No Raise for 10 years for India's richest man

With a net worth of $40.1 billion, India’s wealthiest man Mukesh Ambani is among few in the country who do not need an increment on their salary.

The Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) chairman has, once again, kept his old promise this year –To limit his salary at Rs 15 crore. With this, he has done this for straight 10 years in a row.

In October 2009, Ambani voluntarily capped his salary at Rs 15 crore per year, at a time when media was abuzz with fiery debates on right-sizing CEO paychecks.

What’s more, this is the second year when his take-home is lower than some of his deputies.

“The compensation of Mukesh Ambani has been set at Rs 15 crore, reflecting his desire to set a personal example for moderation in managerial compensation levels,” said a company release on Friday.

The Rs 15 crore package comprises his salary, allowances, perquisites, commission and retirement funds, all clubbed together. His remuneration includes Rs 4.49 crore as salary and allowances, with Rs 9.53 crore as commission and Rs 27 lakh as perks in the financial year 2017-2018. His retirement benefits were fixed at Rs 71 lakh per annum.

The company’s executive directors, Nikhil Meswani and Hital Meswani, who also happen to be Ambani’s cousins, enjoy a handsome raise this year compared to last fiscal. Their salaries jumped to Rs 19.99 crore, higher than what Ambani pays himself. In 2016-2017, they earned Rs 16.58 crore, respectively.

RIL Executive Director P M S Prasad’s salary went up by Rs 1.12 crore to Rs 8.99 crore. He earned Rs 7.87 crore last year. Refinery chief Pawan Kumar Kapil, who is also a whole-time RIL director, got a raise as well, up from Rs 2.54 crore last year to Rs 3.47 crore.

Nita Ambani, wife of Ambani who is a non-executive member of Reliance Industries, got a commission raise of Rs 20 lakh, taking the total commission to Rs 1.5 crore besides another Rs 6 lakh as sitting fees. All non-executive members got a commission of Rs 1.5 crore each, up from Rs 1.3 crore last year.

With his $40.1 billion net worth, Ambani was ranked 19^th in the Forbes 2018 World’s Billionaires’ List. In 2018, he moved up 14 places from last year when, with a net worth of $23.2 billion, he was ranked in 33^rd position.