Ambani vs Adani

India's two biggest family groups.

Mukesh AmbaniReliance Industries$84.2BForbes, 15 Oct 2026 Gautam AdaniAdani Group (Adani Enterprises)$83.9BForbes, 25 Aug 2026

The differences

Forbes puts Mukesh Ambani about $0.3B ahead of Gautam Adani.Forbes figures from 15 Oct 2026 and 25 Aug 2026.
Mukesh Ambani: inherited and grew it. Gautam Adani: founded it.
Mukesh Ambani is about 5 years older than Gautam Adani.
Mukesh Ambani has held a public or government advisory role; Gautam Adani has none on record.

Put someone else on either side

Side by side

Ambani

Adani

The money

Net worth, Forbes: $84.2BForbes, 15 Oct 2026; $83.9BForbes, 25 Aug 2026
Net worth, Bloomberg: $80.4BBloomberg, 17 Oct 2026; $110BBloomberg, 17 Oct 2026
Forbes rank: No. 21Annual list, 1 Mar 2026; No. 24Real-Time list, 23 Aug 2026
Billionaire since: Not stated; 2008Forbes: first appeared on its billionaires list in 2008, with $9.3 billion

Where it came from

How it started: Inherited and grew itReliance was founded by his father in 1966; after his father's death in 2002 he and his brother Anil split the group, and he expanded Reliance into refining, telecom (Jio) and retail; Founded itFounded Adani Exports (now Adani Enterprises) in 1988 in Ahmedabad; the group describes him as a first-generation entrepreneur
Main source: Reliance Industries stake held by the promoter groupBloomberg: 'The majority of Mukesh Ambani's wealth derives from a 42% stake in publicly traded Reliance Industries', counting holding companies, trusts and family members; Family stakes in the listed Adani Group companiesForbes gives the source as 'Infrastructure, commodities'
Companies: Reliance IndustriesReliance Industries: Chairman and managing director; Adani Group (Adani Enterprises), Adani Green EnergyAdani Group (Adani Enterprises): Founder and chairman; Adani Green Energy: Chairman of the board
Biggest stake: Reliance Industries0.12% owned; Adani Group (Adani Enterprises)74.67% owned

The person

Born: 19 Apr 1957Aden, Yemen; 24 Jun 1962Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Country: IndiaLives in Mumbai, India; IndiaLives in Ahmedabad, India
Education: Bachelor's degreeChemical engineering, Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai (University of Mumbai); started an MBA at Stanford University without finishing; Not statedLeft school at 16 and joined the diamond trade in Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1978
Parents: Father Dhirubhai Ambani was a yarn trader who founded Reliance in 1966Mother's occupation not stated; Seventh of eight children of Shantilal Adani, a textile merchant, and Shanta Adani

What they give

Giving Pledge: Not a signer; Not a signer
Foundation: Reliance FoundationSet up in 2010 for Reliance Industries' philanthropy; chaired by his wife Nita Ambani; Adani FoundationThe group's social arm since 1996; he is listed as its president and Priti Adani as chairperson
Lifetime giving: Not stated; Not stated

Role and record

Role now: Runs the companyChairman and managing director of Reliance Industries; Chair of the boardFounder and chairman of the Adani Group
Successor: None named. His three children joined the Reliance board in 2023: Akash heads Jio (chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm since 2022), Isha oversees retail and financial services, Anant works in the energy business; The group names four successors: his sons Karan Adani (managing director, Adani Ports) and Jeet Adani (director, Adani Airport Holdings), his nephew Sagar Adani (executive director, Adani Green Energy) and Pranav Adani (director, Adani Enterprises)From the group's 2024 succession briefing, which names no single successor; Britannica names Karan and Jeet as his sons and the SEC names Sagar as his nephew
Public office: Member, Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry (Government of India)Years not stated; None found
Legal record: 2021: Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)SEBI fined him 150 million rupees over 2007 trades in Reliance Petroleum shares that it called fraudulent; the Securities Appellate Tribunal quashed the fine in 2023 and the Supreme Court dismissed SEBI's appeal in 2024.; 2026: US SECWithout admitting or denying the SEC's 2024 allegations of false statements about anti-bribery compliance in Adani Green Energy's 2021 bond offering, he consented to a final judgment with a $6 million civil penalty and an injunction, subject to court approval. Separately, a US federal court in Brooklyn dismissed the criminal counts against him with prejudice at the Justice Department's request; there was no conviction.