Ambani & Sons

by Hamish McDonald

Hamish McDonald is Asia-Pacific Editor of the Sydney Morning Herald. He has been a foreign correspondent in Jakarta, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing and New Delhi, where he was bureau chief of the Far Eastern Economic Review. He has twice won Walkley awards, and has had a report on Burma read into the record of the US Congress. He is the author of books on Indonesia and India, and was made an inaugural Fellow of the Australian Institute of International Affairs in 2008.

Genres: Business, Biography, Nonfiction, India, History, Entrepreneurship, Biography Memoir

428 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Hamish McDonald is an Australian journalist and author of several books. He held a fellowship at the American think tank the Woodrow Wilson Centre in 2014.

McDonald has worked as a journalist in mostly Asian countries like India, Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong and China, where he was a correspondent based in Beijing from 2002 to 2005. He was in India between 1990 and 1997, covering the time immediately after the economic reforms. He was the political editor for the Far Eastern Economic Review and the foreign editor for the Sydney Morning Herald.

In 2005, he won the Walkley Award for newspaper feature writing for his article "What's Wrong With Falun Gong", which is about the brutal suppression of the Falun Gong religious movement in China.

Reviews

[Vijay Chengappa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ambani & Sons comes with one of the most reliable endorsements imaginable: it was banned in India for years. For a business book, that’s not just unusual—it’s almost a genre violation. Which, frankly, is reason enough to read it.

The ban isn’t about bad writing or factual sloppiness; it’s about proximity to uncomfortable truths. McDonald treats Indian capitalism not as a morality play, but as a system where entrepreneurship, state power, regulation, and influence are tightly interwoven. The discomfort comes from seeing those linkages described plainly, without reverence or euphemism.

That this story was once deemed unfit for public consumption is revealing in itself. Bans are rarely about protecting readers; they’re about protecting narratives. When a book triggers that response, it’s usually doing something right.

[Amit Tyagi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been trying to find a copy of 'The Polyester Prince' ever since I watched Guru, but I couldnt find it in any bookstore, not even in any of the websites dedicated for the purpose (the biggest shock, was when I didnt even find it on Kindle store). Almost by accident, I came across this title, and I HAD to pick it up. The book lives up to the promise, of exposing the ground beneath the 'first class fountain'. An interesting tale of the rise of a determined entrepreneur, but more importantly covering sordid details of that unholy association between 'Big' Businesses on one hand and Government, Beaureaucracy and Politics on the other.

[Utkrisht Fella · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Ambani & Sons" by Hamish McDonald is more than just a business biography; for me, it's a foundational text that came at a pivotal moment. I first read this book a decade ago, right at the start of my entrepreneurial journey and its impact has resonated deeply ever since. While many business books focus on abstract theory or clean success stories, McDonald's work delivers a powerful dose of reality, detailing the intricate and often messy relationship between business, power and politics in India.

What makes this book a must-read is its unflinching honesty and meticulous research. It doesn't shy away from the controversies that surrounded Dhirubhai Ambani's rise, from his masterful navigation of the "License Raj" to the fierce rivalries and political entanglements that defined the era. The book is not a hagiography; it's a journalistic investigation that paints a nuanced portrait of a man who was both a visionary and a ruthless operator. This raw, unfiltered narrative was a wake-up call for me as a budding entrepreneur, highlighting that success is often built not just on great ideas but on a profound understanding of the ecosystem you're operating in.

This book taught me that in a place like India, you cannot separate business from its political and social context. The story of Dhirubhai and Reliance is the story of modern India's economic liberalization - the highs, the lows and the grey areas in between. The book's analysis of the bitter feud between Mukesh and Anil Ambani and the subsequent division of the empire, serves as a masterclass in succession planning and the complex dynamics of family businesses. It shows how personal relationships can have colossal consequences on a national scale.

