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The Polyester Prince: The Rise of Dhirubhai Ambani
Dhirubhai Ambani's life is a rags-to-riches story, from Bombay's crowded pavements and bazaars to the city's extravagantly wealthy social circles where business tycoons, stockmarket speculators, smugglers, politicians and Hindi film stars mingle, make money, make and break marriages and carry out prolonged feuds-sometimes violent, often histrionic.
Until the arrival of Ambani, India's big business scene was dominated by a few industrial houses from British times. In just 26 years since its foundation, Ambani's Reliance group has risen to rival these houses. By 1995 the group had 2.6 million investors.
Along with the dramatic expansion of the Reliance Group have come intricate political connections, a whole raft of corruption charges and a rollercoaster of booms and crashes for Ambani and his company. This study shows how capitalism emerges by fair means and foul in the new industrial countries of the Third World, and is one of very few studies of Asian or Third World tycoons.
Until the arrival of Ambani, India's big business scene was dominated by a few industrial houses from British times. In just 26 years since its foundation, Ambani's Reliance group has risen to rival these houses. By 1995 the group had 2.6 million investors.
Along with the dramatic expansion of the Reliance Group have come intricate political connections, a whole raft of corruption charges and a rollercoaster of booms and crashes for Ambani and his company. This study shows how capitalism emerges by fair means and foul in the new industrial countries of the Third World, and is one of very few studies of Asian or Third World tycoons.
296 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
439 people are currently reading
6959 people want to read
About the author
Hamish McDonald
14 books39 followersHamish 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 103 reviews
September 1, 2009
Hmmm , well after much search on internet i got this book in both PDF and Word format , they say u can find anything on net is true !! Ambani Brothers failed to stop Internet :))
Well I am kind of a person who reads book and like those who gives facts and figure , they only its good to believe ... hence i like arun shourie in this case , Hamish have told thousands of incidents in this book some with facts , newspaper articles and personal inteview ..but in many case he has JUST WRITTEN the things !!!
But in all a good books , what the congress has done with this country for the past 50 60 years is not hidden and this book shows a glimpse of that , I am a born Jan sanghiye and after reading all this my hate towards congress only grows !!!
Hamish has studied in deep the Indian market and its bull Bear run . how the things are managed. He answeres many questions ...
1. Conduct of CBI and how congress controls it.
2. Dynasty rule is taking Indian toll.
3. Money is the big player in politics.
4. No One cares about employee class.
5. Journalist like Gurumurthy are hard to find now.
6. News paper used to be a big weapon in those times.
7. Articles and news item are also driven by business houses.
If any one is interested in reading this book , I can mail the same ... do ask speacially the people who loves rajiv gandhi and congress , i would like to contribute in breaking there MYTHS .
Well I am kind of a person who reads book and like those who gives facts and figure , they only its good to believe ... hence i like arun shourie in this case , Hamish have told thousands of incidents in this book some with facts , newspaper articles and personal inteview ..but in many case he has JUST WRITTEN the things !!!
But in all a good books , what the congress has done with this country for the past 50 60 years is not hidden and this book shows a glimpse of that , I am a born Jan sanghiye and after reading all this my hate towards congress only grows !!!
Hamish has studied in deep the Indian market and its bull Bear run . how the things are managed. He answeres many questions ...
1. Conduct of CBI and how congress controls it.
2. Dynasty rule is taking Indian toll.
3. Money is the big player in politics.
4. No One cares about employee class.
5. Journalist like Gurumurthy are hard to find now.
6. News paper used to be a big weapon in those times.
7. Articles and news item are also driven by business houses.
If any one is interested in reading this book , I can mail the same ... do ask speacially the people who loves rajiv gandhi and congress , i would like to contribute in breaking there MYTHS .
February 9, 2008
Finally got to read this book about the rise of Dhirubhai Ambani.Its a pretty small book..arnd 275 pages..but its power packed alright.
It goes into the darker side of Ambani’s dealings… the political connections..the bribes+gifts..and the attempt to murder Nusli Wadia.
This book is banned in India and doesn’t seem to be available on international sites as well (been searching it for a few months now ) .Seems the Ambani bros have made sure that not a single copy is available. And what with all the allegations against Ambani in the book , I guess the bros WOULD do anything to see to it that this book isn’t read by most people.Anywayz, i guess I can consider myself lucky since my friend gave me one of course on a huge premium
Now about the contents of the book-It talks abt Ambani’s early days and his connection with Indira Gandhi and how he got policies changed on his order and how he even managed to ’smuggle’ into India a whole factory!!!
