Kareem Bhai Ibrahim, man who donated land for orphanage which was then sold by Waqf Board to Mukesh Ambani, Nita Ambani to build Antilia, Ambanis bought land for only Rs...

Kareem Bhai Ibrahim, a rich shipowner and generous donor, played an important role in the history of the land where Mukesh Ambani and Nita Ambani’s Rs 15000 crore mansion Antilia, today stands. In 1895, Kareem Bhai donated this land in South Mumbai to set up an orphanage called the Currimbhoy Ebrahim Khoja Yateemkhana to give shelter and education to poor children from the Khoja Muslim community. By 1986, the orphanage was being managed by the Waqf Board, meaning it was officially recognised as a religious trust meant to serve the community.

Kareem Bhai came from the Currimbhoy family, which had deep roots going back to the early 1800s in the coastal town of Mandvi. Their business started with trade across Arabia, Zanzibar and Bombay (now Mumbai), and later reached countries like China and Japan. One of the most well-known family members, Sir Kareem Bhai, became one of India’s richest industrialists by the early 1900s. He gave money to many causes, including the Bombay Museum, schools, hospitals for mothers and rest houses for widows and travellers. He also became the only Muslim Baronet in the world having earlier received a knighthood at the hands of the then Prince of Wales. 

The orphanage created by Kareem Bhai and his family was a key part of their charity work. It offered care and education to Khoja orphans, and Sir Currimbhoy made sure they were trained for jobs and guided toward good careers.

But in the 2000s, the land became the centre of a controversy. In 2002, the trust that ran the orphanage got permission to sell the land. It was then sold to Antilia Commercial Private Limited, a company linked to Mukesh Ambani, for about Rs 210.5 million (around $2.5 million). This deal was strongly criticised because the market value of the land was estimated to be at least Rs 1.5 billion (around $18 million). Many said this broke the rules of how Waqf land should be handled and went against Kareem Bhai’s original purpose for the donation.

Despite protests from local leaders and activists, construction on Antilia went ahead. The result was one of the most expensive private homes in the world, worth around Rs 15,000 crore. The 27-story mansion is now a well-known symbol of wealth in Mumbai’s skyline.