While the events of the book are from the past, the lessons are timeless. It's a vivid case study on strategic thinking, risk-taking and the art of the possible. McDonald's narrative made me realize that to succeed, you have to be a student of the game, not just a player. You need to understand the rules, and sometimes, how to bend them without breaking them. For anyone in India's business landscape, or any entrepreneur seeking to understand how to build a lasting enterprise in a complex environment, this book is an essential read. It's an inspiring, sobering and utterly brilliant piece of non-fiction that has genuinely shaped my perspective. It's a book I've returned to mentally many times over the years.

[Gopal Vijayaraghavan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long back, Honore de Balzac wrote. “Behind every great fortune lies a great crime.” In his book ‘Ambani & Sons’, Hamish McDonald weaves an interesting narrative on a fortune built on subversion of various regulatory systems of India. He goes on to describe in detail as to how Dhirubhai Ambani, a man who was born in a lower middle class household on the arid backwaters of Gujarat, went on to become one of the most powerful predatory capitalists of India. The author also weaves the political history of the country during the rise of Ambani and shows how he skillfully used the various loopholes in the ‘License and Permit Raj’ of a controlled economy to build an industrial empire with near monopolistic powers and remained without paying Corporate Income Tax for nearly 40 years by mergers of various companies under his fiefdom. The success of Ambani was also traceable to his personal relations with politicians of varied and opposing ideologies which enabled him to manipulate the system near uninterruptedly. An example of his influence on politicians of Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party is mentioned in pages 375-376. Many readers of the magazines in India may not be unaware of the scandals and scams mentioned in the book. These scams and scandals caught the imagination of the public and were quickly forgotten. The success of the author is that he tries to reconcile the contradictory voices of adulation and criticism of Ambani during various scams and scandals and builds an interesting narrative with a perspective and insight which may not be possible in disbursed articles published in magazines.

The author points out that “the criticisms (about Ambani) were brushed aside by most investors, as well as by many of the journalists. The ‘dark’ side of Dhirubhai was part of his attraction. It was the thumb in the nose at the bureaucrats, the corrupt politicians and an exploitative business elite seen as cornering the wealth of India and wasting it” And the once derided Gujaratis felt that Dhirubhai has taken on and beaten the Parsis, the Marwaris and the Punjabis at their own game. And for a lot of his admirers if he had bent the rules, engineered loopholes, or cleverly avoided tax, Dhirubhai was only doing what any industrialist would do, given the opportunity, or the ability to carry it out. How else would a complete newcomer with no capital or education will get the break?” (Page 81). No wonder, in a country where a vast majority of population does not have faith in either the politicians or Govt. Authorities, Dhriubhai attracted a huge following which is only reserved for film stars or cricket players and had a cult like following among a lot of shareholders in India.

The author also touches upon the ambivalence among Indians about the predatory corporate activities of Dhirubhai. And he shows that the cheer leaders of Dhirubhai were not limited to middle class only. Some of the sharpest minds -senior journalists and intellectuals did not see anything wrong in the methods of Dhirubhai. The author gives the examples of many such shrewd politicians, senior journalists and intellectuals who were taking the side of Ambani, According to journalist Philip Bowring, a respected Hong Kong based-based authority on Asian business , such methods of Dhirubhai are unavoidable to “beat the system (of bureaucratic controls, state interventions, etc.) to get ahead, it was necessary to exploit the human frailties of its power holders. Everyone did it. Ambani did it more effectively.” And Gurcharan Das observed that while India needs entrepreneurs like Mukesh Ambani(elder son of Dhirubhai) it also needs a much stronger state to apply rules against abuse of market power.(P 376) But surprising is the example of Arun Shourie, one of the boldest intellectuals India produced who had the courage to critically analyse the judgments of the Supreme Court of India for its inconsistencies and who lamented about the tendency of Indians for “Worshiping False Gods”. It was his speech in July, 2003 on the first anniversary of Dhirubhai’s Death anniversary which shockingly revealed his 180 degree turn on his assessment of Dhirubhai.(Page 289).