The book talks abt a neat lil trick that Ambani used to make his company look healthy on paper and hence attractive to Investors.Seems Reliance used to issue non-convertible debt and then get the Government’s permission to make it convertible and hence could easily convert the Debt into Equity on the balance sheet. End result : Wipe out interest expense and also a cheap source for funds .But it was kind of a win-win situation for everyone since the investor could get a cheap entry into the stocks of Reliance which were booming for years.But then seems it was Ambani’s shell companies which used to subscribe to these issues by getting bank loans and hence he could increase his share holding in the company when the Conversion finally took place(At a price which was much lesser than the market price)
Yet another area the book focussed was on the Shell companies bit. About how Ambani had some 100 different companies in different names with cross holdings so that he could maintain ownership/a majority stake in Reliance and also earn tax free income through dividends etc . I was stunned to read that Reliance hadn’t paid any corporate taxes till the 1990’s (and that too when minimum alternative tax was introduced!) .
Whatever said and done , Ambani is considered the King of the equity cult in India and the author endorses that fact!
Btw about the Ban on the book in India - “the most common reasons for banning a book in India is that it is a) subversive to the Indian state b) wilfully presents incorrect facts about the Indian state/ Indian leaders and c) might inflame religious/ communal sensibilities. This book doesn’t offend on any of these counts. ”
Ha..trust the Ambanis to twist the rules
Published in 1998, the book is still not available in Indian bookshops because the Ambanis have threatened legal action for anything they perceive as defamatory in the book. This ban of sorts has, in fact, increased the curiosity value of the book. A small but steady stream of books continues to be brought into India from friends or relatives living abroad. Those who know of its existence want to buy/borrow or photocopy it. In fact, the book probably made it to print only because the publishers — Allen & Unwin — are Australian and decided to take a chance selling the book outside India.
Yet another Interesting fact-Ambani was the single largest private shareholder in L&T in the late 1980s and also became Chairman of the company.The reasoning behind this step? L&T was largely debt free and he wanted a source for new funds (since Reliance was in a bit of trouble with the Govt/V.P. Singh). Never knew that Ambani had made a move for L&T.Just imagine what it would have been like if L&T was part of the Reliance family as well!!!
It goes into the darker side of Ambani’s dealings… the political connections..the bribes+gifts..and the attempt to murder Nusli Wadia.
This book is banned in India and doesn’t seem to be available on international sites as well (been searching it for a few months now ) .Seems the Ambani bros have made sure that not a single copy is available. And what with all the allegations against Ambani in the book , I guess the bros WOULD do anything to see to it that this book isn’t read by most people.Anywayz, i guess I can consider myself lucky since my friend gave me one of course on a huge premium
Now about the contents of the book-It talks abt Ambani’s early days and his connection with Indira Gandhi and how he got policies changed on his order and how he even managed to ’smuggle’ into India a whole factory!!!
The book talks abt a neat lil trick that Ambani used to make his company look healthy on paper and hence attractive to Investors.Seems Reliance used to issue non-convertible debt and then get the Government’s permission to make it convertible and hence could easily convert the Debt into Equity on the balance sheet. End result : Wipe out interest expense and also a cheap source for funds .But it was kind of a win-win situation for everyone since the investor could get a cheap entry into the stocks of Reliance which were booming for years.But then seems it was Ambani’s shell companies which used to subscribe to these issues by getting bank loans and hence he could increase his share holding in the company when the Conversion finally took place(At a price which was much lesser than the market price)
Yet another area the book focussed was on the Shell companies bit. About how Ambani had some 100 different companies in different names with cross holdings so that he could maintain ownership/a majority stake in Reliance and also earn tax free income through dividends etc . I was stunned to read that Reliance hadn’t paid any corporate taxes till the 1990’s (and that too when minimum alternative tax was introduced!) .
Whatever said and done , Ambani is considered the King of the equity cult in India and the author endorses that fact!
Btw about the Ban on the book in India - “the most common reasons for banning a book in India is that it is a) subversive to the Indian state b) wilfully presents incorrect facts about the Indian state/ Indian leaders and c) might inflame religious/ communal sensibilities. This book doesn’t offend on any of these counts. ”
Ha..trust the Ambanis to twist the rules
Published in 1998, the book is still not available in Indian bookshops because the Ambanis have threatened legal action for anything they perceive as defamatory in the book. This ban of sorts has, in fact, increased the curiosity value of the book. A small but steady stream of books continues to be brought into India from friends or relatives living abroad. Those who know of its existence want to buy/borrow or photocopy it. In fact, the book probably made it to print only because the publishers — Allen & Unwin — are Australian and decided to take a chance selling the book outside India.
Yet another Interesting fact-Ambani was the single largest private shareholder in L&T in the late 1980s and also became Chairman of the company.The reasoning behind this step? L&T was largely debt free and he wanted a source for new funds (since Reliance was in a bit of trouble with the Govt/V.P. Singh). Never knew that Ambani had made a move for L&T.Just imagine what it would have been like if L&T was part of the Reliance family as well!!!
July 18, 2020
This book is banned in India (allegedly by Ambani's) for a reason. The best part about this book is that it is not anecdotal. This book has a lot of numbers and facts. McDonald has brilliantly written this one and a lot of research has been put into it. This book briefly explains how the '80s and early '90s shaped India's economy for good and for bad. So many important names have been taken in this book including Amitabh Bachhan, PV Narasimha Rao, Rajiv Gandhi, Harshad Mehta to name a few.
