Global celebrities, business tycoons, and politicians began arriving in Mumbai on Friday to attend the wedding of Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man. This event underscores the immense wealth and influence of the Ambani family. Anant Ambani, 29, is set to marry his longtime girlfriend, Radhika Merchant, in what many are calling the wedding of the year.
The celebrations are taking place at the Ambani-owned Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai and their family home. These festivities are the culmination of months of wedding events that have featured performances by international pop stars such as Rihanna and Justin Bieber.
The four-day wedding celebrations kicked off with a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony on Friday, followed by a grand reception that will continue through the weekend. The guest list reportedly includes former British Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Boris Johnson, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin H. Nasser, and celebrities like Adele, Lana Del Rey, Drake, and David Beckham. However, the Ambani family has not officially confirmed the guest list.
Television news channels have shown celebrities like Kim Kardashian and professional wrestler and Hollywood actor John Cena arriving at the venue. Police have imposed traffic diversions around the wedding venue from Friday to Monday to manage the influx of guests. This comes at a time when heavy monsoon rains have caused flooding and flight disruptions in Mumbai over the past week.
The extravagance and opulence of this wedding have led many to question the growing inequality in India, where the gap between the rich and poor is widening. Some Mumbai residents have expressed frustration over the traffic snarls caused by the event. “It affects our earnings. I don’t care much about the wedding,” said Vikram, a taxi driver who only uses his first name.
Mukesh Ambani, 66, is the world’s ninth richest man with a net worth of $116 billion, according to Forbes. He is also the richest person in Asia. His company, Reliance Industries, is a massive conglomerate with interests ranging from petrochemicals and oil and gas to telecoms and retail, reporting over $100 billion in annual revenue.
The Ambani family owns a 27-story family compound in Mumbai worth $1 billion. The building features three helipads, a 160-car garage, and a private movie theater. Anant Ambani oversees the conglomerate’s renewable and green energy expansion and runs a 3,000-acre animal rescue center in Gujarat state’s Jamnagar, the family’s hometown.
The bride, Radhika Merchant, 29, is the daughter of pharmaceutical tycoon Viren Merchant and serves as the marketing director for his company, Encore Healthcare. Critics of the Ambani family argue that their company has benefited from political connections during Congress party-led governments in the 1970s and ’80s and under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rule since 2014.
The pre-wedding celebrations have been nothing short of lavish and star-studded. In March, the Ambani family hosted a three-day prenuptial bash for Anant with 1,200 guests, including former world leaders, tech tycoons, and Bollywood megastars. The event featured performances by Rihanna, Akon, and Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh, who gained international fame after performing at Coachella. Tech billionaires Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates were also in attendance.
In May, the family took guests on a three-day cruise from Italy to France, which included a performance by Katy Perry singing her hit song “Firework” and a show by Pitbull. The family also organized a mass wedding for more than 50 underprivileged couples on July 2 as part of the celebrations.
Last week, Justin Bieber performed for hundreds of guests at a pre-wedding concert that also featured Bollywood stars Alia Bhatt, Ranveer Singh, and Salman Khan. The Ambani family has a history of hosting extravagant events. In 2018, Beyoncé performed at pre-wedding festivities for Mukesh Ambani’s daughter. Former U.S. Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry were among those who attended the event in Udaipur, rubbing shoulders with Indian celebrities and Bollywood stars.
The wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant is set to be one of the most extravagant events India has ever seen, drawing attention from around the world and highlighting the immense wealth and influence of the Ambani family.
Source: AP News, Forbes, Vogue
