Mumbai: Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries has a stake in almost all forms of businesses. Well now they are going to invest in Komodo dragons, cheetahs and birds. No, don’t get surprised. This is the latest project that Reliance Industries will venture into. To cut the suspense short, Asia’s richest family will be building one of the world’s largest zoos in Gujarat.
Incidentally, Gujarat is the home state of Asia’s richest family. Reliance Industries operates the largest oil refining complex in India in Gujarat. The zoo is expected to open in 2023 according to Parimal Nathwani who has been quoted as giving the information by ‘NDTV’. Nathani is the corporate affairs director at Reliance. Other officials however, remained tight-lipped on the development. However, various other sources said that the zoo will have the rarest species of birds and animals.
It should be stated here that the Ambanis are worth USD 80 billion. Other than there various industrial investments, they also own the Mumbai Indians franchise in the IPL. The Mumbai Indians have been one of the most successful teams in IPL history winning the trophy five times. They are also into football and are one of the important stakeholders in the Indian Super League (ISL).
As the family fortunes grew, the clan has increased its focus on public-facing ventures. Mukesh’s wife, Nita, has even joined the board of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2019.
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“They have the economic horsepower to turn fantasy into reality,” Rebecca Gooch, director of research at ‘Campden Wealth’ was quoted as saying by NDTV. “Investing in public spaces can help both the family and its company’s image. This in turn will aid profitability and mitigate potentially negative exposure. It can also affirm a wealth holder’s standing in society and publicly cement a family’s legacy well into the future,” Gooch added.
Indonesian tycoon Low Tuck Kwong is another industrialist who has built a zoo. He spend USD 4 million to built a zoo near his coal mining company through which he rakes in all the money. He has said earlier that the venture, isn’t driven by profit and is out of ‘passion for animals’.