Many times during the read I had to go back to Google to look up the matter mentioned.
All in all, read this book if the commercial aspect of our society and share market appeals to you. For those who don't particularly enjoy reading numbers and commercial jargon's, stay away, it will be a drag. This is not your day-to-day "get inspired" biography. This is suave mudslinging which is thoroughly deserved.
Many times during the read I had to go back to Google to look up the matter mentioned.
All in all, read this book if the commercial aspect of our society and share market appeals to you. For those who don't particularly enjoy reading numbers and commercial jargon's, stay away, it will be a drag. This is not your day-to-day "get inspired" biography. This is suave mudslinging which is thoroughly deserved.
August 25, 2019
An honest biography which details the meteoric rise of Ambani. Unlike the Indian enterpreneur-biographies, which portray businessmen as saints, Hamish also describes how the system was perfectly engineered by Ambani to further his empire. A must read business biography.
September 13, 2012
controversial wud be an understatement
February 19, 2014
Dhirubhai Ambani said that he builds a golden fountain over all his misdeeds and nobody will ever know what's underneath. He could not cover it all up and this book is a well-composed summary (and argument) of the public part of Ambani's life.
Hamish is very balanced, intelligent and diligent. I don't think that there is a better way to fully appreciate the breathtaking rise of Ambani, how fully he permeated the Indian government and bureaucracy or his masterful handling of capital and markets, and his failures and troubles as well.
How Ambani really was will remain a mystery. I guess Hamish had lesser and lesser information to work with towards the end- which is abrupt and rather lame. Overall, a must read, especially if you're Indian.
Hamish is very balanced, intelligent and diligent. I don't think that there is a better way to fully appreciate the breathtaking rise of Ambani, how fully he permeated the Indian government and bureaucracy or his masterful handling of capital and markets, and his failures and troubles as well.
How Ambani really was will remain a mystery. I guess Hamish had lesser and lesser information to work with towards the end- which is abrupt and rather lame. Overall, a must read, especially if you're Indian.
April 8, 2013
What was it? A racy fiction or a true story? Tough to judge from the story. There is not much in the appendix to prove that what it says is truth. On the truth, with the way Reliance grew, I won't be surprised if all of it be true. Two things are for sure -
1. An Indian could have never written this. Simply because of the fact that at few places this book becomes more a flight of fantasy which only a foreigner could have cooked up, visualizing the all embracing "jugaad" in context of India.
2. Banning this book has given a racy fiction like book a cult status. We Indians, actually have a knack of it. We take a ordinary stuff, stifle it and make legendary by stifling!
1. An Indian could have never written this. Simply because of the fact that at few places this book becomes more a flight of fantasy which only a foreigner could have cooked up, visualizing the all embracing "jugaad" in context of India.
2. Banning this book has given a racy fiction like book a cult status. We Indians, actually have a knack of it. We take a ordinary stuff, stifle it and make legendary by stifling!
April 26, 2021
Everyone who is from India, knows about this family. This work gives a narrative of Ambani family.
Recommended to anyone who wants to know about business-politico landscape of India.
Deus Vult,
Gottfried.
Recommended to anyone who wants to know about business-politico landscape of India.
Deus Vult,
Gottfried.
March 31, 2016
The rise of Dhirubhai Ambani, the author has taken deep dive into the building Reliance. As you read the book, many a times their is a feeling of oh ! God. Doubts arise is this the way Business houses needs to be build or should their be an purpose of doing business ?
I recommend this book to understand how deep routed the link between business houses and law makers in India. How many a times favours are provided and cheap thinking !!
The poor remains poor and middle class will always struggle ....
I recommend this book to understand how deep routed the link between business houses and law makers in India. How many a times favours are provided and cheap thinking !!
The poor remains poor and middle class will always struggle ....
May 19, 2021
his book on Dhirubhai Ambani’s Empire is a thrilling experience as it talks about the toughest times of Reliance which has gone into the making of it and is kept away from public domain for obvious reasons. Even if people close to Ambanis are aware, they don’t dare to speak against the mightiest and the fastest growing invulnerable business house of India. RIL as on date is the most profitable and most revenue generating private company of India and the tactics (yes, the word is used deliberately) used by Late Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani which has become the trademark of the group may be appreciable in terms of financial acumen but when it comes to ethics, value and principles they are big zero.
You name it and Reliance had been all through it – from stock market rigging, undercutting, under invoicing, non payment of duties, cheating share holders, havala, harshad Mehta, bofors and framing of Nusli Wadia, they are involved in every damn scam. Though Reliance gathered lot of International attention due to increasing profits and revenue, it could not avoid getting into controversies too due to n number of cases running against it. I feel ashamed on discovering that some of the political leaders whom I thought to be man of ethics where puppets in the hands of Dhirubhai. For those who tried to raise their voice against Reliance like Nusli Wadia, The Indian Express and a chosen few political leaders had a bad fate as with the ascent of time, Dhirubhai became bigger than the government and if the political party tried to take any step against him, he threatened to pull down the government.
