Mukesh Ambani’s Salary: Why Asia’s Richest Man Earns Less Than His Children
News Mania Desk/Agnibeena Ghosh/8th August 2024
Mukesh Ambani, the wealthiest man in Asia and chairman of Reliance Industries, has not drawn a salary from his company for the fourth consecutive year. This decision reflects his commitment to the company’s financial recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. Ambani, now 67, has been at the helm of the conglomerate that spans oil, telecommunications, and retail sectors. He decided to forgo his salary starting from the financial year 2020-21, vowing not to resume taking a salary until Reliance’s earnings fully recovered.
According to Reliance Industries’ most recent annual report, Ambani did not receive any salary, allowances, or perquisites for the financial year 2023-24. His annual remuneration had been capped at Rs 15 crore from 2008-09 until 2019-20. Ambani, who has been on the board of Reliance since 1977, took over as chairman after the death of his father, Dhirubhai Ambani, in 2002. He was reappointed as chairman last year for another five-year term, during which he has chosen to continue his zero-salary policy.
While Ambani has not taken a salary, his family members, who hold significant positions within Reliance, have continued to earn substantial amounts. Nita Ambani, his wife, who served as a non-executive director until August 2023, earned Rs 99 lakh during the financial year 2023-24, which includes a Rs 2 lakh sitting fee. Meanwhile, their three children, Isha, Akash, and Anant Ambani, who were appointed to the board in October last year, each earned Rs 4 lakh in sitting fees and Rs 97 lakh in commissions.
Despite Mukesh Ambani’s decision to forego a salary, his family still benefits from Reliance’s financial success. The Ambani family, which owns a 50.33% stake in Reliance, received significant dividend income from the company. With their 332.27 crore shares, they earned a total of Rs 3,322.7 crore in dividends for the financial year 2023-24, with each share yielding Rs 10 in dividends.
Other key members of Reliance’s leadership also received significant remuneration. Ambani’s cousins, Nikhil and Hital Meswani, saw a slight increase in their earnings, with each drawing over Rs 25 crore, including a commission of Rs 17.28 crore, which remained unchanged from the previous year. Executive Director P.M.S. Prasad experienced a notable pay increase, with his earnings rising to Rs 17.93 crore from Rs 13.50 crore in the previous year.
The non-executive directors of Reliance, including prominent figures like former SBI chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya and veteran banker K.V. Kamath, received Rs 2.25 crore in commission and a sitting fee, which marked a slight increase from their previous compensation.
Ambani’s decision to forgo his salary was initially made in June 2020, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past four years, he has not taken any allowances, perquisites, retiral benefits, commissions, or stock options from Reliance, underlining his commitment to exercising restraint in executive compensation. Before adopting this policy, his salary had been consistently set at Rs 15 crore annually for over a decade, illustrating his long-standing commitment to modest executive pay.
