A Billion Dollar House with a view of Poverty – Shame on you, Mukesh Ambani!
Mukesh Ambani is one of two sons of Dhirubhai Ambani, founder of Reliance Group in India. Conde Naste’s Portfolio magazine reports this month that Mukesh has been busily building a personal residence for himself worth one billion dollars. Yes, $1 BN. That’s US, by the way, not the somewhat discounted Australian or Canadian variety. How perfectly disgusting and appalling! This, in India, a country where 75% of the population (more than 750 million people) eek out an existence living well below the poverty line. Where millions die of hunger. And forget the country at large, this 60 story skyscraper “house” is being built in Bombay, or Mumbai, a city where millions of people live in slums, often 6 or more to a 70 sq ft hut that is incapable of even keeping out rainwater. Mr. Ambani is spending the equivalent of the annual earnings of ONE AND A HALF MILLION INDIANS on this ONE HOUSE!
On one side, Mr. Ambani’s family will see a view of the Arabian Sea. And on the other, they will overlook slums with 3+ million occupants. From their observation deck, the Ambanis will be able to easily peer into huts where malnourished children dwell amidst flies, mosquitoes and cesspools of human and animal waste. These slums are devoid of running water or sewage. No wonder the “Shining India” slogan ended in an election rout for the BJP! It may be shining for the likes of Mr. Ambani, but his less fortunate neighbours – all 3 million of them – may not share that view. More factoids if you read on.
WSWS.org reports:
According to official government estimates, the number of people living in substandard, slumlike dwellings has more than doubled in the past two decades, rising from 27.9 million in 1981 to 61.8 million in 2001.
So scarce and expensive is housing in Mumbai that even a small 8×10-foot hut in Dharavi is valued at between Rs. 150,000 and 300,000 (US$3,600 and US$7,200). As a result, an estimated 42 percent of the Mumbai’s slum dwellers are forced to live on less than 10 square metres (about 108 square feet) of land with every 800 or so people forced to share a single toilet.
India Time says:
Soon, Mukesh Ambani will be enjoying his opulent mornings in the gardenesque balconies overlooking the puny vastness of the Arabian ocean. His pleasant countenance hiding his uncountable wealth, this modern day nimrod will be looking up to the Gods of fortune from atop his tower of babel. But there’s every chance that Ambani’s new tower, just as the original babylonian marvel, would epitomise the unbridgable, ever-widening gap between the trillionaires and the rest of us tramps. A fortunate island in the midst of a flat-broke ocean of humanity!
so you think that bill gates should give up his island for charity. do you know that bill gates is the largest monetary contributor to charity.
rich people do their share for the society, Mr. mukesh ambani has several villages in gujarat which are personally financed by his accounts.
It is a symbol of glory and pride that a person dares to think and make something like this which will be a symbol for india.
sorry for u if u small brainers can’t dream big, forget to realize the dream
Bill Gates isnt out there building a two billion dollar house. there’s a huge difference between buying a 70 or 80 MILLION dollar house in a certain section of Colorado or the Holmby Hills where people of the neighborhood are generally wealthy, but building a mansion amidst slums is a slap in the face to the citizens of India… and oh yea, its not just a mansion, its a skyscraper that cost this man two BILLION dollars.. there is a HUGE difference. this type of residence is not necessary. i really don’t care if its his money and “he can do w.e he wants with it blah blah blah” he is WASTING money.
Thank you for your views, redeemer. Clearly I am a “small brainer” for voicing my opinion and you are a “big brainer” for coming up with such brilliant expressions. I am at a loss to understand your need to promote Mr. Ambani, a man who has the intestinal fortitude to see 3 million people suffering in Bombay’s slums from his observatory on the 10th floor.
Please don’t compare Warren Buffet or Bill Gates to Mukesh Ambani. Unlike Ambani, who inherited much wealth from his father, both Buffet and Gates are self made and they have now given away almost all their wealth to charity. Mr. Buffet continues to live in the small house he purchased in the 50s. Mr. Gates lives in a house that costs 1/20th of Ambani’s folly and even that only because the house is in large part a technology museum open to visitors. How many floors of his hideous house is Ambani opening up to the poor and downtrodden that Reliance got rich off of?
I completely second your opinion. This kind of wealth disparity is bizarre indeed.
But this is also a necessary evil of the capitalistic systems. Individuals are allowed to accumulate wealth based on whatever (hard work or inheritance… take your pick). Ya ya they do charity…I know.
The truth is, this is something we will witness more and more as the emerging countries like India and Pakistan get more integrated with the globalized wealth systems. There will be more millionaires and billionaires (both homegrown and expat) splurging obscene amounts of wealth ….like it or not.
