Anant Ambani fiancée Radhika Merchant pose for a photo on the red carpet during their sangeet ceremony at Jio World Centre in Mumbai.
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All eyes are on this weekend’s mega wedding in India, where the youngest son of Asia’s wealthiest man prepares to tie the knot with his long-time sweetheart after months of lavish pre-wedding celebrations.
Indian tycoon Mukesh Ambani — the country’s richest man and the billionaire chairman of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries — is throwing a three-day wedding bash for his son that kicks off on Friday.
The groom is his 29-year-old son Anant Ambani and 29-year-old Radhika Merchant, the daughter of Viren Merchant, owner of Encore Healthcare.
High-profiles guests, from Wall Street executives and global tycoons to celebrities from Hollywood to Bollywood, will be jetting down for the extravagant event which has hogged media headlines and sparked a social media frenzy.
According to multiple local reports, a traditional Hindu ceremony will be held on Friday at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai, potentially causing road closures and traffic diversions.
Businesses at the Bandra Kurla Complex, where the convention center is located, have also been instructed to work from home to avoid further congestion.
The festivities will conclude with a grand wedding reception on Sunday.
The Ambani family has stayed mum about the star-studded guest list, but multiple media reports have said 16-time Grammy award winner Adele could be one of the main performers.
Canadian rapper Drake, boxer Mike Tyson, and internet personality Kim Kardashian will also be invited, according to CNBC TV-18, which obtained the guest list from organizers.
Not only celebrities were invited. Politicians such as India’s former president Ram Nath Kovind and various Indian ministers were also on the guestlist, along with former UK prime ministers Boris Johnson and Tony Blair.
Business executives such as HSBC Holdings Chairman Mark Tucker and Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Jay Lee, as well as Morgan Stanley’s Michael Grimes and FIFA president Gianni Infantino have reportedly been invited as well.
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The father of the groom is currently the world’s eleventh richest man with a net worth of $119 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.
He owns a $1 billion family home in Mumbai — a 27-storey private apartment building called Antila — that has a movie theatre, a snow room, helipads, a salon, and even an ice cream parlor, according to local reports.
Leading up to this weekend’s extravaganza, the couple celebrated with a three-day prenuptial party in March in the Ambani’s hometown of Jamnagar in the western Indian state of Gujarat.
The event set tongues wagging when it was reported that the 1,200 guests in attendance were entertained by singer Rihanna who was paid $8 million to $9 million, local media reported. Elites like Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Bollywood star like Shah Rukh Khan joined the festivities too.
Last week, Canadian pop sensation Justin Bieber reportedly left Mumbai with a $10 million paycheck after performing at the couple’s sangeet — a welcome party for close family and friends of the bride and groom.
Although it remains unclear what the total cost of the wedding will be, wedding planners have estimated that the family has already spent up to $156 million, according to the BBC.
Mukesh Ambani has two other children, 32-year-old twins Akash and Isha.
Isha’s week-long wedding in 2018 was estimated to cost around $100 million, with a performance by 32-time Grammy winner Beyonce, while Akash’s wedding in 2019 saw performances by Coldplay and Maroon 5, according to local media.
All his three children own stakes in Reliance Industries and have seats on the board.
Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify that Rihanna was reportedly paid between $8 million to $9 million at the pre-nuptial party of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant.
