Mukesh Ambani gets emotional at Jio listing event as Isha, Akash and Anant emphasise family unity

Jio Platforms Ltd’s stock market debut was an emotional moment for Mukesh Ambani, 69, as four generations of India’s wealthiest business dynasty came together to ring the opening bell.

The patriarch repeatedly fought back tears as his three children took the stage and talked about the family’s journey. His eldest son, Akash, told investors that Jio will create value for the next 50 years, like parent Reliance Industries Ltd did for the last 50. His siblings Isha and Anant echoed those sentiments.

The stock shot out with a 21 per cent gain as trading began, helping the Reliance group become India’s most valuable conglomerate, surpassing rival Tata Group, which had held the top spot for more than a decade. That added another milestone for the Jio IPO, which was India’s biggest ever in rupee terms, attracted a record number of applications and, according to Akash Ambani, was the fastest issue of its size to be fully subscribed.

But the ceremony was as much about family as finance. Mukesh and his wife Nita Ambani were emotional as Isha, Akash and Anant reflected on their father, grandfather Dhirubhai Ambani and Reliance. Isha recalled Mukesh working on Reliance’s first public offering as a 20-year-old. Anant said the exchange bell would ring for him “like a temple bell.”

The emphasis on family unity carried particular resonance, especially as the siblings took a leading role in the Jio deal.

Mukesh has described Isha, Akash and Anant as “three bodies, one soul” and pledged that his company would remain “one single indivisible Reliance” as his children take on greater responsibility. His own generation went through a bitter succession battle after Dhirubhai’s death in 2002, culminating in the division of the family businesses three years later.

By the end of Wednesday’s ceremony, matriarch Kokilaben Ambani, Mukesh and Nita, their children and grandchildren crowded onto the stage as the family rang the bell and the Jio ticker flashed behind them.

For Ambani, who spent the past decade building Jio into the digital centerpiece of the sprawling Reliance empire, the listing became a public portrait of both how far the business has traveled — and the generation being groomed to take it forward.

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