Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani, is set to marry Radhika Merchant in a grand wedding that has been taking place since January 2021. The extravagant event has included various pre-wedding ceremonies and celebrations that have attracted an impressive list of attendees from the worlds of business, politics, and entertainment.
The first major event was Anant's proposal to Radhika at a temple in Rajasthan in December 2020. This was followed by a mehndi ceremony for Radhika on January 18th, 2021. The engagement party took place on January 19th, with over 1,200 guests in attendance and performances by Rihanna and other Bollywood stars.
In March to April of the same year, Anant and Radhika embarked on a four-day European cruise aboard a luxury chartered ship. The couple also hosted a communal dinner for more than 50,000 villagers outside Jamnagar before the European cruise.
Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates were among the high-profile attendees at the engagement party in traditional Kashmiri coats. Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner also attended with their daughter.
The wedding itself is set to take place on July 2nd, 2021, where over 50 underprivileged couples will receive gifts as part of a mass wedding ceremony.
Critics have expressed anger and awe at the extravagance of the wedding amidst India's stark wealth gap. The Ambanis are known for their political connections and their conglomerate, Reliance Industries, operates in various industries including petrochemicals, retail, telecommunications, and textiles.
Previous weddings in the Ambani family have also been extravagant with Beyoncé performing at one of Isha Ambani's pre-wedding festivities and a guest list including former US Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. The wedding is estimated to cost up to $600 million when accounting for pre-wedding parties, entertainment, catering, and wages for 5,000 wedding vendor employees.
The Ambanis have faced criticism for the conspicuous display of wealth amidst worsening income inequality in India where almost half the population lives below the poverty line. However, Indian weddings are a chance to signal one's social status and wealth.