After months of lavish pre-wedding festivities, India’s wealthiest family is set to spend upwards of $100 million, potentially far more, on their son’s wedding, making it one of the priciest nuptials in modern times.
Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s four-day wedding will feature stunning decorations, celebrity performances, and a guest list that includes notable figures from the worlds of politics, business, sports, and the arts.
Anant Ambani is the youngest child of Mukesh Ambani, the 11th richest man globally, according to Forbes. The bride, Radhika Merchant, comes from a well-known family, with her parents being multimillionaire pharmaceutical executives.
While the Ambani family has not publicly disclosed the cost of the wedding, estimates suggest expenditures ranging from $150 million to more than half a billion dollars. These include booking musicians, chartering private jets, and hosting a feast for nearby underprivileged communities, according to reports from the BBC and the India Times.
Due to the significant number of international and Indian politicians attending – including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee – Mumbai police have designated the wedding as a public event, according to the BBC.
Roads near the event spaces were closed off to non-wedding guests as the groom led a procession of luxury vehicles to commence the weekend’s festivities.
While this weekend marks the climax of the couple’s celebrations, it is not the first event held in their honor. In March, the Ambani family invited over a thousand people to their estate in Jamnagar, India, with attendees including Mark Zuckerberg, Hillary Clinton, and Ivanka Trump.
For the occasion, the Ambani family constructed a glass palace inspired by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Palm House and hired Rihanna for her first full-length concert in nearly a decade.
“I wanted it to be fun, free, and young,” Merchant told Vogue about the all-night party that followed 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 started in Palermo, Italy, and included various stops. In Cannes, guests were treated to a surprise concert by Katy Perry. Another concert on the ship featured Pitbull.
In Portofino, guests were treated to a performance by renowned opera singer Andrea Bocelli.
“It was just the most magical evening,” Merchant told Vogue of Bocelli’s performance. “I had goosebumps.”