TGIF: A $2 billion dollar home

What a shame, the poorest country in the world, with billions of starving people.

Are you talking about the US or India?

Dear Lesley:

India is not a poor country, and at the current rate of economic growth it will eclipse the United States by about 2030. Indians are in fact the richest group of Americans as well, by some margin.

Dear Lesley -- it is not the poorest country in the world, and there aren't billions of starving people there either. There are many rich people there, and poor too, just like in the US... maybe you should read more. You will find out...

and the building is ugly...

Couldn't they make due with a one billion dollar home? It's shameful spending that kind of money while the rest of the country lives in poverty.

"There are plans to include an ice room in the center space, where the Ambanis could sit on a hot Mumbai day to cool off in a man-made snow flurry."

wow!

I am planniing to buy that building in 4 years, upgrade the bathroom countertops, and flip it for a profit.

Now that is what I call a Jumbo mortgage. I was going to make a low ball offer of 1.9 billion on that place but I thought that they might get insulted.

I plugged in the address into the walkscore.com web site and it asked me, "Which floor?"

By the way, that price is $5,000/square foot. Clearly he is not reading this post if he fell for that price. He could have rented for $300 million/ month and waited for the personal skyscraper market to plunge. He'd have been able to swoop in and buy it for 1.3 billion in three years. He must fallen for that, "dream skyscraper' line used by one of those dirt merchant real estate agents who collected 30 million for a few hours work.

This demonstrates that all of the riches in the world does not mean that you have restraint or good taste. Its a hell of a lot of money to create a unique low-class monument to oneself

Disheartening to see so much resource consumed by just a few people. Too bad more wealthy people don't share the modest, philanthropic perspectives of luminaries like Warren Buffett, David Packard, etc...

this is just WRONG!

India is a poor country. There are rich people like this guy but the people living below the poverty line is huge, There are rich people everywhere, even in poor countries. he should help the less fortunate instead of being an idiot and building this stupid structure. The average Indian make less than 2000 US dollars a month.

How completely repulsive. A monument to greed towering over a city with vast numbers of people living in poverty.

Madhu Prasad said - "Indians are in fact the richest group of Americans as well, by some margin.."

It is assumed that you meant per capita.

That is a rather unfair and self-promoiting statement. Only educated Indians are allowed to immigrate to the US. Poor, hungry, uneducated Indian citizens dont come to the US on H1B visas. In addition, the US, which has its own issues with providing education to its lower class, is counted. It would be akin to me saying "US residents who have moved to India to manage outsourcing firms are much richer than your typical Indian citizen." Duh!

Some of you folks don't get it...
The 600 servants will be paid!
The mason workers will be paid!
The pipefitters... paid!
Designers... paid!
And many, many other "poor people" paid!!!
I'm glad they are building this and putting people to work rather than stuffing it under their mattress.
What is wrong with you folks?

Yet another fortune born from petroleum...The greatest part of this building will be the views..one can almost see the entire shanty-town below from its peak. Its funny about the helicopter pads as well. Helicopters are a must, because these people cannot descend into the very area that they live in. It is very "Citizen Kane" . The larger the monument to ones self, the greater the isolation. What a wasteful cycle.

Hmm. Must be a hassle to walk all those stairs to get to the laundry room, though.

you guys should take it easy with the India bashing. This is what capitalism gives you (very much a US idea). I didnt see a lot of charity when the US was developing. Instead of bashing people and a country be happy that its progressing from where it was a few years ago. Haven't you all heard of the trickle down theory? It starts with a few people and goes to the rest. And by the way what about disparity of wealth in the US? Doesnt like 1% of the population own 90% of the wealth? Wow and is everyone forgetting Purchasing Power Parity? 200 dollars in India can buy you food which is not possible in the US. I think before commenting people should research the validity of their comments

sorry one last comment. isnt wealth revered in the US?

india is the poorest ciuntry so ??? Hasnt it emerged as one of the greatest economic success in the recent years? Havent many manufacturing & service industries movede here ? Dont you people think this along with investments by our very own industrialists like this guys Ambani , Tatas have created employment opportunities for millions ?? Most of Ambani brothers [yeah this guys Mukesh has a brother Anil who isnt any less rich & may match up to his bro's dream home as well ] are into industries like chemicals , manu , infrastructure etc which creat huge employment opportunities .