The author says that the Indian political system was driven by the prices of polyester and he has made a right remark as Indian corporate war between the Wadias and Ambanis started with polyester and later on spread among political parties with one supporting the Ambanis and very few who were the real preachers of values and principals supporting the Wadias. But the influence of Dhirubhai on New Delhi was so strong that everything worked the way he wanted it to whether it was getting a license or getting action against his business competitors and creating troubles for him like it was done for Nusli Wadia. Dhirubhai manipulated the laws and customs rules in the way he wanted them to be and by the time government realized the loopholes in the rules, he had already made his buck. He exploited the Indian government, their rules and tax system to the best of his ability which is very clear from the fact that Reliance is the only company which never paid taxes even after three decades of listing and went on giving bonus and dividends to shareholders. It took too long for the government to react and it was only for Reliance that Minimum Alternate Tax was brought in action. There had been a sheer injustice against the competitors of Reliance as all of them were not allowed to flourish in a similar environment but at the end of the day what matters is the return on investment. This is where Reliance had been right there by declaring dividends and bonus to stake holders. So it would be right to say, it was government and the system which was at loss. Billions of rupees which should have gone to the coffer of government went into building Reliance Empire and also went for paying bribes to the government babus.
Rich, powerful, intelligent, shrewd but a man sans ethics and values – this is how the author has described Dhirubhai Amabni in his book.I hope by know all of you must be aware of the reason for the book being banned in India. Someone who smuggled entire factory into India, who purchased the government can easily get the book and the author banned in India if he dares to raise voice against him. I really appreciate this work of Hamish McDonald who went against the stream to expose Dhirubhai and his group to the public. It is an interesting and must read for those who are interested in India Inc but the only option left to them is to smuggle the book into India from some foreign location as Dhirubhai smuggled the entire factory set up at Patalganga because the book is banned in India.
Extract from the book
'Today the fact is that Ambani is bigger than government,' said the lawyer in all seriousness. 'He can make or break prime ministers. In the United States you can build up a super corporation but the political system is still bigger than you. In India the system is weak. If the stock exchange dares to expose Ambani, he tells it: I will pull my company shares out and make you collapse. I am bigger than your exchange. If the newspapers criticize, he can point out they are dependent on his advertising and he has his journalists in every one of their departments. If the political parties take a stand against him, he has his men in every party who can pull down or embarrass the leaders. He is a threat to the system. Today he is undefeatable.'
But two of India's sharpest business journalists did get Dhirubhai to admit that stroking government was his biggest task.'The most important external environment is the Government of India,' he told India Today's T N. Ninan and Jagannath Dubashi. 'You have to sell your ideas to the government. Selling the idea is the most important thing, and for that I'd meet anybody in the government. I am willing to salaam anyone. One thing you won't find in me and that is ego.'
You name it and Reliance had been all through it – from stock market rigging, undercutting, under invoicing, non payment of duties, cheating share holders, havala, harshad Mehta, bofors and framing of Nusli Wadia, they are involved in every damn scam. Though Reliance gathered lot of International attention due to increasing profits and revenue, it could not avoid getting into controversies too due to n number of cases running against it. I feel ashamed on discovering that some of the political leaders whom I thought to be man of ethics where puppets in the hands of Dhirubhai. For those who tried to raise their voice against Reliance like Nusli Wadia, The Indian Express and a chosen few political leaders had a bad fate as with the ascent of time, Dhirubhai became bigger than the government and if the political party tried to take any step against him, he threatened to pull down the government.
The author says that the Indian political system was driven by the prices of polyester and he has made a right remark as Indian corporate war between the Wadias and Ambanis started with polyester and later on spread among political parties with one supporting the Ambanis and very few who were the real preachers of values and principals supporting the Wadias. But the influence of Dhirubhai on New Delhi was so strong that everything worked the way he wanted it to whether it was getting a license or getting action against his business competitors and creating troubles for him like it was done for Nusli Wadia. Dhirubhai manipulated the laws and customs rules in the way he wanted them to be and by the time government realized the loopholes in the rules, he had already made his buck. He exploited the Indian government, their rules and tax system to the best of his ability which is very clear from the fact that Reliance is the only company which never paid taxes even after three decades of listing and went on giving bonus and dividends to shareholders. It took too long for the government to react and it was only for Reliance that Minimum Alternate Tax was brought in action. There had been a sheer injustice against the competitors of Reliance as all of them were not allowed to flourish in a similar environment but at the end of the day what matters is the return on investment. This is where Reliance had been right there by declaring dividends and bonus to stake holders. So it would be right to say, it was government and the system which was at loss. Billions of rupees which should have gone to the coffer of government went into building Reliance Empire and also went for paying bribes to the government babus.