Thank you for your views, Kaushik. As our countries progress, let our symbols be those that all citizens can relate to and feel proud of. Not those that only a few living (literally) in ivory towers enjoy. I would love to see us having the world’s most efficient transit system, the world’s cleanest city, the world’s largest public park, the world’s most equitable income distribution combined with one of the world’s highest per-capita incomes…
A billion dollar building that is built for the sake of one man is antithetical to progress. Not a symbol of it.
And we have done a great deal (in a sort of regional sense) of at least building the people to people connections between two erstwhile warring countries. Don’t you agree?
Democratic processes in countries like ours are slow but they are long lasting by default. I am sure we can build a great future ahead for both countries if we manage the social capital well and make all these dreams possible through debates and dialogue. We need to build collective voices in our societies that enforces equitability without hampering the spirit of free market ‘good capitalism’.
thanks
Hear, hear! Completely agree with you.
heheh.. he enjoys .. we get jealous .. that all
[...] and such a gross display of personal wealth in a city that houses one of the largest slums in Asia. [...]
meter down, if that’s the case why don’t we get jealous of warren buffet and bill gates, who are both richer and more distinguished than ambani.
What a useless article by a communist moron. Is author really ashamed that Ambani is providing income for lakhs of people in India. Its Ambanis families vision and dream that is providing livelhood for people in india.
We should be proud of such millionairs, aher than being sorry.
Those bengali communists who believe in equal distrbution of wealth, should also distribute their marks among the students who dont score good marks in their classrooms. The only way you can kill someone by giving them something for nothing. But, socialist morons like kaushik ghosh cannot understand this. What else can you expect from a Communist Bong, who has been blowing of Jyoti Basu for 15 to 20 years. Th only way India can be saved is by wiping off Bengal, Kerala and Jawahar Lal Nehru University from the face of india
OK then Sofia! Just to set the record straight, I am not a communist. My beliefs couldn’t be more in contrast to communism, in fact.
I think your commentary says a lot more about your beliefs than about anyone elses. Wipe off Bengal & Kerala?! Really now! I’m feeling shocked… and I’m not even from India.
Well Sophia Khan or whoever the **** you are!!! My request would be not to turn this platform into a hate forum with racist remarks..
You do not have the maturity to understand a political or economic situation of a country or a state or the necessary credential to take part in a public forum debate. So don’t make a fool of yourself.
And if you are such a communist basher why don’t you go bash up china…who is ruling with a face mask of communism and carrying out genocide in a free country.
And for your information…yes I am a socialist but not the way you put them in a basket and call them morons. I belive in equitable growth of the society with the benefit of Good Capitalism seeeping into the other less privileged sections.
Oh I am sorry….that must have been way above your pitiable head. I am terrified thinking that your native country (hope it’s not India) has such hopeless people with totally screwed up ideas!!! Go bless that country…
I meant God bless that country…
People seem to forget that when you go to work, you’re working so others don’t have to (owners)Money is freedom and when the pie is cut up, the more pie the owner gets, the less freedom the worker gets. Billionaires have no place in any soceity. The money thay give to charity should be given to the workers that made them rich.
@techlahore – Mukesh Ambani grew the fortune that he got from his father by 100% in 1&1/2 years and that IS phenomenal by any scale. Let’s not get into bashing up people just because they choose to use the wealth that they have. Rather we should revel in the fact that there is so much enterprise and which as a result creates so many job opportunities.
@Kaushik Ghosh – Any political ideology that supports DOES NOT need to use the principle of take from the rich and distribute in poor in every strata… Mukesh Ambani uses what he has and has paid his dues to the state so even the state & the constitution recognizes his choice as legal which I don’t think we have the authority over. I am not a keen supporter of his business tactics but he has not wronged anyone by using whatever wealth he has. He should not have to apologize for the wealth that he has.
@sofia khan – maybe you were a bit too emotional when you wrote the comment but a part of the Indian Constitution has been derived from communist/socialist ideology too and that has helped India raise the PCI and focus on general growth of the poor.
Hi Ankit,
Completely buy your points. My ideology is never aligned with the militant naxalism or maoism in saying that ‘wealth should be taken from the legitimate rich and distributed to the poor’. I think that is a parochial and unethical statement. I believe in good capitalism (reiterating once again), where the individuals with more capacity such as Mukesh Ambani, could do more to productively engage large sections of poor into constructive wealth creation (both for himself and the people).
