Wealth jumps $8.5 billion in a day as Mukesh Ambani becomes Asia's richest again
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani has become Asia's richest person again after his wealth rose by $8.5 billion in a single day. Riding a surge in Reliance Industries shares, he moved back ahead of ByteDance co-founder Zhang Yiming to reclaim the position.
According to Forbes' real-time billionaires list, Ambani's wealth rose 10.5 percent on Monday (2 November) to $88.8 billion, lifting him to 23rd place among the world's richest people. Zhang Yiming's wealth stands at $84 billion.
The rise in Reliance's share price was the main driver of Ambani's gain. On Monday, the company's shares climbed 11.64 percent on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) to 1,299 rupees — the sharpest rise in more than six years. The jump added more than $19 billion to the company's market value in a single day.
The stock reacted positively after the company's latest quarterly results came in better than expected. In the July–September quarter, Reliance earned 25,550 crore rupees, roughly $2.7 billion, against analyst forecasts of 21,367 crore rupees, or about $2.33 billion.
Strong results in oil refining and chemicals, together with higher profits in the telecom business, strengthened investor confidence in the company.
Earlier, last Wednesday, the Ambani-controlled Jio Platforms was listed on the stock market. Through India's largest-ever initial public offering (IPO), the company is raising $3.2 billion. The IPO valued Jio Platforms at around $106 billion, and its shares rose 27 percent on the first day of listing, adding further momentum to Ambani's wealth.
Mukesh Ambani is the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries. His father, Dhirubhai Ambani, founded the company in 1957. Reliance is now India's largest company by market value, at roughly $186 billion.
Reliance operates across oil and gas, petrochemicals, telecommunications, retail, media and financial services.
In Forbes' 2026 'Global 2000' list of the world's largest listed companies, Reliance Industries ranked 55th, with annual sales of $119.7 billion, total assets of $229.6 billion and profits of $9.1 billion.
