Anant Ambani, 29, is marrying his longtime girlfriend, Radhika Merchant, in what many have dubbed the wedding of the year. The celebrations are taking place at the Ambani-owned Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai and their family home, culminating months of wedding events featuring performances by pop stars including Rihanna and Justin Bieber.
The four-day wedding celebrations start with a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony on Friday, followed by a grand reception over the weekend. The guest list reportedly includes former British Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Boris Johnson, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin H. Nasser, Adele, Lana Del Rey, Drake, and David Beckham, although the Ambani family has not confirmed these names.
Celebrities like Kim Kardashian and John Cena were seen arriving, and police have imposed traffic diversions to manage the influx of guests amid Mumbai’s heavy monsoon rains.
The extravagance of the wedding has sparked criticism about rising inequality in India, where the gap between rich and poor is growing. Some Mumbai residents expressed frustration over traffic disruptions.
Mukesh Ambani, the groom’s father, is the world’s ninth richest man with a net worth of $116 billion, and his conglomerate, Reliance Industries, has interests ranging from petrochemicals to telecoms. The family owns a 27-story compound in Mumbai, valued at $1 billion, featuring helipads, a 160-car garage, and a private movie theater.
Anant Ambani oversees the conglomerate’s renewable energy expansion and runs a 3,000-acre animal rescue center in Gujarat. The bride, Radhika Merchant, is the marketing director of her father’s company, Encore Healthcare.
The Ambani family’s pre-wedding celebrations have been lavish and star-studded, including a three-day prenuptial bash in March with performances by Rihanna and Akon, attended by tech billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates.
In May, they took guests on a three-day cruise from Italy to France with performances by Katy Perry and Pitbull. They also organized a mass wedding for over 50 underprivileged couples. Last week, Justin Bieber performed at a pre-wedding concert, which also featured Bollywood stars.
The family’s opulent celebrations have previously included Beyoncé performing at pre-wedding festivities for Mukesh Ambani’s daughter in 2018, attended by Hillary Clinton and John Kerry.
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