Mukesh Ambani's youngest son married his longtime girlfriend early Saturday in what many called the wedding of the year, attended by global celebrities, business tycoons, and politicians. The wedding rituals, including exchanging garlands and circling the sacred fire, began Friday and concluded past midnight. Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant's celebrations took place at the Ambani-owned Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai and their family home, marking the culmination of months of events featuring performances by Rihanna and Justin Bieber. The four-day festivities commenced with a traditional Hindu ceremony on Friday and will conclude with a grand reception over the weekend. Among the distinguished guests were 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, as reported by local media. Notably, Kim Kardashian and John Cena were spotted arriving for the celebrations. International guests adorned traditional attire by major Indian fashion designers, with men wearing embroidered sherwanis. Bollywood icons Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, and Ranbir Kapoor joined Indian cricket stars such as Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the festivities. Traffic diversions were enforced around the wedding venue to accommodate the influx of guests amid heavy monsoon rains. Mukesh Ambani, ranked as the world's ninth-richest person with a net worth of $116 billion, oversees Reliance Industries, a conglomerate with interests in petrochemicals, oil, gas, telecoms, and retail. The Ambani family's Mumbai compound alone, valued at $1 billion, includes three helipads, a 160-car garage, and a private movie theater. Anant, aged 29, manages the conglomerate's renewable energy expansion and operates a 3,000-acre animal rescue center in Jamnagar, Gujarat. His bride, Radhika Merchant, also 29, serves as the marketing director for her father's pharmaceutical company, Encore Healthcare. The Ambani family's pre-wedding festivities began with a three-day celebration in March that featured performances by Rihanna, Akon, and Diljit Dosanjh, followed by a Mediterranean cruise in May with Katy Perry and Pitbull entertaining guests. The celebrations also included a mass wedding for over 50 underprivileged couples earlier in July. The event echoes past extravagant Ambani family celebrations, including a notable pre-wedding party in 2018 attended by Beyoncé, alongside dignitaries like former U.S. Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry in Udaipur. — Agencies
