Mukesh Ambani’s childhood, revealed: Asia’s richest man lived in a one-bedroom flat with nine people and was punished with water and roti

May 26 , 2021

Mukesh Ambani, then and now. Photos: @ambani_news; @mukeshambaniofficial/Instagram

Mukesh Ambani is one of the richest men in the world and his rise to billionaire status is the stuff fairy tales are made of. But how did the man who has everything grow up? Well, imagine being squeezed into a one-room flat with nine people. Or how about getting sent to the garage as a kid as punishment? Behind the mansions, the private security and the spectacle of being an Ambani is the story of a self-confessed shy man who just wanted to make his dad proud.

In his first interview on Rendezvous with Simi Garewal in 2012, posted on YouTube, Mukesh opened up about his life before being ultra-rich.

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The start of Reliance

Dhirubhai Ambani. Photo: @thecorpcommindia/Instagram

Dhirubhai Ambani’s incredible success with Reliance Industries is legendary. While the businessman started the company with a table, chair and phone, Mukesh turned the company into a multibillion-dollar business. In the interview, he says as a child he remembers coming home from school to sit with his father for hours, watching him making business decisions. He credits his father for his success and says he has always remained focused on achieving the end game.

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Living in poverty

The childhood days of Mukesh Ambani. Photo: @Jainpankajkasan/Twitter

Mukesh may now be massively wealthy, complete with a luxurious mansion that has been dubbed one of the most expensive homes in the world, but there was a time when he was squeezed into sharing a single room with nine people. In the interview, he explains how one of his fondest memories is when he grew up in a one-bedroom flat with his parents and siblings, saying it was his very first childhood memory and that he remembers always feeling secure there.

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His dad had a temper

Mukesh Ambani with daughter Isha and son Anant. Photo: @mukesh.ambaniii/Instagram

Dhirubhai may be a much-loved figure in India, but Mukesh explains that his father used to have a “severe” temper. The billionaire recounts how he and his brother/rival Anil once got punished after misbehaving as young boys. The family had guests over and the two brothers ate the food prepared for the visitors and jumped on the sofa. While his dad laughed it off in the moment, the next day he banished them to the garage with nothing but water and roti, and said they had to repent. Mukesh was 10 at the time. He said they learned their lesson and were never naughty when guests were over again.

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Witnessing his father’s stroke

Mukesh Ambani and his father Dhirubhai. Photo: @ambani_news/Instagram

Although Dhirubhai’s temper used to flare up, Mukesh says this changed later. The father and son enjoyed a close relationship and, with tears in his eyes, Mukesh explains how he witnessed his father’s first stroke. They were watching cricket on February 16, 1986, when Dhirubhai told his son that his back was hurting. Suddenly he fell unconscious and was rushed to hospital. Doctors told the family that the next 24 hours would be critical.

When Dhirubhai did wake up, instead of asking where he was and what had happened, he told Mukesh, “Don’t worry, I will make it.” Mukesh says the fact that his dad was more concerned about reassuring him than what had happened spoke volumes about the type of person he was. In 2002, Dhirubhai suffered his second stroke and passed away, leaving a hole in the Ambani family.

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Mukesh Ambani and family

In a Rendezvous with Simi Garewal interview posted to YouTube, the billionaire businessman and Reliance Industries chairman spoke candidly about his childhood
He and wife Nita might have been strict with kids Akash, Isha and Anant, but Dhirubhai had a ‘severe’ temper with him and his brother Anil