While Ambani himself took no pay, his three children — Isha Ambani, Akash Ambani, and Anant Ambani — who joined the Reliance board as non-executive directors in October 2023, each earned a total of ₹2.31 crore in FY25. This includes a sitting fee of ₹6 lakh and commission of ₹2.25 crore.
Ambani had previously capped his annual salary at ₹15 crore from FY09 to FY20, before choosing to opt out of remuneration entirely post-pandemic.
Despite the lack of executive salary, both companies posted strong financials. Reliance Industries’ net profit rose at a 5-year CAGR of 12.1% to ₹69,648 crore, while revenue climbed 10.1% to ₹9.6 lakh crore.
Eternal, which turned profitable in FY24, reported a 50% increase in net profit to ₹527 crore in FY25.However, both Ambani and Goyal are significant shareholders in their companies and earn dividends. In FY25, Reliance paid out ₹7,443 crore in dividends. The promoter group owns over 50% of the company, with Mukesh Ambani himself holding 80.5 lakh shares. While Eternal has not declared any dividends yet, the company’s improving performance could pave the way in the future. As of June 2025, Deepinder Goyal holds a 3.8% stake in the company. What’s clear from this, is that the earnings for the two are clearly linked to the performance of their businesses.
Both businesses have also grown headcount. Reliance added 1.9 lakh new employees in FY25, pushing its total workforce beyond 4 lakh. Eternal’s headcount more than doubled to 16,375, driven by expansion in quick-commerce and its “going-out” vertical, which includes services like restaurant booking and events.
This hiring spree lifted Eternal’s employee benefit expenses by 54% to ₹2,558 crore. Share-based payments alone surged 55% to ₹798 crore. Employee costs now make up 12.6% of revenue, slightly down from 13.7% in FY24.
Are Mukesh Ambani and Deepinder Goyal charting a path for others to follow? Time will tell.