The author gets his interpretation wrong when he touches upon the conduct of “King Yudhishtra” on the battle field of Kurukshetra without understanding the epic Mahabharata. (pages 371-372) King Yudhistra and his brothers complete their part of penance after losing the war of Dice with Duryodhana and seek their share of the kingdom which they lost. It was the arrogance and adamant attitude of Duryodhana which results in the war of Kurukshetra. It was not a war of vengeance but of asserting the rights of persons wronged.

But what cannot be denied is that the author succeeds in laying bare the corruption of the Indian political class and the weaknesses of Indian bureaucracy coupled with the unprincipled stand of some of the senior journalists in suppressing the wrong doings of the Dhirubhai. The following comments by S. Gurumurthy, a crusader against Dhirubhai, are apt in this context. “If the main rule prohibits something, get a sub-rule added which permits it. Business thrives on such rules. Touts make their fortunes, politicians enhance their power and bureaucrats their importance. Rule of law at once becomes sub-rule of law and sub-rule eventually becomes subversive rule” (Perhaps S. Gurumurthy carefully avoids mentioning the provisos subverting the main object of Article 15 and 16 of the Constitution by the never ending exceptions inserted under these Articles by Constitutional amendments). And he continues. “ Truth reveals itself, though often belatedly. This admirably suits the politician in power. The interregnum between truth and its revelation is generally a period of manipulation. In this interregnum alibis and half-truths rule. Finally, unless someone is alert, truth gets confined to the archives. Result: alibis masquerade as truth.” (pages 128-129).

Nobody can deny the role of entrepreneurs in enhancing the economic activities of a country. But, it is necessary that there should be checks on them lest they become predatory. Adulation for Ambani from many exhibit the changed values in the country. Quite aptly, the author mentions the fact that sixty years after ‘freedom at midnight’, the Modh Bania from Saurashtra named Dhirubhai Ambani seemed to portray the spirit of the new India more than the region’s other most famous Modh Bania, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.(Page 378). Hamish McDonald is to be lauded for bringing out an objective book which brings out the faults of a failed political and bureaucratic system which gives rise to such great fortunes being made at the cost of national resources.

[ajay Kumar · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was a average book....the book seriously suffered from lack of depth..most of the events have been written wothout much detailing.....just provides you with a generl sense of idea

[Harish B · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good read but I felt that it's too focused on the negative side of Dhirubhai Ambani.

[Kartheek Kondubhatla · Rating 5 out of 5]

It leaves impact on the readers. Very good book to know how to tackle various mindsets around us. Highly recommended.

[Meera Venugopalan · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading The Polyester Prince by Hamish McDonald, I became curious about why it was banned and how Ambani & Sons differs. Interestingly, around 70% of Ambani & Sons overlaps with the content of The Polyester Prince, with the main additions being Dhirubhai’s death, the Mukesh–Anil feud, and the eventual division of the business. It’s also notable that Ambani & Sons wasn’t banned despite the similarities. This was a quick read inspite of it being a book of 400 pages, because of the repetition.

This reminded me of how authors today, increase the count of books with similar content. This book covers the rise of 'Ambani Desh' 'Ambaniland' inside India. In this Corporate Kurushetra, with every element of Indian soap opera with the wealthy tycoons, brothers fighting each other, sleazy political neta, clever financiers, angry wives, religious seers, a disputed inheritance, private eyes, allegation of forgery and phone-tapping, officials pretending to be active, frustrated investigators and chorus of reporters besieging the main characters. Most important of all it had the mother, respected and loved by all for her innate and unsophisticated wisdom, able to cut through to the main emotional issue. Looks like she had sorted help from K.V. Kamath, then chairman and CEO of ICICI bank.

Unfortunately, the brothers' biggest enemies continued to be each other. A big lesson for Anil was 'it is not enough to make great presentations and wow everybody with financial deal-making. Running a business requires focus, sustained application, team-building and meeting customer expectations.'