Rich, powerful, intelligent, shrewd but a man sans ethics and values – this is how the author has described Dhirubhai Amabni in his book.I hope by know all of you must be aware of the reason for the book being banned in India. Someone who smuggled entire factory into India, who purchased the government can easily get the book and the author banned in India if he dares to raise voice against him. I really appreciate this work of Hamish McDonald who went against the stream to expose Dhirubhai and his group to the public. It is an interesting and must read for those who are interested in India Inc but the only option left to them is to smuggle the book into India from some foreign location as Dhirubhai smuggled the entire factory set up at Patalganga because the book is banned in India.
Extract from the book
'Today the fact is that Ambani is bigger than government,' said the lawyer in all seriousness. 'He can make or break prime ministers. In the United States you can build up a super corporation but the political system is still bigger than you. In India the system is weak. If the stock exchange dares to expose Ambani, he tells it: I will pull my company shares out and make you collapse. I am bigger than your exchange. If the newspapers criticize, he can point out they are dependent on his advertising and he has his journalists in every one of their departments. If the political parties take a stand against him, he has his men in every party who can pull down or embarrass the leaders. He is a threat to the system. Today he is undefeatable.'
But two of India's sharpest business journalists did get Dhirubhai to admit that stroking government was his biggest task.'The most important external environment is the Government of India,' he told India Today's T N. Ninan and Jagannath Dubashi. 'You have to sell your ideas to the government. Selling the idea is the most important thing, and for that I'd meet anybody in the government. I am willing to salaam anyone. One thing you won't find in me and that is ego.'
March 2, 2021
I was amazed by how much I didn't knew about the richest family of India. Dhirubhai Ambani did come from a humble background and built his initial business through sheer hard work and smartness and his ability to build relationships but the scaling up of his business was based on sinister plots against rivals and competitors.
This books does seem slow in storytelling in the beginning but but captures good speed later and becomes impossible to put down. Everybody with even slightest interest in Ambani Family and pre-liberalisation business political environment should read this book.
This books does seem slow in storytelling in the beginning but but captures good speed later and becomes impossible to put down. Everybody with even slightest interest in Ambani Family and pre-liberalisation business political environment should read this book.
July 10, 2023
This was a long and surprising read ! The alleged connections are everywhere, and the book brings the industrialist, politicians, governing bodies, and ultimately the story of corporate India together !
Want to read
September 7, 2024Where is book i'm unable to read it.
July 16, 2024
Interesting reading. Political corruption.. market manipulation.. insider trading.. tax evasion.. attempted murder.. No wonder the Ambanis got the book banned in India.
July 16, 2012
I have been thinking of reading some non-fiction stuff lately. So after searching for some time, started reading Hamish McDonald's The Polyester Prince: The Rise of Dhirubhai Ambani.
I am happily surprised to know about ambani's involvement in independence struggle. The Yemen silver coins business:buying silver currency and melting them to sell as raw silver-just shows the starting signs of the future AMBANI in progresss.
His initial rise in Mumbai and the success story of Vimal are all nicely captured by the author. All of these explain what separates Ambani from the rest. He was such a risk taker but all of it well calculated. His story tells us how important friends and networking are.
his relations with syndicate bank(Manipal Institutes), ICICI and nehru kotari.
Until this part, dhirubhai never really had strong opponents. But once Bombay dying's Wadia, Indian Express's Goenka and Accountant/Journalist Gurumurthy got together, Mr. Dhirubhai had faced hell lot.of trouble, which even lead him to the hospital for a sStroke. The revealations made by Gurumurthy are truly amazing: numerous ways to get bank loans, tens of companies fictionally created in India and all over the world for different purposes, rule sub-rule concept,,,etc.
That continued with V.P. Singh/Rajiv Gandhi episodes, massive amount of political games, where off the edge of the seat Chess movements were made involving Prime Minister, Finance Minister, President, Press Baron and two Business men.
After all those politics, everything seems to come back to Business again. Dhitubhai ambitions were racing even further. He now wanted to create a Petro chemicals(Plastic) Plant and a Nartural gas cracker plant. Both of this needed huge funds. The way he again generated those funds is again truly amazing. This whole thing also involved tactical take over of L&T from the hands of govt institutes of UTI & LIC with help from Bank of Baroda.
I am happily surprised to know about ambani's involvement in independence struggle. The Yemen silver coins business:buying silver currency and melting them to sell as raw silver-just shows the starting signs of the future AMBANI in progresss.
His initial rise in Mumbai and the success story of Vimal are all nicely captured by the author. All of these explain what separates Ambani from the rest. He was such a risk taker but all of it well calculated. His story tells us how important friends and networking are.
his relations with syndicate bank(Manipal Institutes), ICICI and nehru kotari.
Until this part, dhirubhai never really had strong opponents. But once Bombay dying's Wadia, Indian Express's Goenka and Accountant/Journalist Gurumurthy got together, Mr. Dhirubhai had faced hell lot.of trouble, which even lead him to the hospital for a sStroke. The revealations made by Gurumurthy are truly amazing: numerous ways to get bank loans, tens of companies fictionally created in India and all over the world for different purposes, rule sub-rule concept,,,etc.
