India is a land that has produced several heroes, including warriors, soldiers, leaders, actors, martyrs, sportsmen and business tycoons. One such person who changed the face of India and reached the stars is Dhirubhai Ambani. Born in a small Gujarati family with modest means, Ambani’s rise to fame and his constant endeavours to reach the top are nothing less than a narrative, rags to riches story!
1. Who is Dhirubhai Ambani?
You may have heard about Mukesh and Anil Ambani. But do you know that these two business tycoons are actually sons of magnate Dhirubhai Ambani? Well, it was Dhirubhai who founded the current enterprises Reliance Industries, a conglomerate that operates in several segments such as exploration, refining, retail stores, telecommunications and petrochemicals. But Dhirubhai Ambani wasn’t a born rich man with a silver spoon in his mouth. In fact, as a third son of a school teacher, he didn’t even have enough money to fulfil his basic necessities. So, how did he manage to grow and thrive?
2. From Gujarat to Yemen
It is true that Ambani lived in moderate means, but that didn’t hinder him from dreaming high. At the tender age of 16, Dhirubhai went to Aden in Yemen to earn. The boy with dreamy eyes began his career as a dispatch clerk and soon, with his hard work and skills managed to become a distributor for Shell Products. But he wasn’t just a hard worker, he was a smart worker!
3. Melting coins to silver
While working at Yemen he realized that the London Stock Exchange had high demand for Rial, the Yemen coins that had high content of silver during those days. Therefore, Ambani acted smartly and purchased those coins in bulk. Later he melted them in silver and sold it to gold traders. And guess what, even though he did this for a few months, he ended up with lakhs of rupees, which was and still quite a big amount for an average Indian. But he wasn’t content. His dreams weren’t yet fulfilled.
4. Return to India
The young boy, who started with rags and little means, had a few lakhs in his pocket when he came back to India after 10 years. Then, he began to import polyester yarn and exported Indian spices. He used 15000 INR as capital and established Reliance Commercial Company in Mumbai. Then in 1964, he started with Reliance Textiles, produced and sold polyester cloth under brand name ‘Vimal.’ Because of his constant urge to maintain high quality standards, Vimal was applauded as the best polyester clothing brand. Dhirubhai Ambani had begun to fly high!
