Dec 28, 2023, 11:14 AM IST
Dhirubhai only 17 when he migrated to the then British colony of Aden, where he worked as a clerk at A. Besse & Co., earning a monthly salary of Rs 300.
Dhirubhai Ambani started a spice trading company in the 1950s and named it Reliance Commercial Corporation.
At 23, Dhirubhai and Kokilaben Ambani tied the knot in 1955. The couple share four children, who are Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani, Nina Kothari, Deepti Salgaocar
In 1966, Dhirubhai focused on creating synthetic fabrics and constructed the first Reliance textile plant. He purchased property in Naroda.
A World Bank technical committee named the Naroda mill "excellent even by developed country standards" in 1975, recognising it as one of India's top composite textile mills. Reliance Industries later emerged from this.
In 1977, Dhirubhai took Reliance public, introducing the stock market to the average Indian investor, despite nationalised banks' refusal to finance him.
Dhirubhai leveraged his Yemen experience to establish Reliance Hazira in 1991, transforming Reliance into a leading petrochemicals company.
In the mid-80s, Dhirubhai passed the company's day-to-day operations to his sons, Mukesh and Anil Ambani, who continued to oversee them until he died in Mumbai in 2002.
Dhirubhai Ambani was posthumously honoured with the Padma Vibhushan in 2016 for his exceptional and distinguished service to trade and industry.