It’s Mukesh Ambani’s world — and we’re just living in it - Rest of World

From food to gadgets to sports, explore how the business empire of one of the world’s richest men touches the everyday lives of millions in India.

Imagine if everything in your home came from just one company. Or, to be more precise, from companies that are ultimately led by one individual: a single person whose brands sell you the food you eat, the clothes you wear, the fuel you fill your car with, and even the internet you’re reading this with.

That’s the reality for many Indians, who rely on products, food, and services from the vast array of companies controlled by or partnered with Mukesh Ambani. He’s not just among India’s richest men, according to Forbes; with a net worth of $90.7 billion, he’s also been in the top 10 of its Billionaires List for the past three years.

Ambani’s wealth comes from the enormous Reliance Industries conglomerate. Since taking over from his father, Ambani has turned Reliance — once known for textiles and petrochemicals — into a digital powerhouse. He’s grown the company’s reach through acquisitions and partnerships to reach retail, telecommunications, media, and so much more, creating an empire with unimaginable reach.

Don’t believe us? We’ll show you. Scroll down and join us for an illustrated journey through the lives of ordinary Indians — and the many, many ways in which Ambani touches their world.

• Made in collaboration with Google, this budget smartphone line runs a special version of Android and costs as low as 4,499 rupees ($55).
• Originally launched in 1999, the financial news portal is part of Ambani’s Network18 media group and boasts about 17 million monthly visitors.
• The 26-year-old search engine, which allows users to find local services by dialing 8888888888, saw Reliance Retail take a majority stake in 2021.
• The delivery logistics startup, unrelated to the Southeast Asian super app, was bought by Reliance Industries in 2019 to support its e-commerce ambitions.
• This video-streaming app features TV shows and movies from Balaji Telefilms, in which Ambani’s Reliance Industries holds a 25% stake.
• The video-streaming app launched in 2016 and is offered to subscribers of Jio, Ambani’s mobile network operator.
• This is an all-in-one app for subscribers of Jio, India’s leading mobile network with over 400 million users.
• This video-streaming service from Viacom18, a media and entertainment company, is co-owned by a Reliance unit and Paramount.
• This conversational AI platform for businesses that works with speech or WhatsApp chatbots was founded in 2013 and bought by Reliance in 2019.
• The shopping platform allows offline retail stores to sell online and became part of Ambani’s empire after Reliance bought a majority stake in 2019.
• The translation software supports 22 different Indian languages and is part of a series of tech startup acquisitions by Ambani’s companies in 2019.
• The AI-based edtech platform was acquired by Reliance in 2018 and features everything from school tests to government exams.
• The cloud-based storage app works on both desktop and mobile, with free storage starting at 5GB for Jio users (and 2GB for everyone else).
• Reliance Retail signed a franchise agreement with the upscale American home furniture company in 2018, opening an online store in 2022.
• Reliance Industries, which dominated polyester fiber manufacturing, launched what it calls a next-gen smart fabric in 2018.
• One of the many consumer brands under Reliance Retail, Get Real produces cleansing and care products for hair and skin, a lucrative market in India.
• Reliance Retail continued its ambition to dominate India’s fast-moving consumer goods space with Safe Life, which produces antibacterial soaps, hand wash, and sanitizers.
• The American footwear company, known for its specialization in action sports, operates 13 stores in India in partnership with Ambani’s Reliance.
• Ambani bought a majority stake in the Indian online pharmacy marketplace in 2020, positioning his company to take on Amazon and Flipkart in e-health.
• Reliance’s internet broadband service, which launched in September 2022, offers data speeds up to 1Gbps and comes with bundled subscription options for streaming services.
• This footwear chain is a part of fashion retailer Reliance Trends and also operates its own stand-alone stores.
• The product of a $1 billion merger between JioMusic and Saavn, this music streaming service has a collection of over 80 million tracks in 16 languages.
