The original disruptor of Indian capitalism. Before Reliance, Indian business was polite, closed, and clubby. He blew that door off its hinges.
Dhirubhai Ambani was born in 1932 in Chorwad, Gujarat. His father was a schoolteacher. There was no business lineage, no capital, and no safety net.
At sixteen, he left India for Aden (Yemen) and worked as a petrol pump attendant. The job paid little, but it taught him how commodities are priced, how margins move, and how markets behave in real time.
While others chased degrees or government jobs, he watched price boards and shipping manifests. That instinct stayed with him for life.
In the late 1950s, Dhirubhai returned to India and started Reliance Commercial Corporation.
The business evolved step by step: spices → yarn → synthetic textiles.
He noticed something most established businessmen ignored: India didn’t need luxury. India needed cheap, reliable basics at massive scale.
In the 1970s, cotton was scarce and expensive. Synthetic fabrics were considered inferior by elites.
Dhirubhai bet aggressively on polyester. He wasn’t selling fabric. He was democratizing aspiration.
Instead of borrowing endlessly from banks or relying on business families, Dhirubhai went directly to the public.
Reliance IPOs pulled millions of first-time investors into equity markets, long before India had the language of financial literacy.
Shareholders became more than capital. They became his shield, his megaphone, and his leverage.
Critics mocked him. Regulators fought him. He kept building.
By the 1980s and 1990s, Reliance was no longer admired — it was unavoidable.
Dhirubhai believed that if you build capacity for India’s future, the future eventually pays you back — with interest.
Mukesh built the pipes. Anil chased speed. But Dhirubhai lit the fire.