MUMBAI, India. Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, married his longtime girlfriend, Radhika Merchant, early Saturday in what is being hailed as the wedding of the year. The event, marked by grandeur and opulence, drew global celebrities, business tycoons, and politicians, showcasing the Ambani family’s immense wealth and influence.
The wedding rituals, including the exchange of garlands and the traditional walk around the sacred fire, began on Friday and concluded past midnight. The celebrations took place at the Ambani-owned Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai and the family’s luxurious home. The marriage culminated months of extravagant events featuring performances by pop stars such as Rihanna and Justin Bieber.
The four-day wedding festivities commenced with the traditional Hindu ceremony and will be followed by a grand reception throughout the weekend. The guest list, according to local media, includes former British Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Boris Johnson, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin H. Nasser, and celebrities like Adele, Lana Del Rey, Drake, and David Beckham. The Ambani family, however, has not confirmed these details.
Among the international guests, the Kardashian sisters, Kim and Khloé, took a motorized rickshaw ride through Mumbai’s bustling streets before joining the wedding ceremonies. Attendees wore traditional attire by major Indian fashion designers. WWE star John Cena appeared in a sky-blue sherwani, while Nick Jonas donned a pink sherwani and white pants.
Bollywood icons such as Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, and Ranbir Kapoor attended the wedding, dancing to popular Hindi movie songs. Indian cricket legends, including Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and Jasprit Bumrah, were also present.
Due to the influx of high-profile guests and ongoing heavy monsoon rains causing flooding and flight disruptions, police imposed traffic diversions around the wedding venue from Friday to Monday. The event’s extravagant display of wealth has sparked discussions about rising inequality in India, where the gap between the rich and poor is widening. Mumbai residents have expressed frustration over the traffic snarls caused by the celebrations.
“It affects our earnings. I don’t care much about the wedding,” said Vikram, a local taxi driver.
Mukesh Ambani, the father of the groom, is the world’s ninth-richest man with a net worth of $116 billion, according to Forbes. His conglomerate, Reliance Industries, reports over $100 billion in annual revenue, with interests in petrochemicals, oil and gas, telecoms, and retail. The Ambani family’s assets include a 27-story family compound in Mumbai valued at $1 billion, featuring three helipads, a 160-car garage, and a private movie theater.
Anant Ambani, 29, oversees Reliance’s renewable and green energy expansion and runs a 3,000-acre animal rescue center in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The bride, Radhika Merchant, also 29, is the daughter of pharmaceutical tycoon Viren Merchant and serves as the marketing director for Encore Healthcare.
The Ambani family’s pre-wedding celebrations have been lavish and star-studded. In March, they hosted a three-day prenuptial bash for Anant, attended by 1,200 guests, including tech billionaires Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, with performances by Rihanna and Akon. In May, the family organized a three-day cruise from Italy to France featuring performances by Katy Perry and Pitbull. Additionally, the family arranged a mass wedding for over 50 underprivileged couples as part of the celebrations.
Justin Bieber performed for hundreds of guests at a pre-wedding concert last week, which also featured Bollywood stars Alia Bhatt, Ranveer Singh, and Salman Khan. The Ambani family previously made headlines in 2018 when Beyoncé performed at pre-wedding festivities for Mukesh Ambani’s daughter, attended by former U.S. Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry in Udaipur.
Paraluman P. Funtanilla
Paraluman P. Funtanilla is Tutubi News Magazine's Marketing Specialist and is a Contributing Editor. She finished her degree in Communication Arts in De La Salle Lipa. She has worked as a Digital Marketer for start-up businesses and small business spaces for the past two years. She has earned certificates from Coursera on Brand Management: Aligning Business Brand and Behavior and Viral Marketing and How to Craft Contagious Content. She also worked with Asia Express Romania TV Show.
