When all the rich people get together, what do you all talk about?
It's not about the rich and the poor. When achievers get together, that's when the conversation is about a certain sum. I regularly get inspired by Mukesh. If you go to his house, Mukesh, Nita, and the children are standing at the gate to receive you. Mukesh taught my son and son-in-law that both of them are in renewable energy, so don't fall into this pitfall. This can go wrong. This is my experience. I made this mistake. My daughter-in-law was about to start a school, so Nita called her and said, 'We made these mistakes at the Dhirubhai Ambani school, so you just wait.'
When all the rich people get together, what do you all talk about? Do you talk about deals and money there, or do you talk about something else when the rich meet?
Look, it's not about the rich and the poor. When achievers get together, that's when the conversation is about a certain sum. I view it as a society of achievers rather than a society of rich.
Okay, nice.
So when you are among achievers, do you try to learn something? What can I learn? Which billionaire have you learned from? The last time?
Not the last time, but I regularly get inspired by Mukesh. Every interaction, you will learn something or the other from him. And his humility — despite having such immense wealth, he is as humble as anyone else. There was a meme going around here; one day I was sitting somewhere and it said that in this country, everyone works hard so that one day Ambani and Adani can buy it. [Laughter]
Look, I'll give you an example. If you go to his house, Mukesh, Nita, and the children are standing at the gate to receive you.
Sir, this is about values — you are absolutely right. People acknowledge their family values on social media. After having so much money, status, and power, if you are giving that to your children, then you have won in life.
That is the real win, isn't it? How much money can you spend? And I have seen this with many sadhus and saints as well, because many babas and sadhus come to our place, meet us, and interview us. They too talk about that same humility you are mentioning. So this is something you learn — that when you invite guests, you should be at the gate to receive them. In our family, it was that you go to the gate to see them off.
Yes. That was a must. True, when they were leaving.
But from them we learned that you should also be at the gate to receive them. Small example — Mukesh taught my son and son-in-law that both of them are in renewable energy, so don't fall into this pitfall. This can go wrong. This is my experience. I made this mistake. My daughter-in-law was about to start a school, so Nita called her and said, 'We made these mistakes at the Dhirubhai Ambani school, so you just wait.' So how can a person forget this, and who does this? This is greatness, isn't it?
Sir, if a relative asks for money, how do you say no, or are you unable to say no?
Look, a lot of money of ours is sunk in relatives. [Laughter] A lot of money is sunk in friends and relatives, and after that, they have also stabbed us in the back.
Well, your relatives are not the kind who would say, 'Brother, give me 500.' Yours would be in the range of 1000, 500 — meaning crores.
Yes, absolutely. [Laughter] So if someone is very close, sometimes we do give. But generally, we help them infrastructure-wise. We have also done it with money many times — it's not that we haven't. Perhaps we do, and perhaps we will continue to. But we do not involve relatives in our business. No supply, no agencies, no employment — absolutely not. There are many to whom we send money every month. They need it. Our situation is such that we can give, so every month the money reaches them. And when we give money, we give with the thought that this money will not come back. [Laughter] So we give as much as we can without spoiling the relationship.
Nice. Sir, when you have a lot of money, do you make friends, or only partners? How do you know whether this person is my friend or just flattering me to build a bond with me because I am a big man?
By making mistakes. [Laughter] If, after that, you find two or three genuine friends, that is a blessing.
Nice, sir. We always say that you should not learn only from successful people — learn from unsuccessful people too, or from those who have made mistakes. There are many big businessmen in India who once had great names — Mallya Sahab, Anil Ambani, Subrata Roy Sahara — and there must have been countless examples. Everyone had their own reasons. Everyone was at the peak, everyone was an inspiration. Then many had downfalls too. And I am talking away from the names. Does people's downfall teach you something, or do you notice this too?
Look, you learn from everything. You learn from success, you learn from failure. You learn more from failure.
What have you learned from failure?
Most of the people who have become arrogant have failed.
Okay. So one should not be arrogant. But the chair has power, so how do you manage?
The chair has power. Use that power properly. But the moment you start feeling a little arrogant, look towards Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani. Then you will feel you are nothing, and you will come down to earth.