That continued with V.P. Singh/Rajiv Gandhi episodes, massive amount of political games, where off the edge of the seat Chess movements were made involving Prime Minister, Finance Minister, President, Press Baron and two Business men.
After all those politics, everything seems to come back to Business again. Dhitubhai ambitions were racing even further. He now wanted to create a Petro chemicals(Plastic) Plant and a Nartural gas cracker plant. Both of this needed huge funds. The way he again generated those funds is again truly amazing. This whole thing also involved tactical take over of L&T from the hands of govt institutes of UTI & LIC with help from Bank of Baroda.
August 30, 2020
I don’t know to what extend the authenticity of this book stretches to but this is an absolute unmasking of a corrupt conglomerate which time and time again has used federalism to amplify it’s profits by manipulating government policies. It’s shameful to read this as an Indian. Beautifully written by Hamish, yet in it’s draft form, needs a editorial revision.
April 8, 2013
A biography unlike others... where the author brings out the darker shade of the subject more than the "whiter" side of the founder of the biggest Indian corporation
May 15, 2019
Exceptionally well researched. Truly sensational! Can't imagine the kind of efforts that Hamish would have taken for it.
January 18, 2020
For a 90s kid, Dhirubhai Ambani will always be a mystical figure. Our parents refer to him by multiple adjectives, most of which never put him in a bad light. The closest they'll get to that is by calling him a Bania played Abhishek Bachchan in Guru.
Dhirubhai was gone long before I could realise "bhai" is a legitimate part of his name. So all I relied on to understand of his being was through the Antilla size legacy he left behind, and not Only Vimal.
The Polyester Prince is a story with one foot in the past and the other in the future. It's present lays in the year of 1996. Hamish, an Australian journalist, takes us through a joy(u)ride of Dhirubhai - his points of influence in the early life, his time in Aden, his people, his references, his unapologetic approach for making profits for his Reliance family etc.
Corporate stories centred around the generation of wealth put a lot of focus on the guiding principles of the generator itself. The Polyester Prince though is deeply rooted in the geo-politics and later the polity of the Indian Executive during the Licence Raj. Hamish does point out in the introduction how difficult it was to gather the details for this project, and how a lot of them might sound apocryphal - which does end up being a setback.
The book is brimmed to the top with conjectural gossip, and not so much about how Reliance actually functioned, or what drove them and Dhirubhai. In Hamish's defence though, Reliance & Dhirubhai are used as proxies for each other, suggesting a highly autocratic organisation.
It's a book that probably gets the history and the conjecture more right than wrong. But, how can we tell?
It's a good read but it might not be the most accurate one. But again, how can we tell?
Dhirubhai was gone long before I could realise "bhai" is a legitimate part of his name. So all I relied on to understand of his being was through the Antilla size legacy he left behind, and not Only Vimal.
The Polyester Prince is a story with one foot in the past and the other in the future. It's present lays in the year of 1996. Hamish, an Australian journalist, takes us through a joy(u)ride of Dhirubhai - his points of influence in the early life, his time in Aden, his people, his references, his unapologetic approach for making profits for his Reliance family etc.
Corporate stories centred around the generation of wealth put a lot of focus on the guiding principles of the generator itself. The Polyester Prince though is deeply rooted in the geo-politics and later the polity of the Indian Executive during the Licence Raj. Hamish does point out in the introduction how difficult it was to gather the details for this project, and how a lot of them might sound apocryphal - which does end up being a setback.
The book is brimmed to the top with conjectural gossip, and not so much about how Reliance actually functioned, or what drove them and Dhirubhai. In Hamish's defence though, Reliance & Dhirubhai are used as proxies for each other, suggesting a highly autocratic organisation.
It's a book that probably gets the history and the conjecture more right than wrong. But, how can we tell?
It's a good read but it might not be the most accurate one. But again, how can we tell?
September 1, 2024
The book shares the rise of Dhirubhai Ambani from his early days working in Yemen to developing a behemoth of a company which dominated various industries like textile, petrochemicals and eventually oil refinery during his period. The author shares many stories of lobbying goverments to create policies benefitting his company significantly by creating a monopolistic environment through entry of barriers for other companies. There are allegations of creation of foreign shell companies to manipulate the market. But his innovative way of rising capital in a scare market is something of a legend. Controlling media through his company's advertising spending, several competitor allegations, death threats, personal favours used to lobby goverment officials are several other allegations put forward in the book. This raises several questions on the corporate governance of the company. On the other hand, in a capital scare market he brought millions of retail investors to dream and invest in the market. On the lobbying front, all the big 100-year old family corporate houses in India have always benefitted from lobbying goverments from the British rule era which helped them build huge wealth. This book will emphasize a view that lobbying goverments includes both BJP and Congress parties. Whether he was a magician in the capital markets, first generation entrepreneur who gave it all or a cold blooded capitalist who used multiple ways to retain control and attain his goals. I will leave it to each reader to decide for him/herself.
