- Mukesh Ambani's youngest son Anant Ambani is getting married.
- He and his bride-to-be, Radhika Merchant, began their pre-wedding festivities in India this week.
- Here's what we know about the lavish three-day bash.
Anant Ambani is getting married and his father, Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani, is sparing no expense in celebrating the wedding.
The elder Mr. Ambani, chairman of Fortune 500 company Reliance Industries, has an estimated net worth of $111 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This makes him the richest person in Asia and the 11th richest person in the world.
The younger Ambani is set to marry Radhika Merchant, daughter of Encore Healthcare CEO Viren Merchant, in July. The couple's three-day pre-wedding party began on Friday in the Indian state of Gujarat.
Here's everything we know about the festival.
The couple hosted a joint dinner for 51,000 people.
On Wednesday, Mr. Ambani and his bride hosted a communal dinner for 51,000 local residents of Gujarat, The Hindu reported.
The incident took place in Jogwad village near Reliance township in Jamnagar, The Hindu reported.
According to the newspaper, distributing food to the community during family occasions is a long tradition among the Ambani tribe.
Rihanna performed her first full-length show in eight years at her pre-wedding party.
Rihanna went barefoot on stage Execute The couple wore local lime green and pink outfits to Friday night's pre-wedding event.
According to NME, she performed 19 songs, including hits such as “Umbrella,” “Diamonds” and “Work.”
“I am here tonight to pay my respects to Ananth and Radhika. Thank you for being here. God bless you both on your marriage. I wish you all the best. Congratulations! ” she said to the couple who joined her on stage at one point.
While departing from Jamnagar Airport, Rihanna told reporters: “The show was great. It's been 8 years since we did a real show.”
Reports estimate that the singer was paid between $6 million and $9 million for her performance.
Rihanna was earlier spotted arriving in Jamnagar with A$AP Rocky. In the clip, she can be seen leaving the building and getting into a cart.
A fan also uploaded an Instagram video showing multiple wooden boxes being wheeled out of an airport arrival hall with the caption: “Rihanna's luggage has arrived in India.”
“What will she bring? A folding house?” Rihanna replied to a comment below the post, saying, “The stage didn't fit in my luggage.”
The Ambanis have had big stars perform at their weddings before.
In 2018, Beyoncé performed at Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal's pre-wedding ceremony. Isha Ambani is the only daughter of the patriarch.
In 2019, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and The Chainsmokers were guests at Ambani's soon-to-be-married brother Akash Ambani and Shloka Mehta's pre-wedding party in Switzerland entertained. The couple also had Adam Levine serenade them at their post-wedding celebration.
Approximately 1,200 guests have been invited to the celebration.
Some of the world's richest and most famous people, including Ivanka Trump and Mark Zuckerberg, were photographed attending the gala.
The weekend's extensive guest list includes celebrities, billionaires and technology leaders such as Bill Gates and Sundar Pichai.
According to Reuters, Disney CEO Bob Iger may also be on the invite list.
Reliance Industries and Disney Announces $8.5 billion merger We unveiled some of our Indian TV and streaming media assets earlier this week.
The weekend itinerary includes a cocktail party and a trail featuring live animals.
The first day included a cocktail party, according to an event itinerary obtained by The Times.
Videos posted on social media show the glamorous venue decorated with flowers and filled with A-list guests watching a drone show in the night sky.
On the second day, guests were taken to the Reliance Animal Shelter for a “walk on the wild side,” The Times reported. The focus is on the groom's pet project.
In the evening, guests attended a “mera rouge,” the Times added. “Mela” refers to a fair or festival.
On the final day, a “Fang Trail'' event was held, allowing guests to spend the afternoon “surrounded by natural wonders.'' More than 200 elephants, more than 300 big cats and more than 120 reptiles were at risk of being sold or poached, according to the Times.
Guests are given a nine-page document detailing the dress code for various events.
In addition to a nine-page dress code, hair stylists and makeup artists were also available for guests, the Times reported.
According to the Times, the dress code includes a “Jungle Fever” theme, “comfortable shoes” for the second day's visit to an animal shelter, and “dazzling” Indian outfits for the mela. That's what it means.
The Ambani family built 14 temples in Jamnagar ahead of the wedding.
At the end of February, Reliance Foundation shared a video on its official YouTube channel showcasing the progress of the temple's construction.
In the video, Reliance Foundation founder and chairwoman Nita Ambani, wife of chief minister Ambani and mother of three children, talks to various worshipers and the artists who designed the temple. You can see that there are.
According to officials, around 130 flights arrived at Jamnagar airport for the celebrations.
In Saturday's X post, jamnagar airport He said about 130 flights arrived for the event.
The post read, “Jamnagar Airport today welcomed a host of VIP guests from across the world, including business leaders, sports personalities and actors from the film fraternity, as Anand Ambani and Radhika Merchant's pre-wedding events begin I did,” he said.
Top tech executives like Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates also attended the pre-wedding festivities.
Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan were among the wealthy elite and Bollywood stars who flocked to India's Gujarat state for a weekend pre-wedding celebration.
They wore two black outfits by Alexander McQueen with dandelion and dragonfly designs, according to Vogue.
The next day, at a Jungle Fever-themed dress code party, Zuckerberg wore a sparkling tigress-themed shirt designed by Rahul Mishra and shared a photo on his Instagram account.
A video circulating on social media showed Mr Zuckerberg admiring Ananth Ambani's luxury watch. The video, reported by several Indian news outlets including the Hindustan Times and the Indian Express, shows Mehta telling the groom-to-be that he had never wanted a watch before.
“But when I saw it, I thought watches were cool,” he said.
Bill Gates also went to the party with his girlfriend Paula Heard, and the couple wore Indian costumes.
Ivanka Trump and her daughter learned Indian folk dance.
Ivanka Trump and her daughter Arabella Rose
gujarati Garba and Dandiya folk dances are held on weekends.
Choreographers Sameer and Arsh Tanna shared a video on Instagram of them learning how to perform a traditional dance using decorated dandiya sticks.
