Ambanis among 'world's top 50 who matter most'

Ambanis among 'world's top 50 who matter most'
Tuesday, 21 August , 2007, 14:29

New York: Estranged Ambani brothers Mukesh and Anil have been jointly
named among the world's 50 most influential people in business, thanks
to their rivalry that has goaded them to steer their respective
businesses to new heights.

The Ambanis are ranked 31 ahead of the likes of global soft drink
giant PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi and music-to-airlines conglomerate
Virgin Group's founder Richard Branson in the second annual list of
"The 50 Who Matter Now" published by Fortune group magazine 'Business
2.0'.

The list, topped by Google trio - CEO Eric Schmidt and co-founders
Larry Page and Sergey Brin - also includes Apple Computer CEO Steve
Jobs (2nd rank), News Corp CEO and media baron Rupert Murdoch (6th)
and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (8th).

As regards the Ambanis, the magazine said it was their bitter rivalry
that was driving them to excellence in their respective businesses.

"These billionaire brothers from India are locked in a bitter intra-
family rivalry, and each seems intent on leading the group of
companies he inherited from their late father in a different
direction," Business 2.0 said on why they matter.

"Elder brother Mukesh is building one of the world's biggest oil
refineries and has embarked on a bold plan to revolutionise Indian
agriculture," it said.

"Not to be outdone, flashy younger brother Anil is building one of the
world's biggest power plants using clean-burning natural gas. He has
also created Reliance Communications, the world's fastest-growing CDMA
mobile-phone network, and has announced plans to invest billions in
India's enterprise broadband network," the magazine said