So today I was working with a great group of MBA students from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta ...
The Economist had this really interesting piece about Mukesh Ambani, who heads the largest privately held company in India, Reliance Industries (See Mukesh Ambani) ...India's richest man, and some say the most powerful too.
Among other notable statistics, this one struck me as very interesting: Mr Ambani has built himself the most expensive private home on the planet (apparently - though who knows?) ....
But let's put it this way, it's pretty hard to miss because it's a 27-story sky-scraper tower in Mumbai :-) .... He's not, as it were, hiding away on a private island with this one.
Have a look:
It's stirred up a bit of comment, mostly from the "Billionaire Homes Top !0 Lists" ...yes, this exists :-) ...
But also from people you might not expect ... Tata's Ratan Tata was quoted as saying that this was the kind of behaviour that starts revolutions, but latter denied the statement ...Tata Comment Denied
But it did make me wonder: why do you need a 27-story skyscraper home? And in a country where the 2009-2013 per capita GDP is less than $1500 is it the right gesture? World Bank per cap data,
As someone in a movie once said:
Bud Fox: How much is enough?
Gordon Gekko: It's not a question of enough, pal. It's a zero sum game, somebody wins, somebody loses. Money itself isn't lost or made, it's simply transferred from one perception to another
Quite.
So long as you don't worry about your social license to operate, long term, that is.
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