Asia’s Richest Man Has Already Spent Over S$1.2bil On Son’s Pre-Wedding Celebrations

If you haven’t heard, Anant Ambani, 29, the son of Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, is set to get married at a three-day event from July 12-14 at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai.

The nuptials have been dubbed by many as the “wedding of the year”, and to call it lavish would be an understatement.

Pre-wedding celebrations began as early as March in Jamnagar, Gujarat. 1,200 guests, including former world leaders, business magnates and Bollywood stars attended a three-day party, which saw a US$6mil (S$8.1mil) performance by Rihanna.

Guests included tech tycoons Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, and Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone.

In May, the Ambani family and their guests went on a three-day pre-wedding cruise from Italy to France. The occasion saw David Guetta as DJ, and performances from Katy Perry, Backstreet Boys, and Pitbull.

The cruise event itself was reported to cost upwards of US$900mil (S$1.2bil). 

According to Forbes, Mukesh Ambani, 66, is the world’s ninth richest man, with a net worth of US$123.4bil (S$166.6bil). He heads Reliance Industries, a conglomerate in petrochemicals, oil and gas, telecommunications, and retail. 

Anant is a Brown University graduate, and currently oversees Reliance Industries’ renewable and green energy expansion.

His fiancée, Radhika Merchant, 29, is the daughter of pharmaceutical magnate Viren Merchant, who has a reported net worth of US$90mil (S$121.5mil). She serves as a marketing director for his company, Encore Healthcare. 

Anant and Radhika were said to have been introduced by mutual friends in 2017.

The couples’ latest and final pre-wedding celebration took place in Mumbai and it included a show by Justin Bieber. The Canadian singer was reportedly paid US$10mil (S$13.5mil) for the gig. 

The Ambani wedding next week is set to see more stars, world leaders, and tycoons in attendance.

The extravagance of the wedding has drawn criticism from a handful of netizens, most of whom are comparing the exorbitant festivities to the situation of the impoverished in India, who “barely have enough to get by”.

“India sees hundreds of millions of poor people struggling to live without proper food, or even water. Meanwhile, Mukesh Ambani spends over millions of dollars for his son’s pre-wedding parties,” read one comment.

Many others, however, have said that Mukesh is self-made, having spent 40 years growing his father’s company into the conglomerate it is today, and deserves to spend his wealth as he wishes. 

“They employ thousands, pay corporate tax, and share their wealth with the underprivileged!” argued one netizen. 

Mukesh and his wife, Nita, recently organised a mass wedding for 50 underprivileged couples ahead of their son’s wedding. 

Naming the above as an example, many others were supportive in how the family had chosen to splurge on the wedding, “treating guests and feeding others” in lieu of the celebrations. 

“Shouldn’t we be encouraging the Ambanis to spend more money anyway?” read a popular take. 

What do you think?