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India: Stars turn heads at Anant Ambani wedding

July 13, 2024

Anant Ambani, the son of India's richest man, tied the knot with his partner Radhika Merchant. Justin Bieber, Priyanka Chopra, and former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt were among those attending the grand wedding.

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Groom Anant Ambani poses for pictures with Nita Ambani and Mukesh Ambani on the red carpet on the day of his wedding with Radhika Merchant in Mumbai, India, July 12, 2024
Anant Ambani (left) poses for pictures on the day of his weddingImage: Francis Mascarenhas/REUTERS

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. 

Anant Ambani, left, the son of billionaire Mukesh Ambani, holds hands with Radhika Merchant during their wedding ceremony
Mukesh Ambani is the world's 11th richest personImage: Reliance Industries/AP/picture alliance

Social media platforms saw Priyanka Chopra, Kim and Khloé Kardashian, Justin Bieber, and Hollywood actor and wrestler John Cena join in on the fun.

Indien Ambani Hochzeit Nick Jonas
Priyanka Chopra and her husband Nick Jonas arrive at the weddingImage: Rajanish Kakade/dpa/picture alliance

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. 

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair poses for a photograph with his wife Cherie Blair at the wedding of Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's son Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant
Tony Blair with his wife Cherie Blair at the grand weddingImage: Rajanish Kakade/AP Photo/picture alliance

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.

India: One wedding, seven months, 320 million dollars

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.

Indien Ambani Pre-Wedding-Party
Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan attended a pre-wedding party of Anant Ambani in MarchImage: Reliance group/AP Photo/picture alliance

Singer Rihanna charged between $8-9 million for her performance at the event, according to some Indian media reports.

Mukesh Ambani, the Chairman of Reliance Industries, Radhika Merchant, Anant Ambani, Nita Ambani, Rihanna, Isha Piramal, Anand Piramal, Shloka Mehta Ambani and Akash Ambani react during pre-wedding celebrations of Anant and Radhika in Jamnagar, Gujarat
The Ambani family with RihannaImage: Reliance Industries/Handout/REUTERS

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)