Warren Buffet: The Success Story Of The...
Warren Buffet is an American investor, businessman, and philanthropist. He is also a self-made billionaire and arguably the most discussed share mark…
07 Mar, 2022
7 min read
21710 Views
This article explores the life and times of Dhirubhai Ambani, the man credited with founding Reliance Commercial Corporation.
A Brief Overview
For those who are unaware, Dhirajlal Harichand Ambani - or Dhirubhai Ambani as he is often called, is credited with having founded Reliance Commercial Corporation. Although he was born into a family of modest means, the company he founded would go on to become one of India’s most successful and widely recognised names.
Born on December 28, 1932, he hailed from a small village in Gujarat called Chorwad. During his early 30’s Ambani went on to found Reliance Commercial Corporation in 1966 which served as a polyester firm. Fast forward 7 years and the company saw itself be renamed to Reliance Industries. This company would ultimately go on to enter the realms of finance as well as petroleum. Following his death in 2002, the company was taken over by his two sons – Anil and Mukesh Ambani.
The Origins of Dhirubhai Ambani
Dhirubhai Ambani was the son of a teacher who taught at a small school in their local village. Despite his father’s academic capabilities, however, Dhirubhai only studied and graduated from grade 10 following which he joined the workforce.
It is widely believed that his starting salary amounted to a modest INR 300. As a 17 year old, he migrated to the Republic of Yemen in order to work alongside his brother Ramniklal. While living in Yemen, Dhirubhai began to work at a petrol pump. Eventually, however, he worked his way upwards and was able to become the filing manager. Ultimately, Dhirubhai ended up moving back to India and dreamt of becoming a businessman.
The Building Blocks that Constituted Reliance Industries
In 1958, Dhirubhai Ambani returned to India and began a textile business called “Majin” which he ran alongside his cousin Champaklal. This company was responsible for exporting goods ranging from spices to textiles like rayon to Yemen and imported polyester. His first office was located in Masjid Bunder which was a mere 33 square meters in size. The partnership between Dhirubhai and his cousin came to a close in 1965 as they each had different ideas regarding the method via which the company ought to be run.
Ambani was a shrewd businessman who was willing to take risks and was aware of the importance of marketing. He understood the need to build inventories in order to generate an income. Armed with this knowledge, he decided to launch Reliance Commercial Corporation which is presently known as Reliance Industries.
While this company originally focused on the trade of spices, it eventually expanded to include a number of other commodities. His business model followed a strategy of providing superior quality products while accepting smaller profits in comparison to his competitors. Owing to this very fact, therefore, it is no surprise that his business began to grow and expand.
Once Dhirubhai determined that his company had expanded as far as it could as far as commodities were concerned, he began to direct his attention to synthetic textiles. He set his eye on backward integration and opened the first Reliance textile mill in 1966. The company eventually morphed into a petrochemical giant and went on to add power generation and plastics into its offerings.
1977 saw Ambani take the company public once nationalised banks denied him funding. As he was able to handle and overcome the government regulations and bureaucracy in place, he was accused of being corrupt and manipulative, however, investors remained confident in the company. This was owed in large part to the handsome dividends the company provided investors with as well as due to the vision that Dhirubhai focused on and investors believed in.
Ambani is credited with bringing the stock market’s attention to the masses and his company’s annual general meetings were held by thousands owing to which these events were often held in sports stadiums or were streamed on television.
In the mid 1980’s Ambani decided to hand over the company’s day to day functioning to his sons – Anil and Mukesh, however, he continued to oversee the company right up to his death in 2002.
Awards and Accolades
Over the course of his life, Dhirubhai Ambani was granted several awards including the following.
2001 -
- The Economic Times - Lifetime Achievement Award
2000 –
- Asia Week - Dhirubhai among Asia's 50 most powerful people
- Chemtech Foundation - Man of the Century Award
- FICCI - Indian Entrepreneur of the 20th Century Award
- The Times of India - Dhirubhai Ambani voted "Creator of Wealth" of the Century
1999 -
- Business Baron - Dhirubhai Ambani voted "Indian Businessman of the Century
- TNS-Mode Survey - India's Most Admired CEO
1998 -
- Asia Week - Dhirubhai among Asia's 50 most powerful people
- Business Week - Dhirubhai Ambani one of "The Stars of Asia
- Dhirubhai Ambani in Asia Week Hall of Fame
- Wharton's Dean Medal for Dhirubhai Ambani
1993-
- Business India - Dhirubhai Ambani, Businessman of the Year 1993
Wrapping Up
As the Dhirubhai Ambani story should make clear, motivation, a vision and sheer perseverance are capable of being incredibly rewarding. Dhirubhai was able to take advantage of the knowledge he had gained over time and apply it such that he could create a company of the size he did.
