Billionaire bash: Son of Asia’s richest man set to marry in India
Mukesh Ambani held the most expensive wedding in India to date for his daughter in 2018, which reportedly cost up to $100 million, and now his younger son is next.
Ambani, 67, the chairman of Reliance Industries, has a fortune of more than $123 billion, and is the 11th wealthiest person in the world, according to the Forbes billionaires list. / Photo: AFP
Billionaire Indian tycoon Mukesh Ambani celebrates the lavish finale of his son's wedding this week, highlighting his staggering wealth, as well as India's rapid economic growth and stark financial inequalities.
Ambani's younger son Anant and fiancee Radhika Merchant, both 29, are set to marry in a three-day Hindu ceremony in India's financial capital Mumbai starting Friday.
Asia's richest man is no stranger to throwing a costly wedding.
He held the most expensive wedding in India to date for his daughter in 2018, which reportedly cost up to $100 million and saw US singer Beyonce perform.
This week's opulent celebrations are set to raise the bar, with celebrities, politicians and business elite jetting into the monsoon-hit megacity of Mumbai.
Pre-wedding parties for his son included multi-day galas, a European cruise for 1,200 guests, a specially built Hindu temple and entertainment provided by pop stars ranging from Rihanna to Justin Bieber.
Wealth inequality
Ambani, 67, the chairman of Reliance Industries, has a fortune of more than $123 billion, and is the 11th wealthiest person in the world, according to the Forbes billionaires list.
He is a key ally of India's right-wing Hindu nationalist leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
India is the fastest-growing major economy, and the world's fifth largest.
But despite massive advances, the world's most populous country has a jobs crisis to match.
National per capita income is just $1,174, according to government data.
India was ranked 111 of 125 countries in the Global Hunger Index report last year, a peer-reviewed measure calculated by European aid agencies.
One percent of India's 1.4 billion people earn more than a fifth of its wealth, according to the World Inequality Lab, an income share "among the very highest" in the world — greater than South Africa, Brazil or the United States.
Perhaps to preempt criticism, Ambani provided a feast for 50,000 people in his hometown of Jamnagar in Gujarat during the first round of parties.
Ambani also organised a mass wedding for 52 "underprivileged" couples near Mumbai, promising to support "hundreds more such weddings" across India.
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