Dhirubhai Ambani death anniversary: Five lesser-known facts about the business tycoon

Dhirubhai Ambani. File Pic/AFP

The life of successful businessman Dhirubhai Ambani is incredibly motivating. Many people who started in poverty have found inspiration in the founder of Reliance Industries, a multibillion-dollar enterprise.

A man with no family fortune, no other type of wealth in hand, and no significant savings went on to become one of the biggest business houses in India which makes Dhirubhai Ambani an inspiration for many.

Acclaimed as the top businessman of the 20th century and lauded for his dynamic, pioneering and innovative genius, Dhirubhai Ambani was an inspiring leader with sterling qualities. Dhirubhai Ambani's life story is an inspiration for mostly all the entrepreneurs and common people.

Here are some lesser-known Dhirubhai Ambani facts that may surprise you:

1. Dhirubhai Ambani was born Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani in December 1932, to a village school teacher and his wife.

2. Dhirubhai Ambani's family migrated to Aden, when Dhirubhai Ambani was only 17. At the age of 17 went to Aden (now part of Yemen) and worked for A. Besse & Co. Ltd., the sole selling distributor of Shell products.

3. In the year 1958 returned to Mumbai and started his first company, Reliance Commercial Corporation, a commodity trading and export house. In the year 1966, as a first step in Reliance's highly successful strategy of backward integration, Dhirubhai Ambani started the textile mill in Naroda, Ahmedabad. In the year 1975, a technical team from the World Bank certified that the Reliance textile plant was "excellent by developed country standards." In the year 1977, the company went public.

4. Under Dhirubhai Ambani's leadership, Reliance Industries became the first Indian privately-owned company to be rated by international credit rating agencies such as S&P, Moody's etc. He convinced so many people to become shareholders in Reliance that over 3,50,000 shareholders attended Reliance's AGM in Cross Maidan, Mumbai.

5. Dhirubhai Ambani was also known for his philanthropic endeavors. The establishment of the Dhirubhai Ambani Foundation marked his commitment to education, healthcare, and rural development. In 2016, Dhirubhai Ambani was honoured posthumously with the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian honour for his contributions to trade and industry.