Let me give an example, when he was about to set up the procurement chain for ‘Reliance Retail’, he offered to buy out all the produce that a farmer could generate in a season. In stead of seeing to the welfare of the farmer himself, he bought up all the food storage network in the vicinity, leaving no choice for the farmer but to sell the produce to Reliance at whatever rate they dictate. That is not a fair practice in my view.
While there have been many constructive response from the global corporations to take part in the social enterprise profitably, Indian entrepreneurs like Mukesh lacks behind significantly.
Even in India, projects like Shakti, by Hindustan Unilever, has been a phenomenal success. Today there are 30,000 Shakti
entrepreneurs (empowered village women) operating in 100,000 villages serving nearly 100 million consumers. The
revenues generated are now close to $100 million per annum and the margins are very
similar to those that HUL achieves through the mainstream distribution channels.
Make no mistake. Shakti is not a philanthropic activity. It is a serious and profitable business
proposition. Routes to market like Shakti enables Unilever to serve the needs of first time consumers. In turn this gives them the opportunity to address some of the nutrition and hygiene needs of some of the poorest people on the planet.
For more such example visit:
http://www.ethicalcorp.com/content.asp?contentid=5823
You can also visit a recent post on a new trend of Grass root Capitalism here.
http://experienceisking.com/2007/11/21/capitalism-at-the-grass-roots-a-new-business-ecosystem-emerging/
He is making house for himself for about 2.5% of his net worth. Not bad, middle class people have very high percentages.
It was once said, that with great privlege comes great responsibility. Is that still the case? Inheriting huge sums of money is not a sin, though perhaps to not properly share it with othersin dire need , is. We see examples like this in America all too often. Take Donald Trump. He is no super genius to become a billionaire, he had daddys money backing him up and got lucky. (Dad was a multimillioaire real estate investor with connections, what a surprise!!). Mr. T. should be sharing his wealth, he does not. Instead he uses it to make himself feel important and to attract young women. We have billionaire investors who buy up companies just to lay off workers and in turn quickly sell to make multi millions more, money they do not need yet in their wake leave great suffering. It is now happening that the same mistakes we allow here, are happening in the third world. When will all the Earths people ever learn? Every man and women in this wholw world has the God Given Right to a certin life style. Decent health care, a proper roof over ones head, good food, etc, no matter what they do for a job or who their parents were. After that, anything above that is acceptable, even this craziness they we see in Bombay. With people starving on the street, this man should not be allowed to live like this high in the sky. Furthermore, what will the ruler of the next world say, I feel that nothing good will be just what. Do the ultra rich ever think of this?
I dont think Kaushik Ghosh and the author of the article are against the wealth of Mukesh Ambani but when you think about the fact that he could have helped millions of others come out of poverty through the use the One Billion US Dollars, then you wonder whether Mukesh cares about the country that helped him make those billions of dollars.
TO,
Honourable Sir
With due respect, I submit few lines for your kind consideration. I have
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on your honour part. Iam waiting your favouable reply.
I reqest you pleas help me for purpose of this letter and mot disappoint me.
With best regards.
contact me.
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C/O Khursheed Alam .
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I think the fundamental issue is not that Mr. Ambani has so much wealth, or that he could have used it better, or that he is not a saint…
Personally I feel that it is just a reflection of some very bad taste.
I mean yes,he’s achieved a lot,he has given a lot to the country and no doubt will continue doing so.and yes his business provides employment to many people.
but did he really NEED this?
http://www.portfolio.com/executives/features/2007/10/15/Ambani-Home
there’s nothing wrong with having a big house and all of the bells and whistles.
but it’s the ostentation and the mindset that is unappealing.it looks too much like a reflection of the subcontinental show-off culture.THAT’S the problem-that maybe Ambani felt like he needed to prove his status or class with a skyscraper for a house.
i’m not saying that he did – i’m not saying that he needs to – i’m just saying that it’s the impression he’s created.and that is sad,in the message that sends to the millions of Indians in poverty.
“get rich so you can have big home.”
that’s what this reeks of.
i agree with techlahore but the article hasnt been researched for properly to begin with
a. its 27 floors not 60
b. it should also highlight the number of people the reliance empire employs
c. it should also give figures on what difference reliance mobile has made to people’s earnings in india amongst other reliance companies…as i have read that many PCO’s in remote villages are being run on their technology and are supporting widows and other women etc
d. mukesh ambani did not entirely inherit the fortune…he worked for it too…reliance mobile and other holdings of reliance group were set up/acquired after dirubhais passing away or being actively involved in the business
e. mittal and reliance are two groups that bring the most positive publicity to india and its progress…however concentrated or minimal you all may think it has been…Jaguar Land Rover Corus and all other acquisitions will eventually benefit India…
f. if the person has the money and spends a decent amount on charity then i believe its his right to spend a decent amount on himself aswell…for most of us $1b is not decent because we do not make that kind of money but he does and he gives it away in such a way aswell…those things arent publicised maybe because he doesnt want to publicise them! ever thought of that people!?
