After months of elaborate pre-wedding celebrations, India’s wealthiest family is reportedly spending upwards of $100 million on their son’s nuptials, potentially making it one of the most expensive weddings in modern history.
Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s four-day wedding is set to feature extravagant decorations, numerous celebrity performances, and a guest list that includes notable figures from politics, business, sports, and the arts.
Anant is the youngest child of Mukesh Ambani, the director of Reliance Industries and the 11th richest man in the world, according to Forbes. His bride-to-be, Radhika Merchant, also comes from a prominent background; her parents are multimillionaire pharmaceutical executives.
While the Ambani family has not disclosed the exact amount spent on the wedding, estimates suggest costs ranging from $150 million to over half a billion dollars. These expenses reportedly cover booking musicians, chartering private jets, and hosting a feast for local underprivileged communities, according to reports from the BBC and the India Times.
The wedding has attracted such a significant number of national and international politicians, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, that Mumbai police have declared it a public event. Roads around the event spaces have been closed to non-wedding guests, while the groom led a convoy of luxurious vehicles to kick off the weekend’s festivities.
The couple has been celebrating for months, with over a thousand guests attending an event at the Ambani family’s estate in Jamnagar, India, in March. Notable attendees included Mark Zuckerberg, Hillary Clinton, and Ivanka Trump. For this occasion, the Ambani family constructed a glass palace inspired by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Palm House and featured a performance by Rihanna, her first full-length concert in nearly a decade.
“I wanted to be fun, free, and young,” Merchant told Vogue about the all-night party following Rihanna’s performance. “An Indian wedding is incomplete without a lot of dancing.”
In late May, Ambani and Merchant hosted another pre-wedding celebration on the Mediterranean Sea. The couple welcomed 1,200 guests for a four-day cruise that began in Palermo, Italy, and included stops throughout the region. In Cannes, guests were surprised by a concert from Katy Perry, followed by a performance from Pitbull after reboarding the ship.
A stop in Portofino featured yet another famous musician, celebrated opera singer Andrea Bocelli. “It was just the most magical evening,” Merchant told Vogue about Bocelli’s performance. “I had goosebumps.”