• Ambani’s jewelry business, which has now extended online through JioMart, has operations in over 100 cities, with 93 flagship showrooms and 110 shops.
• Reliance Retail acquired the lingerie startup after initially buying a 15% stake in 2020. It also owns two other women’s innerwear brands, Clovia and Amante.
• Glimmer is Reliance’s cosmetics and accessories brand, sold across the country from its own stores and its e-commerce portal JioMart.
• Prayer products brand Samvaad is Reliance Retail’s foray into the multibillion-dollar worshiping and religious accessories market.
• With grocery brands like Snactac, which produces packaged noodles and snacks, Reliance has been able to take on larger, well-established brands like Maggi.
• Yeah is Ambani’s brand of carbonated beverages that compete with Coca-Cola, Nestlé, and PepsiCo products.
• Reliance Brands signed a joint venture agreement with the minimalist Japanese retailer in 2016 and has opened stores in Mumbai and Delhi.
• Launched right after the pandemic began in 2020, Jio Platform’s video conferencing app looks very much like Zoom, only without a 40-minute time limit.
• A multibrand retail chain, Project Eve sells clothes, jewelry, and more, targeting women aged between 25 and 40 years.
• Reliance bought a 96% stake in the Bengaluru-based online furniture retail startup in 2020 to compete against Amazon, Flipkart, and Pepperfry.
• A mosquito repellent brand owned by Reliance Retail, Shieldz is one of many brands catering to almost every household need.
• In 2017, Reliance nabbed the exclusive Indian rights to RelWood, a natural-fiber polymer composite that looks and feels like wood, used in flooring and other materials.
• The laundry washing liquid and detergent powder brand is sold through Reliance Retail’s 12,711 supermarkets and online stores.
• This brand of menstrual pads from Reliance competes in a market valued at $618 million as of 2021.
• This is another range of Reliance personal and home hygiene products, including soap, hand wash, sanitizer, and disinfectant liquids.
• Reliance’s toothpaste brand competes with market leaders like Colgate, Closeup, Pepsodent, and Patanjali Dant Kanti.
• This is a private-label brand of tea leaves and tea bags as well as breakfast foods, owned by Reliance Retail.
• This range of household cleaning products includes sub-brands like Expelz, Mopz, Shinz, and Scrubz.
• Reliance formed a joint venture with the American clothes retailer in 2012 to set up stores in India.
• This consumer brand offers breakfast cereal and honey, among other food items.
• The range of sauces, spreads, and dressings competes with global consumer brands like Nestlé.
• This covers a range of Indian cuisine ingredients, condiments, and premixes like dosa batter and gulab jamun mix.
• This specializes in a range of olive oils, including variants such as extra virgin and extra light.
• Reliance’s coffee mixes compete with brands like Nescafé, which is a household name in India.
• This is Reliance’s private-label brand for cooking staples, such as sugar, spices, and lentils.
• This brand of premium-grade cooking staples includes rice, lentils, and vegetables.
• Launched in 2002, the brand sells sleep products like pillows and mattresses.
• This is Reliance’s private brand for home essentials like utensils, plasticware, and bath linen.
• Reliance Retail’s flagship brand closely competes with Amazon and Flipkart in the fashion and lifestyle category.
• One of the largest supermarket chains in India, Reliance Smart stores stock Reliance’s own brands like Desi Kitchen and Enzo.
• In 2021, Reliance acquired the subscription-based micro-delivery startup that lets users order goods until midnight and receive deliveries by 7 a.m.
• A smaller store for neighborhoods that also serves as both a last-mile hub for local deliveries and a place for customers to pick up online orders.
• Marks & Spencer and Reliance Retail formed a 51:49 joint venture in 2008 to set up a chain of the British clothing brand’s stores in India.
• Partnering with BP since 2008, Reliance Gas’ employees manufacture oil and energy products across India.
• Elastomer products for tires, footwear, sports equipment, and mechanical fenders, among other items, are sold under the Relflex brand name.
• Reliance Retail has opened more than 2,700 grocery stores since 2006, offering fresh produce, household goods, and other amenities nationwide.
• The Relstar brand encompasses more than a dozen variations of engine oil provided under a subsidiary of Reliance.
