Posts Tagged ‘Forbes’


did i just do something stupid?
Ever since Mukesh Ambani created his billion dollar mansion, I always wondered whether the business giant, for once thought about what he was doing. The idea of creating a sprawling 27 storey house for a handful of people was beyond my understanding. This similar feeling must have floated amongst the 125 crore in the nation except for Mukesh Ambani himself. There is no doubt that people around the nation had something to say about this wise businessman’s dumb decision.
Finally a few days back, one of India’s most successful businessmen, Ratan Tata expressed his concern over the Ambani mansion in an interview he had with the London Times and said what many in the nation wanted to say since the day they first read about Mukesh Ambani’s dream home. Ratan Tata quoted, ‘It’s sad Mukesh Ambani lives in such opulence’. The head of the Tata Group stated that, in our country, the gap between the rich and the poor is widening, and amidst this, a man who is on the verge of becoming the richest in the world, fails to recognize this fact for personal glory and luxury.  
It required a person of the magnitude of Ratan Tata to come out and express a concern which was probably common for a majority of Indians. After a few days though, the Tata Group clarified that Ratan Tata‘s comments on the issue were misquoted by the London Times. But whatever it was, it was the truth.
The Ambani House is nothing but an obsession to do the unwanted and in turn create personal landmarks.  Antilla is a billion dollar mansion, probably the costliest in the world. The electricity bill of the house for month is around 70 lakh rupees which equates to the electricity consumed by 7 thousand Indian families. Ambani, for sure brings pride to the whole nation when he is seen on the Forbes list year after year, but the worry is how little he does for the nation. I wonder if the desi billionaire even knows the fact the there are huge chunks of people living in this country with an income of rupees 578 a month and then there is he, buying a jumbo jet as a gift for his wife and setting up a residence with three helipads.
The Mukesh Ambani story gets more shameful when we hear of people like Bill Gates coming to our nation to help serve the poor and fight social problems. Mukesh Ambani, a man with such a lot of power and wealth had so many options of helping the nation and setting an example instead of working towards creating a landmark in a country which, even today is known for bollywood, cricket, corruption and its POVERTY.
Mukesh Ambani and others like him, living in opulence need to understand that, personal glory to some extent is bearable but when it reaches a senseless and insane height, people start questioning the credibility of an individual and his contribution towards the society. It is time, those having lockers overflowing with cash, started putting the country ahead of their own personal grandeur.