July 1, 2025
Tata's origin was silk fabric, then Tata Steel. Reliance started with synthetic fabric (polyester), then expanded into the broader petrochemical industry. These two companies have very different business attitudes! Perhaps it's due to the founders' personalities and backgrounds.
Dhirubhai Ambani is described in a book as very smart and skillful. What's less interesting about the book is its focus on politics rather than business. India's economy was closed in the 1970s, with strong import restrictions and large price differences compared to the global market. At that time, Dhirubhai, who grew up in the Red Sea region of Aden (a major trading hub), saw a huge opportunity in obtaining licenses to import yarn, machinery, and later precursors for polyester fiber. He did this by exchanging export orders for foreign currency with the government. (The author describes these exports in a way that is hard to understand and seems shady). There were arguments that Reliance used its massive domestic profits to create fake export orders.
The RIL empire remains strong today despite many changes and disputes between the Ambani brothers. However, Mukesh, with his intelligence and focus on business, has successfully moved into telecommunications, retail, and further developed the petrochemical industry.
Dhirubhai Ambani is described in a book as very smart and skillful. What's less interesting about the book is its focus on politics rather than business. India's economy was closed in the 1970s, with strong import restrictions and large price differences compared to the global market. At that time, Dhirubhai, who grew up in the Red Sea region of Aden (a major trading hub), saw a huge opportunity in obtaining licenses to import yarn, machinery, and later precursors for polyester fiber. He did this by exchanging export orders for foreign currency with the government. (The author describes these exports in a way that is hard to understand and seems shady). There were arguments that Reliance used its massive domestic profits to create fake export orders.
The RIL empire remains strong today despite many changes and disputes between the Ambani brothers. However, Mukesh, with his intelligence and focus on business, has successfully moved into telecommunications, retail, and further developed the petrochemical industry.
September 12, 2020
Bribery of government officials
Smuggling equipment through customs
Bullying competitors and the free market
perversion of the journalists and the free press
Lobbying and support of political parties
Attempted murder of competitors
Creative accounting acrobatics
A lot of this unfortunately seems standard practice for most large conglomerates today. Not just in India but across the world. It might not illicit admonition from most people but rather many would look at the 'hustle' Dhirubhai Ambani has shown with admiration, a skilful subversion of the corrupt bureaucracy. Neither does McDonald try to pass moral judgement too often but present the facts as they are.
McDonald prepares a throughly researched and detailed account of Dhirubhai Ambani's rise to fame. It contains an extremely verbose and a detailed explanation of all the accounting and legal manoeuvring of the company, quite a bit of which honestly was quite technical and sometimes dry. It was fascinating to view the intertwining political, social and economic destiny of India in the late 80s. A connection I had failed to make through several other books about the same era.
Smuggling equipment through customs
Bullying competitors and the free market
perversion of the journalists and the free press
Lobbying and support of political parties
Attempted murder of competitors
Creative accounting acrobatics
A lot of this unfortunately seems standard practice for most large conglomerates today. Not just in India but across the world. It might not illicit admonition from most people but rather many would look at the 'hustle' Dhirubhai Ambani has shown with admiration, a skilful subversion of the corrupt bureaucracy. Neither does McDonald try to pass moral judgement too often but present the facts as they are.
McDonald prepares a throughly researched and detailed account of Dhirubhai Ambani's rise to fame. It contains an extremely verbose and a detailed explanation of all the accounting and legal manoeuvring of the company, quite a bit of which honestly was quite technical and sometimes dry. It was fascinating to view the intertwining political, social and economic destiny of India in the late 80s. A connection I had failed to make through several other books about the same era.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 19, 2020
A rather detailed journalistic account of the growth of corporate influence of Dhirubhai Ambani and the origins of crony capitalism in the 80s and 90s of India, tracing through the rivalries that the Ambani had with other powerful media and business families of the time. In some places it appears to fact heavy and the interpretive narrative emerges rather slowly… In journalistic style actually leaving a lot of the interpretation to the reader. An overall close and personal account as if the author has been a fly on the wall in multiple rooms and telephone calls where these conversations took place. Nonetheless, in retrospect the account seems very plausible. It was not among one of the most gripping read, but yet and important contribution to understanding the origin of Crony capitalism in Congress ruled India… A lot of it actually being the foundation and the contact for the current state of things
January 2, 2021
The rise and formation of Reliance Industries, point to point reporting shared by Hamish McdonaldHamish McDonald . The Polyester Prince: The Rise of Dhirubhai Ambani The Polyester Prince was banned in India by Reliance group (Anil Ambani ensured that).
Even though the ban is now not in place, highly recommended book for anyone who wants to know the real untold history of Reliance.
Nail biting, full of speculation and uncovering truths- this book is a good find.
