Lifestyle | Celebrity The world’s most expensive wedding begins this weekend, with Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant set to mark their nuptials with three days worth of celebrations , totalling an estimated $600m. The Ambani wedding is a big deal for two reasons. Firstly, money: Anant Ambani is the son of Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in Asia.
Secondly, fame: as well as the Ambani’s already high profile status in India , their wealth has afforded the event an unbelievably high star quality globally, with pre-wedding performances from the likes of Rihanna, Katy Perry and Justin Bieber, who all allegedly pocketed multi-million dollar cheques. The event is being referred to as “India’s own royal wedding” by domestic media, with other commentators claiming that the Ambanis want to be seen as “the Windsors of India.” It’s expected to be the most expensive wedding in the world, dethroning the last Ambani wedding, between Mukesh Ambani’s daughter Isha Ambani and her husband Anand Piramal in 2018.
But it’s just another drop in the ocean for the Ambanis, with the $600m price tag only making up 0.5 per cent of their total wealth. For context, on a median UK salary of 35K, with no additional assets, that’s like spending £175 on your entire wedding.
And Rihanna performs for £3. It’s insanely opulent, but Mukesh’s status as a self made man means that many Indians view the family as aspirational rather than self-indulgent. Here’s what has happened so far at t.