A-listers and political figureheads alike have touched down in Mumbai for Anant Ambani’s wedding – aka the son of Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani.
The multiple-day ceremony is in full swing with plenty of celebrity cameos gracing the long-awaited nuptials between Anant, 29, and his to-be-wife Radhika Merchant, also 29.
Earlier this month, Baby hitmaker Justin Bieber arrived in the Indian metropolis, Mumbai, to perform at the billionaire’s sangeet (a traditional pre-wedding celebration) for an eye-watering $10million (£7.7million), according to reports.
Just a few months prior Rihanna kicked off the happy couple’s wedding celebrations at a three-day event in Gujarat’s Jamnagar with a rare on-stage concert and a tidy fee of $6million (£4.6million).
The coveted guest list included Ivanka Trump, Hillary Clinton, Bill Gates, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
But as the wedding enters its final weekend, Mumbai is abuzz with anticipation for what some have dubbed the wedding of the year.
When is the Anant Ambani wedding?
Anant, the youngest son of the Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh, and his fiancee Radhika, daughter of pharmaceutical tycoons Viren and Shaila Merchant, got engaged in 2022.
Their first pre-wedding event took place in March this year followed by a $150million cruise around the Mediterranean in May.
It featured performances from Andrea Bocelli, Katy Perry, the Backstreet Boys and Pitbull, according to the Guardian.
Finally, Justin sang at another event, known as the sangeet, in early July.
But now the actual wedding is upon us, happening over three days between Friday, July 12 and Sunday, July 14.
The Shubh Vivaah ceremony is currently taking place at the Jio World Convention Centre which is owned by the wealthy family.
This will be followed by the Shubh Aashirwad (blessings for the newly-weds) on Saturday, and a grand reception known as a Mangal Utsav on Sunday, according to a wedding invitation procured by Bloomberg.
Who is coming to the Anant Ambani wedding?
Plenty of famous faces have rocked up in their finest for the wedding including Kim and Khloe Kardashian.
Both reality stars are documenting the entire experience on their social media.
Wrestler John Cena, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bollywood breakout Priyanka Chopra and husband Joe Jonas have all also been spotted at the venue.
Others on the guest list include Boris Johnson, Mike Tyson, Hilary Clinton and the Beckhams as well as Bollywood royalty such as Shah Rukh Khan, according to LiveMint.
Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Shahid Kapoor, Jhanvi Kapoor, Vidya Balan, Alia Bhat, Ranbir Kapoor have all attended earlier ceremonies and are expected to make an appearance this weekend.
There are also unconfirmed reports that pop stars Drake, Lana Del Ray and Adele could put on a show, according to the BBC.
How much did Mukesh spend on his son’s wedding?
Mukesh, 66, is well-known for throwing lavish weddings for his children. In 2018 the business tycoon spent a reported $100million (£77million) on his daughter Isha’s wedding which headlined Beyonce.
But this wedding is even bigger with the final bill totalling an estimated $600million (£471million), as per the Economic Times.
Despite the staggering cost, this is not even a drop in the water of the Ambani family’s net worth.
How much is the Ambani family worth?
Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index cites Mukesh’s worth at $113billion (£94billion).
Mukesh owns the world’s largest oil refining complex, Reliance Industries and the Mubia-based conglomerate had a revenue of more than $100 billion between March 2022 and 2023.
As such, the family is spending only 0.5% of their total net worth on this wedding according to NC Financial Advisory Services’ founder Nitin Chaudhary, the Economic Times reported.
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