Billionaire industrialist and Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani continued to draw no salary from the conglomerate during FY26, extending his voluntary decision for the sixth consecutive year. Despite heading one of India’s largest corporate groups spanning oil, telecom and retail businesses, Ambani has relied largely on dividend earnings rather than executive compensation.
Ambani, Asia’s second-richest individual, had previously capped his annual remuneration at ₹15 crore from FY09 through FY20. However, beginning FY21, he chose to waive his salary in response to the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Reliance Industries’ latest annual report, he again received no salary, allowances, perquisites or retirement-related benefits during FY26.
The decision dates back to June 2020, when Ambani announced that he would voluntarily forgo his compensation considering the severe impact of the pandemic on India’s economy, businesses and society. He has maintained the same stance through FY22, FY23, FY24, FY25 and now FY26 as well.
The move stands out globally at a time when high executive compensation often attracts criticism from investors and governance experts. Meanwhile, Reliance Industries posted record financial performance in FY26, reporting consolidated net profit of ₹95,754 crore and achieving a market capitalisation of ₹18,19,103 crore, or nearly USD 192 billion.
Even without a salary, Ambani continues to earn substantial income through dividends. The billionaire, ranked among the world’s richest individuals with a fortune estimated near USD 100 billion, directly owns 1.61 crore Reliance shares. Based on the company’s FY25 dividend payout of ₹6 per share, his direct dividend earnings amounted to roughly ₹9.66 crore.
In addition, promoter group entities controlled by the Ambani family hold nearly 664.5 crore shares in Reliance Industries, representing 50.07 per cent ownership. These holdings generated dividend income of around ₹3,987 crore.
Compensation for Ambani’s cousins and children
Compensation for Ambani’s cousins and senior executives also featured in the annual report. Nikhil Meswani and Hital Meswani each continued to receive remuneration of ₹25 crore. Their packages included ₹10 crore as salary and allowances, ₹44 lakh in retirement benefits and nearly ₹14.56 crore as profit-linked commission.
Executive Director P M S Prasad saw his annual remuneration rise to ₹20.58 crore in FY26, compared with ₹19.96 crore in the previous financial year.
Meanwhile, Ambani’s children — Akash Ambani, Isha Ambani and Anant Ambani — remained on the Reliance board after being appointed in October 2023 without fixed salaries. Akash and Isha each received ₹5 lakh as sitting fees along with commission earnings of ₹2.5 crore.
Anant Ambani, who was appointed executive director last year, earned ₹12.17 crore during FY26, including a commission component of ₹2.29 crore.
Reliance Industries’ board also includes several prominent independent directors and global figures such as former SBI chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya, veteran banker K V Kamath, former Central Vigilance Commissioner K V Chowdary, Raminder Singh Gujral, Shumeet Banerji and Yasir Othman H Al Rumayyan, nominee of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.
Independent directors received commission payments of ₹2.5 crore each in FY26, higher than ₹2.25 crore paid a year earlier, in addition to sitting fees.
Mukesh Ambani has served on Reliance Industries’ board since 1977 and became chairman following the death of Reliance founder Dhirubhai Ambani in 2002. In 2023, shareholders approved his reappointment as chairman and managing director for another five-year term extending until April 2029. Throughout this tenure as well, Ambani has chosen not to draw any salary.
Since relinquishing compensation in 2020, Ambani has also avoided taking allowances, stock options, commissions or retirement benefits linked to his leadership role. Before that, he had maintained a salary cap of ₹15 crore for over a decade as what the company described as an example of moderation in executive pay. His FY20 compensation remained unchanged from the level fixed 11 years earlier.
