After $80 mn mansion, Mukesh Ambani reportedly buys Kuwaiti business magnate’s $163 mn home in Palm Jumeirah

Mukesh Ambani, the owner of India’s biggest conglomerate and the country’s second richest man, has a net worth of $85 billion as of October 2020, and is known for buying everything from a toystore chain to an IPL team. Owner of the second most expensive house in the world Antilia, Ambani has also bagged the 900-year-old Stoke Park Hotel in London for Rs 592 crore. Now the Reliance Industries Chairman has also clinched a $163 million mansion in Dubai’s iconic neighbourhood, the Palm Jumeirah from a Kuwaiti business magnate Mohammed Alshaya.

Joins other notable neighbours

Reports by NDTV suggest that Ambani sealed the deal last week, with the family of Alshaya who operates franchises of Starbucks, H&M and Victoria’s Secrets in the UAE. This is Ambani’s second real estate purchase in the city, after an $80 million beachside home, bought for his youngest son Anant Ambani. The two real estate assets of the Indian tycoon are at walking distance in Palm Jumeirah, home to celebrities such as Shah Rukh Khan and David Beckham.

Increasing investments abroad?

The investment in a country with a low tax regime, comes after the Ambani family established a family office for managing investments and taxation in Singapore earlier this year. So far the Dubai land department has only reported the $163 million deal without naming the buyer, and neither Reliance nor Alshaya have commented on the sale. Expats make up 80 per cent of Dubai residents and a bulk of the workforce and entrepreneurs in the Middle East’s digital hub.

Dubai’s booming real estate

The emirate emerged as a safe space for businesses and professionals across the globe during the pandemic, and has been offering golden visas to individuals with big investments in the city. This has triggered a surge in real estate prices, with actors, entrepreneurs and major startup founders setting up base in Dubai.