The founder of Reliance, Dhirubhai Ambani, died in 2002 without leaving a clear succession plan. His wife, Kokilaben, brokered an agreement to carve up the empire between her two ambitious sons. Mukesh, 52, was given control of Reliance's core businesses including petrochemicals, oil and gas, and kept the flagship company, Reliance Industries. One of its many subsidiaries, RIL (Australia), has a 49 per cent stake in eight uranium exploration projects in South Australia and the Northern Territory.