Some of the world’s most powerful people have travelled to India’s Gujarat state to attend a wedding reception hosted by Asia’s richest man.
Mark Zuckerberg, Rihanna, and Bill Gates were guests at Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani’s pre-wedding extravaganza for his son.
Anant Ambani, 28, plans to marry Radhika Merchant in July.
Anant Ambani: World’s Rich In India For Tycoon Son’s Pre-Wedding Gala
Bollywood celebrities such as Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan also attend the three-day festival in Jamnagar.
According to Forbes, Mukesh Ambani, 66, is currently the world’s 10th richest man, with a net worth of $115 billion. His father started Reliance Industries in 1966, a vast conglomerate that works in various industries, including refining, retail, financial services, and communications.
Anant Ambani is the youngest of his three children, serving on the Reliance Industries board. The 28-year-old is involved with Reliance’s energy companies and serves on the board of the Reliance Foundation.
The grandiose pre-wedding event coincides with the Ambani family’s history of staging lavish wedding celebrations.
2018 Beyoncé performed at Mr Ambani’s daughter Isha Ambani’s pre-wedding celebrations in Udaipur. Former US Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry attended the event.
A Bloomberg report at the time claimed sources who estimated the cost of Isha’s wedding at $100 million; however, a “person close to the family” contradicted this and stated that the bill was around $15 million.
The present festivities began earlier this week with an occasion in which the Ambani family gave food to the locals in Jamnagar.
There are about 1,200 guests attending the pre-wedding party in a township close to Reliance’s main oil refinery in Jamnagar.
Anant Ambani: World’s Rich In India For Tycoon Son’s Pre-Wedding Gala
Reuters says the guest list includes Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Kumar Mangalam Birla. Disney CEO Bob Iger is also likely to attend the party just days after his business announced the merger of its India holdings with those of Reliance.
Zuckerberg, who is on a busy Asia trip, arrived in Jamnagar on Thursday. Bill Gates, who came to India a few days ago, had previously shared a video of himself drinking tea brewed by a local vendor, which went viral.
Other notable arrivals on Friday include cricketers Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo and BP CEO Murray Auchincloss.
Other attendees set to attend the Ambani event include BlackRock co-founder Larry Fink, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, former Canadian PM Stephen Harper, former Australian PM Kevin Rudd, and Ivanka Trump.
Anant Ambani: World’s Rich In India For Tycoon Son’s Pre-Wedding Gala
“The guest list appears to have more RSVPs from global corporate titans than the weddings of Mr Ambani’s two older children in 2018 and 2019, underscoring Reliance’s growing clout and role as a conduit to the Indian economy for global tech, media and energy giants,” the report said.
Rihanna and illusionist David Blaine are among the performers scheduled to appear.
Guests are also slated to visit a rescue centre in Jamnagar, which houses around 2,000 animals. According to a planning document seen by Reuters, the dress code for this visit is “jungle fever”.
SOURCE – (BBC)
