India: Stars turn heads at Anant Ambani wedding
July 13, 2024
Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant married Friday in a ceremony that has seen A-list stars fly into Mumbai for a grand weekend of celebrations.
Anant is the son of Mukesh Ambani, who is India's richest man. He tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend, Radhika Merchant, the daughter of pharmaceutical magnate Viren Merchant.
While the couple kicked off celebrations with a traditional Hindu ceremony on Friday, it was the attendees in the room that drew media attention like no other wedding this year.
Social media platforms saw Priyanka Chopra, Kim and Khloé Kardashian, Justin Bieber, and Hollywood actor and wrestler John Cena join in on the fun.
As did a host of political figures, like former British Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Tony Blair, former US Secretary of State John Kerry, former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt.
Among business leaders, Aramco CEO Amin Nasser, Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Lee, FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Lockheed Martin CEO James Taiclet were reportedly also present, according to Indian media outlets.
Mukesh Ambani hired 100 planes, including three Falcon-2000 jets, to fly his guests to the party, according to Reuters.
Who is Mukesh Ambani?
The 67-year-old Mukesh Ambani is the chairman of Reliance Industries, which has interests in petrochemicals, oil and gas, telecom, retail and financial services.
With a fortune of over $123 billion (€113 billion), he is ranked as the 11th richest person in the world, according to the Forbes billionaires list.
He is also an important ally of India's right-wing Hindu nationalist leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Critics of Ambani said his company has thrived mainly because of political connections during the Congress governments in the 1970s and 80s and later under Modi's rule since 2014.
The grand Indian wedding
A recent report by Outlook put the estimated cost of the entire wedding celebration at Rs 4,000-5,000 crore (approximately $600 million), which amounts to just 0.5% of the Ambanis' net worth.
While Anant's engagement ceremony was a private affair at a temple in the northern state of Rajasthan, it was followed by a string of celebratory events that featured performances by pop stars, including Rihanna and Justin Bieber.
In March, Mukesh Ambani threw a pre-wedding bash for the couple in Gujarat, which was attended by nearly 1,200 people from around the world, including tech moguls Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg and former US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka.
Singer Rihanna charged between $8-9 million for her performance at the event, according to some Indian media reports.
In May, the Ambanis and their guests jetted off on a four-day luxury cruise in Europe.
Early in July, Ambani and his wife Nita hosted a mass wedding for 50 underprivileged couples ahead of their son's wedding.
Last week, Justin Bieber held a performance as part of the latest pre-wedding festivities of the billionaire heir.
mk, dvv/sms, rm (AP, AFP, Reuters)