Preparations underway for lavish wedding of Indian billionaire’s son

Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s son is set to marry on Friday, marking the culmination of a wedding extravaganza that lasted nearly seven months and brought into focus the staggering wealth and influence of the richest man in Asia.

Anant Ambani the youngest son of the tycoon got engaged to Radhika Merchant the daughter of pharmaceutical magnate Viren Merchant in December last year.

The couple will wed in a Hindu ceremony at the Ambani-owned Jio World Convention Centre in the Indian financial capital of Mumbai.

Among the invitees expected to attend the event are: Former British Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Tony Blair, former United States Secretary of State John Kerry, former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt.

Aramco CEO Amin Nasser, Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Lee and Lockheed Martin CEO James Taiclet are also expected to be present along with several other global business leaders, India media reports said.

According to a report from the Reuters news agency, Mukesh Ambani hired 100 planes, including three Falcon-2000 jets, to fly his guests to the party.

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 0.05% 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, Canadian singer Justin Bieber held a performance as part of the latest pre-wedding festivities of the billionaire heir.

Source: AP, AFP, Reuters

--Agencies