To get a hold of the physical copy of this book, you will need to buy it from a global e-commerce store OR request anyone else coming from a different country to get it for you.
You may be able to find some online pdf versions of the same as well.
Even though the ban is now not in place, highly recommended book for anyone who wants to know the real untold history of Reliance.
Nail biting, full of speculation and uncovering truths- this book is a good find.
To get a hold of the physical copy of this book, you will need to buy it from a global e-commerce store OR request anyone else coming from a different country to get it for you.
You may be able to find some online pdf versions of the same as well.
October 9, 2019
Explained in detail how RIL become worlds largest conglomerate .
How Dhirubhai ousted his rivals each and everyday in life and business building indigenous brand .
The book speaks about the efforts taken by Dhirubhai to build a home grown brand .
Also lot of informations on manipulations done inorder to build the company . Plans and moves by Dhirubhai to become a Monopoly in the business ecosystem.
At last splendid results given by Dhirubhai shadowed his +ve -ve actions .
No doubt RIL today is an Monopoly in deciding the market at the same time creating values for shareholders and common peoples.
From my point of view Manipulations do not matter untill
Value and Wealth is distributed evenly in a proper channel with no hidden agenda.
This is where Dhirubhai won.
How Dhirubhai ousted his rivals each and everyday in life and business building indigenous brand .
The book speaks about the efforts taken by Dhirubhai to build a home grown brand .
Also lot of informations on manipulations done inorder to build the company . Plans and moves by Dhirubhai to become a Monopoly in the business ecosystem.
At last splendid results given by Dhirubhai shadowed his +ve -ve actions .
No doubt RIL today is an Monopoly in deciding the market at the same time creating values for shareholders and common peoples.
From my point of view Manipulations do not matter untill
Value and Wealth is distributed evenly in a proper channel with no hidden agenda.
This is where Dhirubhai won.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 27, 2018
What an amazing book or precisely to be called as research work by Hamish Macdonalds,a complete compendium to indian market,politics and how things happen in real and are portrayed in media.
A complete analysis of Dhirubhai Ambani along with presenting facts about major politicians,parties,scandals in the market and so more,no one could have written it better than Hamish who had an unbiased approach and filter for the gifts and rewards.
Just an amazing read that to open the mind and a way to look behind the curtain and understand who appears to be at front are puppets,players are behind the curtain!!!!!!!
A complete analysis of Dhirubhai Ambani along with presenting facts about major politicians,parties,scandals in the market and so more,no one could have written it better than Hamish who had an unbiased approach and filter for the gifts and rewards.
Just an amazing read that to open the mind and a way to look behind the curtain and understand who appears to be at front are puppets,players are behind the curtain!!!!!!!
April 5, 2023
Very compelling book, though it was banned in India. This book not only covers dhirubhai and reliance but sociopolitical situations of 70s and 80s.This book also shows how pathetic indian politicians and their stupid socialist mentalities where someone with zero knowledge of business decide what to produce and how much. Despite of all odds Relince proves itself though means are not always right. We have to salute Dhirubhai who handled not only politicians but so called media house who consider itself champion of press by equally taking sides. At the writer also added lots of rumour and planted story based on gossip. Still i recommend to read this good book.
March 25, 2017
This book is a small biography of Dhirubhai Ambani till reliance was set up and then morphs into a story of reliance Ltd, its dizzy peaks and deep troughs. Calling this a biography would be wrong I feel. Can't blame the author though. He does warn you initially of his inability to source out information from Ambani or his family members despite his best efforts, Thanks in part to the highly controversial life that Dhirubhai led. However it does give you an insight about the times of 1980s and 90s and how systematically the politics of our country for mixed up with its capitalists and their capital possibly with no way back now.
March 10, 2021
More than a book, this seems to be case file of Dhirubhai.
After few chapters, I lost focus of the micro level case details, which seems to be irrelevant to book reader like me.
A parallel story of Indian Politics runs in the book, which at regular intervals touches Dhirubhai life. The entire episodes were very interesting,
It was interesting to read how Dhirubhai influence Indian politics and toppled govt as per his convenience.
This could have been better if author have not gone to microscopic level of cases.
It was a good book to read.
After few chapters, I lost focus of the micro level case details, which seems to be irrelevant to book reader like me.
A parallel story of Indian Politics runs in the book, which at regular intervals touches Dhirubhai life. The entire episodes were very interesting,
It was interesting to read how Dhirubhai influence Indian politics and toppled govt as per his convenience.
This could have been better if author have not gone to microscopic level of cases.
It was a good book to read.
February 19, 2018
The book is an interesting read. Feels more like a thriller, than a biography.
If everything in this book is true, then it is extremely revealing.
However, for anyone interested in knowing, how did India grow, this books gives a sneak peek into how industries and governments of the time functioned.
If everything in this book is true, then it is extremely revealing.
However, for anyone interested in knowing, how did India grow, this books gives a sneak peek into how industries and governments of the time functioned.
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