Dhirubhai had an instinct for human weakness and a willingness to exploit it. This gave him a preferential treatment or at least a blind eye from the whole gamut of Indian institutions of various times. Over decades in India some of the world's best minds had applied themselves to building a system of government controls on capitalism. Dhirubhai Ambani made a complete mockery of it- admittedly at a stage when the system was decaying and partly corrupted already.

The dispute surrounding the rise of Dhirubhai also tells us something else about India: How it agonises over the morality of change, of success and failure, a syndrome explored by the economist Amartya Sen in his essay 'The Argumentative Indian'.

While India needs entrepreneurs like Mukesh Ambani, it also needs a much stronger state to apply rules against any abuse of market power. Businessmen will do what they can get away with, and the Reliance model shows a strong appreciation of the benefits. A strong state would devote more resources to relevant and update policies, better revenue collection and accountability and effective policing of rules rather than persisting with so much effort in micro-managing affairs.

These Modh Bania from Saurashtra seems to portray the spirit of the new India of flashy life more than the regions other most famous Modh Bania M.K. Gandhi who propagated 'Simple' living. What seems certain is the continuing story of these brothers - slum dog billionaires, whose homes have gone from the chawl in Bhuleshwar to their own high-rise towers - is unlikely to become dull.

*The Polyester Prince* was not banned in India.
Ambanis got an ad interim injunction from Delhi High Court against Publishers *Harper Collins* which never challenged the injunction.They chose to withdraw rather than engaging an unscrupulous Corporate in a protracted legal battle, which resulted in a virtual ban!

Just to put the record straight.

[Rajiv Chopra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book by Hamish McDonald is interesting. Books like this are tricky to review because the reviewer must review the book and not analyze the principal characters portrayed in the book.

Hamish McDonald has done an excellent job of describing the rise of Dhirubhai Ambani. One of the earliest anecdotes in the book tells of a person who described the three facets of Dhirubhai, including his dark side.

The book is an indictment of Indian politics, bureaucrats, and how the Indian government functions.

Hamish does an excellent job of portraying the three aspects of Dhirubhai Ambani’s character. Dhirubhai Ambani was a genial, dark genius. His personality comes through well.

The book appears to have been put together using available information, and information from some confidential interviews. I do not believe that this book was easy to write.

It is an enjoyable book, and I must compliment Hamish McDonald for staying true to the middle path. He does not praise or criticize, Dhirubhai Ambani. Hamish has left it to the reader to make his or her judgment.

The characters of the two brothers, but, do not come through clearly.

[Kanwar Anand · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is not an easy one to read. It took me 11 days maybe. The pace of the book and its overall content and last 25% is why I gave it 5 stars. Once Reliance enters the year 2002 things start happening and the writing is simply exquisite and thrilling.

I enjoyed the ineraction and rivalry between BOMBAY DYEING and INDIAN EXPRESS. WADIA and GOENKAS make for worthy adversaries. In this book, the protagonist is often antagonistic and villain-like to most men. Yet he practices on the surface a most magnetic personality. The split between the two brothers - Mukesh and Anil was also a great read because things moved fast by then. Several characters resurface in this book and the level of research is stunning.

I loved this book. It has taught me something. It begs the conventional attiude I settle in. It begs the need for it to change. For one to realise one's true goal and be fearless in the eyes of defeat.

[HS · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not read a more riveting account of an Indian businessman. From start to finish, the book is loaded with a lot of information interspersed with corporate gossip with ample references. What I particularly liked was how the author managed to trace the childhood background of the businessman - well researched. The author has made it easy for the reader to read in between the lines when it came to understanding the corporate structure of the business!
Its definitely critical of the businessman and probably heavily one-sided but seems to be detailed and specific where the author links the dealings with politicians (and provides heavy additional fodder)
The last four chapters even provide a narration of the brother's feud and how the battle was a first captured.
This is a book that should be made as compulsory reading for journalism students!

