A wedding reception in Mumbai on Sunday wrapped up months of celebrations as Anant Ambani tied the knot with Radhika Merchant, at a price tag that media reports have estimated at $819 million Cdn.
The groom is the youngest son of Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, and the bride is the daughter of pharma tycoons Viren and Shaila Merchant.
The newlyweds were cheered by friends and relatives at Mumbai’s Jio World Drive — a convention centre built and owned by the Ambani family — as part of the “Mangal Utsav” (a festival of bliss), which marked what many have dubbed as the wedding of the year.
The wedding rituals, including exchanging garlands by the couple and walking around a sacred fire, began Friday and were completed early Saturday.
Former British prime ministers Boris Johnson and Tony Blair, as well as Kim and Khloe Kardashian, Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas, American wrestler and actor John Cena, Bollywood superstars Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan were among the celebrities who attended the ceremonies on Friday and Saturday.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi blessed the newlyweds at a Saturday reception organized by the Ambanis, highlighting the billionaire’s rising clout.
“This is the final and the most auspicious ceremony and the last wedding in our family,” The Times of India newspaper quoted Mukesh Ambani.
The Ambanis didn’t say how much they spent on the festivities that have been going on for months.
During a three-day pre-wedding celebration in March, Rihanna and Akon performed for a star-studded 1,200-person guest list.
A four-day European cruise in May featured on-deck concerts from the Backstreet Boys and Pitbull, followed by a masquerade ball where Katy Perry sang.
At last week’s traditional music night in Mumbai, Justin Bieber belted out his music hits, and Entertainment Tonight reported he was paid $10 million US ($13.6 million Cdn).
The groom’s father has a net worth of almost $124 billion, according to Forbes.
His Reliance Industries is a conglomerate reporting more than $100 billion in annual revenue, with interests that include petrochemicals, oil and gas, telecoms and retail.
The Ambani family owns, among other assets, a 27-storey family compound in Mumbai worth $1 billion. The building contains three helipads, a 160-car garage and a private movie theatre.
The groom, 29-year-old Anant, oversees the conglomerate’s renewable and green energy expansion. He also runs a 1,214-hectare animal rescue centre in Gujarat state’s Jamnagar, the family’s hometown.
The bride, also 29, is the marketing director for her dad’s company, Encore Healthcare, according to Vogue.
Ambani’s critics say his company has relied on political connections during Congress Party-led governments in the 1970s and ’80s, and under Modi’s rule since 2014.
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