Despite Reliance Industries Ltd remaining consistently profitable over the years, its Chairman and Managing Director, Mukesh Ambani — Asia’s richest man — did not draw any salary from the oil-to-telecom-to-retail conglomerate for the sixth consecutive year, with dividends continuing to be his principal source of income.
Although Reliance board had capped Ambani's annual remuneration at Rs 15 crore from 2008-09 to 2019-20 (FY20), he has voluntarily forgone his salary in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying he would continue to do so until the company and its businesses fully regained their earnings momentum.
Reliance Industries’ latest annual report showed that Ambani received “nil” remuneration in FY26, including salary, allowances, perquisites and retiral benefits.
The voluntary pay waiver dates back to June 2020, when Ambani gave up his entire compensation package amid the pandemic’s far-reaching impact on the country’s social, economic and industrial fabric.
He continued the decision — entirely voluntarily — through FY22, FY23, FY24, FY25 and now FY26 as well.
The move stands out in the global corporate landscape, where excessive executive compensation often remains a key shareholder and governance concern.
In contrast, Reliance Industries posted a record consolidated net profit of Rs 95,754 crore in FY26, while its market capitalisation stood at Rs 18,19,103 crore (USD 191.8 billion).
Dividend income, however, continues to be the main earnings source for the world’s 18th richest person, whose net worth is estimated at just under USD 100 billion.
Ambani directly owns 1.61 crore Reliance shares, translating into dividend earnings of Rs 9.66 crore based on the Rs 6-per-share dividend declared for FY25.
Promoter group firms controlled by him hold 664.5 crore shares, or 50.07 percent of the company, resulting in dividend income of Rs 3,987 crore.
The remuneration of Ambani’s cousins, Nikhil and Hital Meswani, remained unchanged at Rs 25 crore each. This included Rs 10 crore in salary, allowances and perquisites, Rs 44 lakh in retiral benefits, and Rs 14.56 crore as commission on profits.
Executive Director P M S Prasad saw his remuneration increase to Rs 20.58 crore in FY26 from Rs 19.96 crore in FY25.
Ambani’s three children — Isha, Akash and Anant — who were inducted onto the board in October 2023 at nil salary, received only sitting fees and commission on profits.
Twins Akash and Isha received Rs 5 lakh each as sitting fees along with a commission of Rs 2.5 crore each.
Anant, the youngest of Ambani’s children, who was appointed executive director on the Reliance board last year, earned Rs 12.17 crore in FY26, including Rs 2.29 crore as commission.
Other non-executive directors on the board include Raminder Singh Gujral, Shumeet Banerji, former SBI chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya, former Central Vigilance Commissioner K V Chowdary, veteran banker K V Kamath, and Saudi sovereign wealth fund nominee Yasir Othman H Al Rumayyan.
All independent directors received a commission of Rs 2.5 crore each, up from Rs 2.25 crore in the previous year, in addition to sitting fees.
Ambani, who has served on the Reliance board since 1977, became chairman after the death of his father and group patriarch Dhirubhai Ambani in July 2002. In 2023, he was reappointed chairman of Reliance Industries for another five-year term until April 2029, during which he opted to continue drawing no salary.
Since giving up his pay in June 2020, Ambani has not availed of any allowances, perquisites, retiral benefits, commission or stock options from Reliance in his capacity as Chairman and Managing Director.
Before that, his salary had remained capped at Rs 15 crore since 2008-09 as a personal example of moderation in managerial compensation.
The Rs 15-crore remuneration he drew in FY20 was unchanged from the previous 11 years.
