Among Mumbai's glitziest society events over the past year were two weddings in the family of Mukesh Ambani, the Indian tycoon who in 2018 became Asia's richest person. In December, his 27-year-old daughter Isha got married in a Bollywood-style extravaganza attended by global power brokers and titans of finance. Beyonce sang at the festivities, Hillary Clinton flew in and KKR & Co.'s Henry Kravis made an appearance. In March, her twin brother Akash wed in a ceremony attended by the likes of Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai.

The lavish events put Mukesh Ambani's eldest children in a very public spotlight at a time when they are playing more visible roles at Reliance industries retail and telecommunications businesses.

Mukesh Ambani, 62, has big ambitions in new areas like e-commerce and is enlisting his children to help drive the modernization of his empire. The rise of the twins offers early signs of the efforts the titan is making to groom his heirs. The billionaire on August 12 announced that the world's biggest crude producer, Saudi Aramco, will buy a 20 per cent stake in the oil and chemicals business of  Reliance Industries, allowing the conglomerate to reduce the debt that increased during its expansion spree of recent years.

Over the coming decades, billions of dollars in wealth will be handed over to yet another generation in family-controlled businesses across Asia. Such dynastic transfers can come with pitfalls, as Mukesh and his younger brother, Anil, well know. More than a decade ago, the brothers were embroiled in a feud over the family business after their father, Dhirubhai, died without leaving a will.

The twins are having a very different beginning to their careers from the patriarch, Dhirubhai. The late industrialist-who started out as a gas-station attendant in Yemen-built up Reliance Industries into a petrochemicals giant at a time when India's economy was heavily controlled by the government.