He is currently the richest person in Asia and the 9th richest in the world. He is notoriously known for market manipulation, political corruption, cronyism, and exploitation.
Between 2014 and 2019 — within four years of the new BJP government and Narendra Modi’s first term as Prime Minister — his wealth more than doubled from about $23 billion to $55 billion. In 2016, Modi even appeared in a full-page advertisement for the launch of Jio, the Reliance telecom service, which within three years, boasted the largest subscriber base in India.
A subsidiary of Reliance Industries, Reliance Defence was incorporated on March 28, 2015, 12 days before Modi announced in France that India would buy 36 Rafale fighter planes. In 2016, Reliance Defence announced a deal with Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defence Systems to develop air-to-air missiles for the Indian Air Force valued at about ₹65,000 crore. The BJP government has supported the Ambani family to strike many such deals that have helped Reliance Industries establish a full-fledged plutocracy in the country.