• Available in some gas stations, Wild Bean Cafes are a mix of convenience stores and cafés, with some even offering home delivery.
• ResQ is the service arm of Reliance Digital, offering support year-round to customers who purchase devices and appliances from its stores.
• Available at many Jio-BP gas stations, it allows drivers to fill their tires up with nitrogen.
• Reliance Industries partnered with the British oil company in 2022 to explore expanding India’s electric charging infrastructure.
• In 2021, Reliance Industries launched its first multi-option station for vehicles, including EV charging stations, in Mumbai.
• Launched in 2016, India’s top mobile network is credited for making affordable internet available nationwide.
• The global American convenience store chain arrived in India in 2021, in partnership with Reliance Retail.
• The company produces a wide array of polymers for a variety of applications, from packaging and agriculture to consumer products, including the material in a football.
• An e-commerce platform that offers groceries, home goods, and clothes, it teamed up with Meta in 2022 to launch the first full shopping experience on WhatsApp.
• The security video surveillance system allows customers to monitor multiple cameras at one site or multiple locations.
• Reliance Industries bought a 66% stake in the cable TV and broadband distributor in 2018.
• Another cable TV distributor, it was the first to offer broadband via cable TV in India and had a stake acquired by Reliance in 2018.
• The oldest toy store in the world, famous for its seven-story flagship in London, was acquired by Reliance in 2019.
• The consumer electronics retailer owns thousands of shops in 800 cities across India.
• The American discount footwear brand, which initially closed its U.S. stores after filing for bankruptcy in 2019, partnered with Reliance to open retail stores in India.
• The American fashion brand, specializing in handbags and wallets, is in partnership with Reliance Retail to operate stores in India.
• The Italian luxury fashion brand partnered with Reliance Retail to operate stores for Armani and spinoff labels like EA7.
• This British luxury fashion brand famous for trench coats is in partnership with Reliance Retail to operate stores in India.
• The British maternity and children’s goods brand first arrived in India in 2006, before Reliance acquired the right to operate its stores in 2018.
• The American luxury jewelry brand partnered with Reliance Retail to open its first store in New Delhi in 2020.
• The American fashion brand partnered with Reliance Retail; a pop-up store was opened in Mumbai in August 2022.
• This chain of shopping centers in 22 Indian cities houses many stores from the Ambani empire and other unaffiliated shops.
• Another American fashion brand specializing in handbags, it partnered with Reliance Retail in 2016 to operate stores in India.
• This American fashion brand partnered with Reliance Retail to operate eight stores in India.
• The British fashion brand partnered with Reliance Retail in 2012 and now has nearly 50 stores in India.
• The British fashion brand that claims to be a favorite of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, partnered with Reliance Retail to operate stores in India.
• The movie studio both produces and distributes films, including Westerns from partner Paramount Pictures.
• This movie studio also produces shorter-form content like web series, music videos, and commercials.
• The German fashion brand first entered India in 2003 and is partnered with Reliance Retail to operate stores in the country.
• The movie studio and distribution company was founded in 1977, with Reliance acquiring a 5% stake in 2018.
• The British fashion brand, originally founded in 1970, partnered with Reliance Retail to operate stores in India.
• The cricket team has won the Indian Premier League five times, making it the most successful team in league history.
• The joint venture with BP provides aviation fuel at over 30 airports across India.
• Reliance’s joint venture with Paramount Global owns a number of channels in India, including local versions of MTV, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central.
• Ambani’s media conglomerate owns TV news and entertainment channels (through Viacom18), and even a publishing unit for magazines and directories.

Additional credits: Ravi Hiranand, Anup Kaphle, Katherine Lee, Lily Lou, Jane O’Donoghue, Itika Sharma Punit, Anna Rasshivkina, Khushbu Shah, Amy Thorpe, Cengiz Yar