g. his $1b home is 1/60th of his wealth…my own home and im quite certain many of you will agree have costed our parents between 1-5% of our wealths aswell depending on our tastes and preferences…if ur unsure chk with your parents the value of ur house today and estimate what they are worth! you will be surprised!
h. people at his status also need to uphold some degree of opulence, extravagence etc….its expected of them…if you dont indulge in some you are considered a miser amongst other things…and no im not saying this is only a small degree of luxury…its massive…but im trying to make a point that it needs to be shown a bit aswell…
agree or disagree as you like…those are my views and opinions
for the record…i do disagree with the expenditure…a $250m house would have more than sufficed!
OmarK, as regards your first point about the number of stories. Yes, the building is divided into 27 stories but the height of the building is that of a 60 story building. For architectural and aesthetic purposes, I suppose, the decision has been made to have a single story span the height of multiple floors but from the standpoint of height, it is a 60 story building.
More information can be found here: http://vanibahl.wordpress.com/2008/05/04/antilla-stands-high-as-worlds-first-billion-dollar-home/
As for the number of people reliance employs, I don’t think that is relevant to Ambani’s decision to spend over $1BN on his private house. The Portfolio magazine article about him has a picture of a few dozen Reliance employees literally squeezed into the back of a flatbed truck. Clearly, that doesn’t say much about the conditions being provided to his employees….
For reference, Bill Gates’ home is somewhere in the $45M-$70M range. Warren Buffet’s house is well under $1M.
Finally your bullet h) is a little bit of a stretch. The White House is less expensive than Ambani’s skyscraper and I can assure you, it has hosted more wealthy and powerful people than Antilla ever will.
And just for the sake of comparison, Narayan Murthy, an equally accomplished industry leader, who has created a whole wave of global technology outsourcing, created many jobs & given India a face, lives in sheer simplicity.
I know, it is completely a personal choice. But, the statement that he needs a $ 1 Bn house (excluding the amount that will be spent on the supply & maintenance of that expensive mammoth) to justify his stature, is totally not true.
Hatred policy of an average (read anxious and hateful) Pakistani online …
If you have been using the net from years, then you might have come across a lot of rubbish on the net from Pakistanis towards Indians. One most celebrated trait online (and real of course) of Pakistanis amongst themselves is to bash India to death. Sometimes it seems that earlier generation Pakistanis have fed so much of hatred to the new generation that they are unable to look beyond it. They just fail to see anything good in India and they will never be ready to do so, they are an insecure lot.
Pakistanis love to weigh against and compare EVERYTHING with India. At the end of such an comparison, they love to conclude that Pakistan is better in that particular thing they were comparing. What is the use of all this? Can people from an insecure country go so far that they even want to compare their shit with the shit of Indians and say, ‘oh, ours is better or better-looking’?. They feel insecure, fearful, depressed and frustrated. The result of this psychological burden is looking for ways by which they feel better. Since I want to keep this post short and straight, I would like to point those ways which Pakistanis use to get rid of their ailments which India is giving them indirectly. Few general perceptions of Pakistanis to bash India and Indians can range from Indian skin-color being dark and therefore Indians being ugly (sounds amusing, isn’t it? That’s why I am pointing it out haha); Indians being short is a common belief as Indians are vegetarian they say (although 70% of Indians is non-vegetarian); Indians being poor (apparently Pakistanis think they are a first-world country and love to ignore the fact that they have more poverty than India. India is still doing so well economically and will erase the poverty in the near future faster than it could in the past); India having slums all over . These are some of the main bashing boosters of Pakistanis. Lately, the Indian film industry and fashion industry has also gotten it harshly from Pakistanis who degrade it knowing its global presence and dominance in South-Asia.
As Pakistanis mostly feel intimidated by the powerful presence of Indians in every field, I just feel sorry for them! India has, is and will always do better than not only other countries in South-Asia but also the rest of the world. India has that potential and strength! Is anyone listening and getting their ass on fire? haha!
Haha! Wow, you are right Monika – I am “anxious and hateful” for having written a perfectly legitimate criticism of a wealthy man indulging in a sick display of hedonism… and your breathless and nonsensical verbal explosion of a note clearly establishes you as neither “anxious” nor “hateful”.
Yes, India is better than “the rest of the world”, in your words. Everyone else is just sitting by idly twiddling their thumbs. And you label *others* racist and hateful?