Billionaire Bash: Lavish Ambani Wedding in India

Billionaire Indian tycoon Mukesh Ambani is orchestrating an extravagant celebration for his son’s wedding, which showcases his immense wealth alongside India’s rapid economic growth and stark economic disparities.

Anant Ambani, the younger son of Mukesh Ambani, is set to marry Radhika Merchant in a three-day Hindu ceremony in Mumbai starting this Friday. Both the bride and groom are 29 years old.

Ambani is known for his lavish spending on family weddings. The wedding of his daughter in 2018, reportedly costing up to $100 million and featuring a performance by Beyoncé, remains the most expensive wedding in India to date.

The upcoming nuptials are expected to surpass this with a guest list teeming with celebrities, politicians, and business elites arriving in Mumbai despite the monsoon season.

Pre-wedding festivities have been grand, including multi-day galas, a European cruise for 1,200 guests, a specially constructed Hindu temple, and entertainment from pop stars like Rihanna and Justin Bieber.

Mukesh Ambani, 67, serves as the chairman of Reliance Industries and boasts a fortune of over $123 billion, making him the 11th wealthiest person globally, according to Forbes.

A prominent supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ambani took over a thriving industrial enterprise spanning oil, gas, and petrochemicals. He further expanded it into a commercial powerhouse involved in retail, telecommunications, and a cricket team in the Indian Premier League.

Ambani’s mansion, Antilia, stands as one of Mumbai’s most iconic structures. The 27-story building, reportedly costing more than $1 billion, employs a permanent staff of 600.

Radhika Merchant comes from a family of pharmaceutical moguls.

Wedding celebrations kicked off in March with a three-day gala in Gujarat, attended by more than 1,500 guests. Rihanna performed her first concert since last year’s Super Bowl, with notable guests like Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and former US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka in attendance.

Entertainment also featured magician David Blaine. Guests had the chance to visit the Ambani family’s “animal rescue centre” that houses various exotic animals, as well as a specially built Hindu temple complex.

The celebrations then moved to a four-day Mediterranean cruise in June with 1,200 guests, as mentioned by Merchant in Vogue. Katy Perry entertained guests at a masquerade ball held at a French chateau in Cannes, while the Backstreet Boys and rapper Pitbull also performed.

DJ David Guetta provided music at a toga party held at sea. The cruise concluded at Portofino in Italy, where tenor Andrea Bocelli serenaded the group in the town square.

The wedding invitation itself was a grand affair, featuring an elaborate chest with a mini silver temple.

Radhika Merchant wore a series of ornate dresses, including custom designs from Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, and a vintage Yves Saint Laurent for Dior, according to Vogue. One of her dresses was decorated with a love letter from her fiancé, as noted by the magazine.

“I want to be able to show it to my kids and grandkids, and say that ‘this is what our love was,'” Merchant shared.

India has emerged as the fastest-growing major economy and the world’s fifth largest.

However, despite significant advancements, the country contends with a severe jobs crisis. National per capita income stands at just $1,174, according to government data.

Last year, India was ranked 111 out of 125 countries in the Global Hunger Index, a peer-reviewed measure calculated by European aid agencies.

One percent of India’s 1.4 billion population holds more than a fifth of the nation’s wealth, according to the World Inequality Lab, marking an income share “among the very highest” globally—surpassing even South Africa, Brazil, and the United States.

Perhaps to fend off criticism, Ambani organized a feast for 50,000 people in his hometown of Jamnagar in Gujarat during the initial round of parties.

Additionally, Ambani facilitated a mass wedding for 52 “underprivileged” couples near Mumbai, pledging to support “hundreds more such weddings” across the country.

Source: AFP, Vogue, Forbes