Disclaimer: This blog is exclusively for educational purposes and does not provide any advice/tips on investment or recommend buying and selling any stock.
How would you rate this blog?
Related Blogs
Translate the power of knowledge into action. Open Free* Demat Account
Latest Blog
-
23 Mar, 2021
8 min read
A Software Engineer Turned Value...
One of the most successful value investors of his time, Mohnish Pabrai, considers Warren Buffet his investment guru.
-
22 Jul, 2021
8 min read
OYO Success Story: Inspiring Journey of...
OYO serves to be one of the most well recognized and successful startups the country has produced and holds rank as the largest budget hotel chain.
-
22 Oct, 2021
5 min read
The Success Story of Jack Ma, Chinese Businessman
Jack Ma, whose Chinese name is Ma Yun, is one of China's wealthiest and the founder of Alibaba Group. But, did you know that Ma failed the entrance e…
-
28 Jul, 2021
9 min read
Success Story of Elon Musk: The...
Elon Musk is a celebrated entrepreneur. This article talks about his pathway to success.
-
17 May, 2022
5 min read
Aman Gupta: Success Story of the BoAt Co-Founder
If you watched the Indian edition of Shark Tank this past year, you may be familiar with Aman Gupta who served as one of the investors on the show. A…
-
14 Apr, 2022
5 min read
Dr APJ Abdul Kalam: Success Story,...
Learn the APJ Abdul Kalam story and walk away feeling inspired by the country’s missile man.
-
19 Apr, 2022
6 min read
Dhirubhai Ambani Biography: Success Story
Learn all that the Dhirubhai Ambani biography entails and understand how he built Reliance Industries from the ground up.
-
02 Aug, 2021
10 min read
Success Story of Paytm - Vijay Shekhar...
This is a story about the journey of India’s second-youngest billionaire – Vijay Shekhar Sharma, and his brainchild, Paytm that revolutionised digita…
-
04 Oct, 2020
6 min read
Ratan Tata: An Inspirational Success...
Ratan Tata is a name that immediately draws recognition from all. The tata group scion has earned reverence not only as a successful industrialist bu…
-
15 May, 2022
4 min read
Ratan Tata's Youngest Assistant: Shantanu...
Learn about Shantanu Naidu and how his start-up caught the eye of Ratan Tata.
-
28 Feb, 2022
5 min read
Ashneer Grover Biography - BhartPe...
This article focuses on the career trajectory of Ashneer Grover who serves as one of the co-founder’s of BharatPe.
-
28 Dec, 2020
8 min read
Tracing The Success Story Of Gautam Adani
Gautam Adani is an Indian billionaire Entrepreneur and industrialist. Read this blog to know the success story of a man who thought ambitiously and m…
-
16 Jan, 2021
8 min read
From Investor to Entrepreneur: Journey of...
From an investor to an entrepreneur, RK Damani's success story inspires millions. He is one of the few billionaires who have made their way to succes…
-
23 May, 2022
5 min read
Falguni Nayar Success Story: Nykaa Founder
Take a look at what Nykaa founder Falugni Nayar’s story is and understand how the company grew exponentially over the course of the past decade.
-
21 Oct, 2021
8 min read
Success Story of Vijay Kedia
Vijay Kedia has been an inspiration to many. He has been involved in the market since the age of 19! Here is a glimpse of his success story as an Ind…
-
23 Sep, 2021
6 min read
Success story – Anil Ambani
This article highlights the highs and lows of once-billionaire Anil Ambani.
-
10 Aug, 2022
5 min read
Lakshmi Mittal Success Story
Learn about Lakshmi Mittal, India’s steel tycoon and executive chairman of ArcelorMittal.
-
31 Mar, 2022
6 min read
Sundar Pichai: Success Story of Google CEO
The career trajectory and early life of Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, have been discussed in the article provided below.
