliance Capital, Reliance Energy and Reliance Infocomm.

The entity headed by Mukesh Ambani is referred to as the Reliance Industries Limited whereas Anil's Group has been renamed Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG).

Considering that the Ambani brothers were together, their collective wealth would have been close to a staggering $50 billion, much more than the net worth of the world's wealthiest person, Bill Gates, who has a fortune of $40 billion, according to the Forbes World's Billionaire list which came out in March this year.

The Ambani brothers, locked in a bitter court battle over gas supply agreement, have witnessed a significant jump in their wealth in the last 12 months. Mukesh's wealth jumped nearly 54 per cent ($11.2 billion), while Anil's fortune surged over 40 per cent ($5 billion).

The siblings have since their split been involved in several disputes. The latest is over a deal for Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries to sell gas to Anil Ambani's Reliance Natural Resources at below-market rates as agreed in a 2005 family settlement brokered by their mother, Kokilaben.

In October this year, Anil Ambani offered an olive branch to his brother Mukesh Ambani, calling for an end to a bitter feud over the split of the Reliance empire.

Anil reached out to his estranged elder brother Mukesh saying all disagreements can be sorted out in a cordial and conciliatory manner.

Mukesh's RIL, however, rejected Anil's olive branch in a statement that claimed that just 24 hours before seeking peace, Anil's company filed an affidavit in court accusing Mukesh of criminal breach of trust.

"For last many years, Anil Ambani has indulged in a malicious campaign against RIL and its chairman," the RIL response said.

The two brothers are engaged in a bitter court battle over allocation of gas and hearing is going on in the Supreme Court.

The feud between the Ambani brothers has often put both the Industry and government in a dilemma. The government had even warned the Ambani brothers to end their dispute in the interest of the nation.