Billionaire Mukesh Ambani - Energy Mogul

Mukesh Ambani is the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries (RELIANCE.NS), the giant energy company based in India.

As with a number of other wealthy men, Ambani's fortunes have waned during the global economic downturn, although he remains among the 10 richest people in the world, as of November 2011.

With little in the way of any economic recovery, a number of companies with significant exposure to natural resources and energy have taken a big hit, as uncertainty continues to hamper the market. That has driven down the value of Reliance Industries, along with the net worth of Ambani, who has a stake of a little under 50 percent in the company.

As of this writing, Ambani has a net worth of about $22.6 billion, although that fluctuates greatly based upon the stock price of the company.

Joining Reliance Industries in 1981, Mukesh Ambani is credited with leading the company from focus on textiles to oil and gas, including petrochemicals and refining.

The company also has a large presence in the oil and gas exploration sector, having recently made a deal with BP (NYSE:BP).

He also got the company into polyester fibres, among numerous other products.

There is no doubt Ambani and Reliance have their fate tied to the growth in India, which has been doing well over the last decade, but has many challenges because of weak infrastructure and draconian business laws which must be changed in order to boost the future prospects of the country.

Of course the company has taken steps to minimize exposure by branching out into numerous markets and an increasing array of products.

Having built up Reliance Communications and Reliance Capital, Ambani has seen those two entities struggle, both losing about 50 percent or more in 2011.

That has consequently led to Reliance no longer being the largest company in India, losing that honor to Tata Consultancy Services.

With so much exposure in the energy sector, Ambani is now looking to diversify the assets and business of Reliance Industries, searching for opportunities in the retail, hotel, communications and financial services sectors.

This appears to have been precipitated by the growing uncertainty and concern over the weakness of the global economy.

The people of India are committed to Reliance Industries, as approximately 25 percent of all investors in the country have a stake in Reliance.

That puts pressure on Ambani to perform well, for as his company goes, so goes many of the personal fortunes of people and companies investing in Reliance.

Ambani has been looking to diversify, as mentioned. To that end, reliance holds cash reserves of $14.6 billion as of the end of 2011.

The challenge is to balance how much of that to use in light of the need to take a defensive posture to protect the company during the slow economic times.

As of the last quarter of 2011, Reliance showed major weakness in oil and gas production, with oil output dropping by almost 40 percent, and natural gas production plunging 22 percent, from the same period of last year.

Refining margins also took a big hit, dropping from $9.00 a barrel in 2010 to $6.80 a barrel in the last quarter of 2011.

The good news for Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries is that they are sitting on a lot of cash, and that allows them to look for bargains at a time when companies are scrambling to raise capital.

That could offer Reliance a fantastic opportunity to grab some great deals and position itself strongly for the future.

This is a key moment for Ambani, and a test of his nerve and business skills. If he can navigate these difficult economic waters and make some good deals, he could not only help Reliance to survive the times, but to thrive exponentially once a real recovery actually begins.

Along with several other high profile Indians, Ambani carries much of India on his shoulders, and how Reliance and other companies such as ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) perform will determine much of the near-term prospects of the Indian people.