-
07 Feb, 2023
None min read
Shaadi.Com Founder: Anupam Mittal Success Story
Discover Anupam Mittal's entrepreneurial journey. Founder of People Group with successful ventures like Shadi.com, Makaan.com & Mauj mobile.
-
27 Apr, 2022
7 min read
Top 10 Most Inspirational Person in India
Learn about some of the most inspiring personalities of India by examining the article provided below.
-
29 Mar, 2022
6 min read
Lenskart Startup Story: Leading Eyewear Company
This article uncovers the early days of Lenskart and discusses how it gained popularity and grew over a relatively short period of time.
-
25 Oct, 2020
5 min read
Rakesh Junjhunwala: A Journey From Rs 5k...
He started with a paltry sum of Rs 5000 in 1985 and made it big. According to the latest Forbes report, his wealth stands at a staggering volume of U…
-
10 Apr, 2021
7 min read
The Success Story Of Small-cap Czar,...
His knack to pick value stocks of lesser-known companies has earned him the moniker, small-cap czar.
-
25 May, 2022
5 min read
Mark Zuckerberg's Success Story: Founder...
Understand the Mark Zuckerberg story and take a look at how Meta (formerly Facebook) has transformed over the years.
-
26 Mar, 2022
5 min read
Nirmala Sitharaman’s Success Story
This article discusses the early life and career of India’s finance minister and touches upon her accomplishments over the years.
-
23 Mar, 2023
3 min read
Success Story of Vineeta Singh - Founder...
The success story of Vineeta Singh, founder of Sugar Cosmetics is one of perseverance, the emergence of the startup culture in India and the end of d…
-
16 Jan, 2021
8 min read
The Success Story Of India's Vaccine...
Cyrus Poonawalla is one of the richest businessmen in India and the world. In 1966, he founded the Serum Institution. Read this blog to know the succ…
-
12 Aug, 2022
6 min read
Shiv Nadar: Success Story
Understand who Shiv Nadar, the man behind the billion-dollar HCL Technologies empire is.
-
13 Jul, 2022
5 min read
Top 10 Unicorn Startup Company in India...
Understand the top 10 unicorn companies in India and what makes them stand out.
-
11 Oct, 2020
4 min read
Azim Premji: How One Man’s Action...
Azim Premji turned a small family-owned cooking oil company into a multi-billion IT outsource company.
-
18 Oct, 2020
5 min read
Mukesh Ambani: The Rise of India's Richest Man
In 1981, while studying an MBA at Stanford University, young Mukesh received a call from his father. He dropped out of the Univesity and came back t…
-
13 Mar, 2021
8 min read
From A Small Lender To Asia's Richest...
Starting with a small lending firm that offered affordable loans to small companies, Uday Kotak turned his business into a successful bank, which is …
-
22 Dec, 2021
8 min read
Nykaa Success Story - Startup to IPO
How do you go from startup to an IPO oversubscribed over 81 times in under 10 years? That's what we're going to try and understand in today's blog po…
-
27 Jul, 2021
9 min read
Success Story of Jeff Bezos: Founder &...
Know how Jeff Bezos established a multinational company from scratch and became one of the most successful entrepreneurs.
-
11 Jul, 2022
5 min read
Biocon Founder: Kiran Mazumdar Shaw Success Story
Learn about Kiran Mazumdar Shaw who is one of the country’s self-made billionaire entrepreneurs and who is the founder of Biocon.
-
21 Apr, 2022
5 min read
Shiv Khera | Every Success Story is Also...
Shiv Khera’s motivational speaking has inspired the masses. Check out his life story and learn why it makes for a compelling case that outlines the p…
-
13 Jan, 2022
10 min read
Raamdeo Agrawal: How Discipline can bring...
Mr. Raamdeo Agrawal is a well-known figure in the Indian investment world. His performance, the so-called virtuoso, had the clear goal of demonstrati…
-
02 Mar, 2022
8 min read
Exploring Ed-Tech Giant Byju’s Start-up Story
This article walks the reader through the life and career path of Byju Raveendran who is the founder of Byju’s.
Ready To Trade? Start with
Subscribe to #SmartSauda Newsletter
CONTINUE WITH GOOGLE
CONTINUE WITH FACEBOOK