Most of Ambani brothers [yeah this guys Mukesh has a brother Anil who isnt any less rich &...."

oops i meant " Most of INDIAN INDUSTRIALISTS including the Ambani brothers........."

The answer is of course the money could be put to better use in India. India may be getting wealthier but there are millions of kids who dont stand a chance because of miserable schools, lack of water, sanitation or health care or living unded bonded labor conditions from a very young age - many of them living in shacks a spitting distance from this edifice. Knowing the struggles of this nation and the example his decision makes to a young generation he could have made a better decision in my view. Even saving the tiger would have been a better choice.

There are other corporate leaders in India one may look up to including Moorthy, Premji and Ratan Tata.

Just because US is becoming poorer and poorer doesn't mean India is the poorest country with billions of starving people (gosh, do you even know India's population or what "billions" means?)

When the fired CEO of Sprint walked away with $40 million dollars AND $84,000/month for life, I didn't hear much bashing like this. Oops, I forgot. US is RICH.

What a ghastly structure!

Mathew, Mukesh Ambani does not need to donate his personal wealth or stop building houses (with his own money) to improve the country. Thats the governments job. Nor does he need permission from anybody to spend his own money. Its easy to comment about other people but hard to practice what you preach.

Sanjay #19, almost each one of your comments is incorrect. Capitalism wasn't an "American idea", it was first practiced in England and then into Europe. As for early philanthropy in the US, it is actually one of the hallmarks of American industrialization that the wealthy began charities and foundations (Carnegie, Rockefeller, Ford, Kresge, Eastman, and many many more). Further, your understanding of "Supply Side economics" as "trickle down" is also incorrect. "Supply side" simply refers to the attempt to grow the economy by stimulating manufacturing and production instead of stimulating the demand side (giving money to consumers). The reason one would want to stimulate the supply side is that it creates growth without inflation. Demand side attempts are inflationary. Your other comments regarding wealth distribution in the US are similarly inaccurate.

Anyway, this rich Indian has a right to build whatever house he wants without Americans bashing India and without Indians bashing the US.

TACKY! A wealthy island surrounded by appalling slums. The more things change the more they stay the same.

RRsafety #27... regarding wealth disparity you can read the article by clicking on the link below. It is a US govt. site and tabulated in 2001. The disparity has increased exponentially from then onward. And i was not talking about supply side economics. Anyways I agree with you when you say people should stop bashing both countries. This mans house should be a symbol and inspire other poor Indians to aim big and get out of poverty (read Ambani's background. His father was from a slum). It shouldnt matter whether someone is black, brown, yellow or white. We should all aim for a better world without racial discrimination.

oopss the link is ...

http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html

Sanjay, I think you (and others) here were right to remind others that there are plenty of wealthy people in many countries who are guilty of sickeningly conspicuous consumption. It's not about the fact that many in India, particularly, are poor; there are many poor in the U.S. of course.

However, the idea that "This mans house should be a symbol and inspire other poor Indians to aim big and get out of poverty (read Ambani's background. His father was from a slum). " gets at the heart of the matter for me:

that rich people could better make their mark upon the world by providing a charitable example (while still enjoying their wealth) rather than crossing a generally-accepted line into excess of this sort. There are many who will not be inspired by this monstrosity, but will be disheartened or angered by it.

Greed and selfishness are human traits and are not limited to citizens of India or the US.

Sanjay, thanks for the comment.

In your first post you said: "Doesnt like 1% of the population own 90% of the wealth?", then you later provide a link.

I followed your link and the actual data is 1% has 33% of the the wealth and the top 20% has about 84% of the wealth. Given the influx of new Americans and the life choices of portions of the population that lead to poverty, that is not an unsurprising distribution at all and much much much more balanced than the info you gave in the first post.

Amazing! God has truly blessed Mukesh! I know he gives to indigents. I wish he could share some more with the unfortunate especially with those who can't afford to buy a meal. The Bible says "He who gives to the poor, lends to the Lord." "He who shows mercy, will receive mercy ."

Ambanis with their enterprises have created the largest employment opportunities in the world. As far as their big house is concerned they have a right to choice.
Ask yourself this??How many of us have the initiative or risk taking ability to create wealth?? I as an Indian am proud of the Ambani brothers. I am a great admiror
of their father the lateDhirubhai Ambani.