My Success Is My Worst Enemy

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Rs.2 with a stipulation that the Bear Cartel had to deliver the shares within the next few days. The Bear Cartel bought shares of Reliance from the market at higher price levels and it was also learnt that Dhirubhai Ambani himself supplied those shares to the Bear Cartel and earned a healthy profit out of The Bear Cartel’s adventure. After this incident, many questions were raised by his detractors and the press. Not many people were able to understand as to how a yarn trader till a few years ago was able to get in such a huge amount of cash flow during a crisis period. The answer to this was provided by the then finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee in the parliament. He informed the house that a Non-Resident Indian had invested up to Rs.220 Million in Reliance during 1982-83. These investments were routed through many companies like Crocodile, Lota and Fiasco. These companies were primarily registered in Isle of Man. The interesting factor was that all the promoters or owners of these companies had a common surname Shah. An investigation by the Reserve Bank of India in the incident did not find any unethical or illegal acts or transactions committed by Reliance or its promoters.

Despite his almost Midas Touch, Ambani has been known to have flexible values and an unethical streak running through him. His biographer himself has cited some instances of his unethical behavior when he was just an ordinary employee at a petrol pump in Dubai. He has been accused of having manipulated government policies to suit his own needs, and has been known to be a king-maker in government elections. Although most media sources tend to speak out about business-politics nexus, the Ambani house has always enjoyed more protection and shelter from the media storms that sweep across the country. Bringing into light, “The Polyester Prince”, a book which reveals the truth behind the success of a common man to build the greatest company of India in terms of revenue and profit, surpassing Tata companies which are more than a century old now. To achieve this feat requires will, charisma and the vision of a man that was Dhirubhai Ambani. His uncanny ability to forge strong interpersonal relationships with the people in power, the politicians and bureaucrats in the Indian License Raj system is explored in depth. The book has various stories about the methods and decisions taken by Ambanis to get to the top. These machinations came at the cost of ethics and governance. These erupted as various scandals and court cases that have been buried or manipulated into favor of the Ambanis, and the politicians involved directly and some indirectly.

The injunction on this book must have been fueled by multiple stakeholders from the corporate world to the government. Since this autobiography was not officially authorized by Dhirubhai Ambani, the author was not forced to make this book an object of admiration by flattery of the man. This book, I believe has presented many facts and incidents that beg to question a deeper truth. Do we live in an illusion of independence and equal opportunities for all?