In what has grown to be a tradition since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Mukesh Ambani may again continue to forego drawing any remuneration for the fifth year running. This being said, the conglomerate's latest annual report for 2024-25 continues to assert the ideology of moderation in executive pay.
Ambani's voluntary decision to forgo his wages began in FY21 as a response to the economic and societal challenges brought about by COVID-19. He had previously fixed his remuneration at 15 crore per annum for 11 years from FY09 to FY20, thus creating a precedent in responsible executive remuneration.
For FY25, Ambani's remuneration was ‘nil’ for salary, allowances, perquisites, and retirement benefits.
While Ambani does not take a salary, his primary source of income consists of dividend payouts from the massive block of shares he holds in Reliance. The annual report shows that he owns 1.61 crore shares directly, which brought him dividend income of Rs. 8.85 crore at the dividend payout of Rs. 5.50 per share declared by the company for FY25.
Further, promoter group companies under his control would have pocketed dividend income worth over Rs. 3,655 crore on 50.07% shareholdings, amounting to 664.5 crore shares.
The company's annual report also mentioned other compensations of key functionaries and directors. Ambani's cousins, the Executive Directors Nikhil and Hital Meswani, received remuneration that dropped marginally to Rs. 25 crore in FY25. Executive Director P. M. S. Prasad saw an increase in his remuneration to Rs. 19.96 crore, which includes performance-related incentives from the previous year.
Ambani's three children, Isha, Akash, and Anant, who were appointed as non-executive directors of Reliance in October 2023, each received a sitting fee of Rs. 6 lakh and a commission of Rs. 2.27 lakh.
Anant Ambani, recently appointed as an Executive Director, is expected to earn a salary ranging from Rs. 10 crore to Rs. 20 crore in the current fiscal year. The report also states that the independent directors, including former SBI chairwoman Arundhati Bhattacharya, each received a commission of Rs. 2.25 crore in addition to the sitting fee.
One must understand that Ambani's long-held practice of capping or even foregoing salary is unusual and demonstrates a distinctive focus on shareholders and corporate governance. His decision continues to gain attention as he drives Reliance Industries through massive growth and diversification into new energy, retail, and digital sectors.