The world’s wealthiest entrepreneurs have sustained dramatic losses as the financial freeze travels eastwards. Indian billionaires Anil Ambani, Mukesh Ambani and Lakshmi Mittal are the latest tycoons to be severely affected, reportedly losing billions of dollars.
Chairman and CEO of the Reliance ADA Group, Anil Ambani was revealed to have sustained the biggest losses of any person included on the 2009 Forbes World Billionaire List: US$31.9 billion over the past 12 months.
49-year-old Anil, who runs the telecoms and finance arms of the former Reliance Group, was last year’s biggest gainer. His fortune is now valued at US10.1 billion, which moves him from number six to number 34 on the Forbes list.
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The losses were attributed to the sharp drop in the value of shares in Reliance Communications, Reliance Power and Reliance Capital. Anil’s plan to merge Reliance Communications with South African telco MTN was scrapped after older brother Mukesh Ambani threatened to sue, claiming he had the first right of refusal.
However, Anil has successfully formed partnerships with players in the Hollywood entertainment industry, with the goal of collaborating on film production projects. He invested US$500 million in a new studio venture with Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks and has also signed agreements with Hollywood celebrities George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Jim Carrey to co-produce films.
51-year-old Mukesh Ambani, who heads Reliance Industries (a merger between Reliance Petroleum and Reliance Industries), also experienced substantial losses, seeing his fortune shrink from US$43 billion to US$19.5 billion over the last year. Despite the losses, Mukesh managed to retain his position as the seventh richest man in the world, overtaking steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal.
Known for their bitter rivalry since dividing Reliance’s businesses between them in 2005, the Ambani siblings are soon expected to put their differences aside, according to reports.
Meanwhile Mittal, who is CEO of the world’s largest steel company, ArcelorMittal, saw over 50% of his net worth vanish. ArcelorMittal recently announced its intentions to slow acquisitions, cut capital expenditure and pay down debt as a response to its heavy losses caused by the financial crisis.
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