Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Rihanna, Ivanka Trump and Disney chief Bob Iger are among the world’s super rich and elite expected to attend the extravagant pre-wedding reception of the youngest son of Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani.
Anant Ambani, 28, is set to marry his childhood sweetheart Radhika Merchant, 29, in July this year, but the three-day festivities in Gujarat’s Jamnagar starting on Saturday are seen as setting the stage for bigger wedding celebrations.
Mukesh Ambani is Asia’s richest man and a renowned oil and telecom tycoon who is in close competition with billionaire Gautam Adani, chairman of the Adani Group, according to Forbes’ real-time list of global billionaires as of January 30, 2024.
Expected to be one of the grandest world weddings of the year, the Ambani family marked the three-day affair for guests to enjoy a lavish gala with over 2,500 dishes cooked by a team of 65 chefs.
The Ambani family, with a net worth of £85bn, runs India’s leading conglomerates across all sectors – oil refining and marketing, organized retail, telecom giant Jio and other digital streaming services.
Top Indian celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Salman Khan, Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Sachin Tendulkar and Alia Bhatt are expected to attend.
According to the event listing, the festivities will kick off with a glitzy cocktail party dubbed “an evening in Everland,” followed by a jungle-themed party on Saturday, where guests were asked to wear comfortable shoes for the safari.
The groom’s love of nature is to inspire the wildlife theme of the pre-wedding celebration.
The invitation says, “Anant has lovingly nurtured this complex into a haven of care and compassion for thousands of rescued animals”.
The two got engaged in a traditional ceremony last January at Ambani’s grand residence in Antilia, Mumbai.