india

Updated: Nov 13, 2019 10:46 IST

Nita Ambani, philanthropist and wife of Asia’s richest person, was named to the board of the largest U.S. art museum after years of supporting exhibitions at the New York City institution.

Ambani’s backing “has had an enormous impact on the museum’s ability to study and display art from every corner of the world,” Daniel Brodsky, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s chairman, said Tuesday in a statement.

The wife of Mukesh Ambani, chairman of refining-to-telecom giant Reliance Industries Ltd., has been promoting Indian art and culture around the world along with sports and development programs inside the country as the head of the conglomerate’s foundation. Nita Ambani, 57, was elected to become an honorary trustee of the museum, according to the statement.

The 149-year-old Metropolitan museum draws billionaires, celebrities and millions of visitors a year to see art spanning 5,000 years from around the world. The not-for-profit institution reported revenue, support and transfers of $384.7 million in 2018 at the operating level, down from $385.3 million the previous year, according to its annual report.

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“The Met enables Indian art to be shown at an iconic institution and further encourages us to continue our work in the art world,” Nita Ambani said in a 2017 statement from the museum.

Bloomberg Philanthropies, which along with Bloomberg LP is owned by Michael Bloomberg, helps fund the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Mukesh Ambani, the world’s 14th-richest person and Asia’s wealthiest, had a net worth of about $55 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.