India's richest man builds 60-storey home
In the most conspicuous sign yet of India's unprecedented prosperity, the country's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, is building a new home in the financial hub of Mumbai: a 60-storey palace with helipad, health club and six floors of car parking. The building, named Antilla after a mythical island, will have a total floor area greater than Versailles and be home for Mr Ambani, his mother, wife, three children and 600 full-time staff.
Draped in hanging gardens, the building will have a floor for a home theatre, a glass-fronted apartment for guests, and a two-storey health club. As the ceilings are three times as high as a normal building's, the 173m (570ft) tower will only have 27 floors.
With property prices rocketing, the building is already worth more than £500m. It is expected to be ready for the Ambanis to move in next year. The family currently live in a 14-storey building, Sea Wind. Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Group is India's largest private company, with interests in oil, retail and biotechnology. The 50-year-old became the country's first rupee trillionaire this week, taking his net worth to £14bn.
While some idolise the riches and glamour of India's “Jazz Age”, others are uncomfortable with the “new vulgarity”. Only last week India's prime minister, Manmohan Singh, called on business leaders to “eschew conspicuous consumption” and “be role models of moderation”.
Praful Bidwai, a newspaper columnist, said the divide between rich and poor was becoming obscene. “Mr Ambani is building an edifice to his own ego,” he said.
“It will not go down well with the public and there is a growing tide of anger about such absurd spending.”