Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man with a net worth of around $100 billion, has often portrayed the fortunes of his Reliance Industries conglomerate as intertwined with India’s rise. One of the company’s principles is: “What is good for India is good for Reliance.”
India’s small-scale manufacturers stand to lose tens of billions of dollars in imports to the U.S. after the Trump administration slapped a 50% tariff on the country. The move was largely a punishment for purchasing massive amounts of discounted Russian oil after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, which the U.S. says is helping Russia to fund its war.
But while the new U.S. tariffs apply to about two-thirds of India’s roughly $90 billion in exports to the U.S., energy products—which dominate Reliance’s exports—are exempted from the waves of tariffs Trump unleashed this year. In any case, Reliance exports more to Europe than to the U.S., according to analysts.
On Friday, in his closely watched annual overview of Reliance’s many businesses, which include the world’s largest refinery complex, but also span telecom, retail and entertainment, Ambani struck an upbeat note and presented a picture of growth resting significantly on India’s growing consumer base.
The Reliance chairman also showcased Reliance’s ties to prominent U.S. firms, featuring video appearances by U.S. CEOs, including Google’s Sundar Pichai, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, and Disney’s Bob Iger. Google and Meta have invested billions of dollars into Jio, the company’s telecom arm, while Disney and Reliance have an entertainment tie-up.
In what appeared to be a subtle reference to the pressure India is facing from the U.S., Ambani hailed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and focus on self-reliance.
India hasn’t signaled that it plans to do so, and in recent weeks its foreign minister hailed Russia as one of India’s steadiest partners.
Ambani, a quiet but skillful networker, seemed on the path to forging a good relationship with Trump.
Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, attended a wedding event for Ambani’s youngest son in Jamnagar last year, and Ambani attended Trump’s inauguration. The two met again in May at a state dinner hosted for Trump by Qatar in May.
A Reliance real estate unit has also shelled out $10 million as a “development fee” to the Trump Organization to license the Trump name in Mumbai. The company hasn’t announced any details about the project.
Posted by John3262005
2 Comments
Malarkey level of a financial tycoon like Trump, such as an Ambani heir, seizing a future Indian election.
Out of the two biggest indian billionaires, ambani family plays both sides of the political isle well from his father’s time and will survive till the end of time. Even if modi loses, he won’t be impacted much.
Adani is more reliant on modi and the day modi is out of the picture, he will be hit alot unless he improves his ties with the other side which I doubt he is going to.