[Rushabh Mehta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellently researched. Dhirubhai Ambani is a very complicated character and someone whose ambition is almost impossible for a normal person to understand and Hamish McDonald does a fabulous job of meticulously chronicling his life and labours. The writing is excellent, providing context where necessary and trying to walk the fine line between writing entertainingly and being non judgemental. The book traces the rise of Reliance from Dhirubhai's early days to the split between the brothers resulting in two Reliance companies. The Ambani's have bent very rule in the book to secure government licenses, favours - ran smear campaigns against competitors, destroyed and mad governments while building a world class enterprise that has delivered real value to customers and shareholders. Was he a hero or a villain? McDonald let's you decide.

[Sarvesh Mathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anyone who wants to really understand Reliance, "a giant so big it's a proxy for India's economy" needs to read this book. It's a thoroughly researched book that tells you everything you don't know about the Ambanis and the pre-Jio Reliance. It also offers a wonderful and unique insight into India's political and economic history. The book sometimes gets a bit technical when discussing all the ways in which Reliance worked its way around the law, but if that was easy to explain, then Reliance couldn't have gotten away with it. Hamish McDonald also gives a complete coverage to all the individuals that stood up to Reliance and the Ambanis.

[Rovik Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mukesh Ambani is the richest man in Asia and if you have not heard of him or Reliance Industries, you may be sleeping on one of the biggest industrial giants in the world. Someone passed me this book a while ago and since I was clearing my backlog, I decided to explore this hard-hitting biography of both Dhirubhai Ambani, founder of the conglomerate, as well as his sons. Interwoven with political intrigue, business lessons and family drama, Hamish McDonald paints a revealing picture of the Reliance group of companies.

Read my full review here: https://rovik.xyz/2021/12/01/rovik-re...

[Uchit Shah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This polyester prince with all the sensation/revealing parts removed. Basically, Polyester Prince which the Ambani Family approved off. It is basically like GURU Movie, all suspense, corruption, and bribery, and all that details edited as per Ambani convenience. Read 80% and still no mention of the feud between the Ambani brothers. The book is still stuck in an era when Dhirubhai is still alive and hardly any details of how Mukesh and Anil took over the business and what they did.
WASTE OF TIME.

[Sakshi Kapoor · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read, and i believe an important one too..in order to understand how the businesses have grown in the country. It gives a glimpse of the inter dependency and interlinked growth of political parties with their respective vested interests, while keeping the larger good at sake, sometimes. It gets too technical at times (financial terms), still an easy read.

[vivek thebaria · Rating 5 out of 5]

An indepth account of times of one of the great businessmen of India.

Very well written. Gives ample descriptio of the Reliance way and the controversies surrounding the Ambani family. Organized and fast paced.

[Agnel Menezes · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author has narrated all the parts that make up today's Reliance what it is. Good and Bad.

[Aayushi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding book!

[Sunil Choudhary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good one

[sohailparvaiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story is still not complete.

[Seema Dubey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bought the book in 2011, tried reading. Had nothing that made me come back to the book. But, since wanted to finish it (had spent good money on it!) read a few pages once in a while and somehow managed to finish it.

If you have read The Polyester Prince or the Indian Express/ other publications of the time or seen the movie Guru, give this one a miss. Actually give even the Polyester Prince a miss! Spend your money on bhel puri rather than buying the third book, called Mahabharata... or something.

You'll ask, why?

Because, you'll waste your money on shoddy cut n paste writings, repeating the same mind numbing tirade in each book, at least the two that I spent good money on and read! From a writer, who seems tilted all the way into the ground in favour of certain corporate/s while bad mouthing one. You wonder, why there are no advts, 'this chapter is Sponsored By...'! Currency of sponsorship? Saam, Daam, Dund, Bhaid???

