The Ambani family: Who are the billionaires who have brought SHEIN back to India?

India’s richest man has re-entered SHEIN into the Indian fashion world. Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani and his daughter, Isha Ambani, have brought back introduced SHEIN’s casual women’s western after four-and-a-half year absence. Although the government have allowed SHEIN to come back, it insisted as part of the terms of return that operations must be hosted on an Indian platform and server. And it was the Ambani family, which own Reliance Retail, who put forward a proposal to do it.

So who is Mukesh Ambani, and what do we know about the Ambani family?. Aged 67, Mukesh Ambani is a billionaire businessman who is the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries. He is the richest person in Asia and ninth in the world’s rich lists. His company, Reliance Industries is a company that offers many services, including in petrochemicals, oil and gas, telecom, retail, media and financial services.

The company was founded by his late father Dhirubhai Ambani, a yarn trader, in 1966 as a small textile manufacturer. After his father's death in 2002, Ambani and his younger sibling Anil divvied up the family empire which went from riches to riches. He runs it as a strictly family business - and his three children joined the board of Reliance in 2023. Son Akash heads the telecom and broadband service Jio, his daughter Isha oversees retail and financial services, and younger son Anant is in the green energy business.

Anant is head of the green energy rollout side of the family business, Reliance Industries. Forbes reports that the company is set to invest $80 billion over the next 10-15 years on renewable energy. Last year, Anant and his fiancée, Radhika Merchant, daughter of pharma tycoons Viren and Shaila Merchant, tied the knot in a lavish ceremony. The couple officially wed in a traditional Hindu ceremony in July 2024, but wedding celebrations started in March when the couple hosted more than a thousand guests at a three-day party to celebrate their upcoming nuptials.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Disney CEO Bob Iger, and Ivanka Trump were among the high-profile guests in attendance, while Rihanna was reportedly paid $5m (£3.94m) to perform. Anant and his family live in Antilia, in Mumbai, which is considered to be the second most expensive private residence in the world (after Buckingham Palace). Reportedly costing around $2bn (£1.6bn) to build, it has a whopping 27 floors, room for 168 cars, and is serviced by 600 members of staff.

Radhika Merchant is a businesswoman and daughter of Viren and Shaila Merchant, founders of pharmaceutical company Encore Healthcare. Though not quite as rich as her in-laws, her father reportedly has a net worth of approximately £70m. Radhika graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from New York University in 2017 and is a trained classical dancer. Forbes reports that Radhika serves on Encore Healthcare’s board, alongside her sister, Anjali.

Anant’s brother and sister are also involved in the running of the family business. Akash, 33, is married to Shloka Mehta and is one of the directors of the business overseeing the media and broadband side of the business. He is also said to be looking at developing AI infrastructure across his business over the course of the next 24 months. Isha is believed to be the one who spearheaded SHEIN’s return. She lived in America as a young woman, where she attended Yale University and studied Psychology and South Asian Studies.

She is also a mum, and is married to Anand Piramal. The couple are parents to twins - Krishna and Adiya. The Ambani family is no stranger to lavish weddings – and celebrity performances seem to be a given. In December 2018, Isha married billionaire Ajay Piramal's son, Anand Piramal, and their wedding featured a performance by pop icon Beyoncé. Isha’s wedding reportedly cost around $15m (£12m), though some reports speculated that it cost as much as $100m (£79m).