But, if are the kind to indulge/ believe the Chinese whispers and the he-said-she-said etc to be the Devine truth. Please, read the book, you won't be disappointed! If you want to believe, not the truth, but how 'cleverly' it's presented as 'fact', then this book is for you.

There isn't even the remotest attempt to provide any legally valid document/ evidence for all the accused illegalities/ misdeeds/ Ill gotten wealth/ nefarious political manoeuvrings etc. All that the author does is to write whatever he was employed to write, and once in a while lazily point to a reference viz interview in some newspaper, book, etc. It's one low level b&@₹ch fest! The author takes the various theories as gospel truth and twists them in a way to suit his purpose. Which is...?

Do corporates manipulate political leaders and vice versa? Only in India? Not anywhere else in the world? Only one person? Only at that level? At no other lower levels?

Situation 1: If the head honcho X meets with a PM and gets a concession, then he was corrupt and corrupted the PM.

Situation 2: if head honcho Y of another corporate spends an entire night in a meeting with the PM (coz the PM is flying out in the morning) bitching about the head honcho X, and manages to stop the PM from doing something for X, but gets him to do something for himself instead, read: Y is paragon of virtues!

The entire book is in similar vein.

What would have made the book bearable? If the author had not been so unabashedly pro corporate Y and another corporate, while just writing thrash about some. If one could see some modicum of fairness/ sober ability to judge fact from fiction/ criticism of each corporate based on facts, analysed without fear or favour, as it is said... If one could see that it wasn't just part of some (still?) on going feud?

A book becomes thrash to average to good to great based on the integrity, research, analysis, fact finding abilities employed by the author in a just manner. Not a weary cacophony!

The Book is cleverly written. Not authentically.

That's why it fails in what it was trying to achieve.

[Da · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic read. I believe the book is largely balanced covering events as is, without any serious allegations or an unabashed admiration to the Ambanis. A large part of critical events covered in depth, but folks with little background on debentures and financial markets in general might find it a tough read.

The context under which Reliance became what it is today is clearly explained. Its difficult to believe that the sons will be able to have a strong hold on policies like their illustrious dad, given the liberalized regime, higher transparency and communication/connected soceity and heightened activism in general - to maneuver and engineer favourable 'conditions' will become more and more difficult.

A definite read for every Indian and must read for folks with interest in business.

[Sundarraj Kaushik · Rating 2 out of 5]

A decent book portraying the grey shade of the Ambanis. The book is bold enough to bring out the dark incidents the silver lining in this dark shade. The Ambanis adopted the principle that if there corrupt officials and politicians, who are ready to favour us, given the right amount then why should we not exploit the person to get passed rule and regulations by which we can benefit more and more.

Provides a good insight of what one can achieve if one has a decent intelligence and is willing to be unscrupulous in ones dealings with the corrupt officials.

A must read for people who wish to know more about corruption in India, the License Raj and about the Ambanis.

[Shekhar Ruparelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Ambani & Sons' starts with Dhirubhai's career and how his machinations and skill in managing work and people led to building a successful empire. Much of the text is from McDonald's more controversial work 'The Polyester Prince'. In fact, 'Ambani & Sons' can be claimed to be a well-disguised version of 'The Polyester Prince' since the latter is banned from being published and sold in India. Dhirubhai himself would be pleasantly amused at Hamish's most Reliance-like strategy of finding a loophole and publishing his work.

[Sid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good insight on what is already known in popular culture, but the way McDonald paces his story is fascinating. Must read if you want to peel the layers of India's most notorious business house and personality.

[Aditya Nayak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Struck me as possibly being a watered down version of the original book, The Polyester Prince, which is banned in India.
A prosaic, so-so biography, with the subject leaving you rather confused as to what to make of him.

[Sumit · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book worth reading once to know the past and to connect it to our future. The book though focusing on Ambani's, however the story is also relevant how Indian capitalism ideology still prevalent and in action in liberal democracy!

[Deval Shah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent !!!! Fantabulous !!

[Manish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book...Making of Indian Capitalist...