A billion-dollar affair: How Ambanis splurged Rs 5,000 cr for their youngest son's wedding

The grand wedding celebrations of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant are undoubtedly the talk of the town this week. Spanning across three days from July 12 to 14, the festivities are being attended by international celebrities, politicians, and business tycoons. However, what has been grabbing eyeballs is the sheer sum of money spent by Asia's richest man and the world's 11th wealthiest person, Mukesh Ambani, and his wife, Nita Ambani, on their youngest son's wedding. Nita Ambani has been tasked with organising the wedding of the decade.

According to estimates shared by national media, the wedding and pre-wedding expenses amount to a whopping Rs 4,000-5,000 crore. This is just 0.5 per cent of the Reliance Industries chairman's total net worth of $123 billion (Rs 10.27 lakh crore). The grand opulence comes amid a recent report that the country’s richest 1 per cent now own over 40 per cent of the country’s wealth.
Read More: Big fat Ambani wedding: Itinerary, guest list, performances and more

Breakdown of expenses:
Pre-Wedding Jamnagar Celebrations (March):
- Rihanna's Performance: The Barbadian pop and rhythm-and-blues singer was reportedly paid Rs 74 crore ($8-9 million) to sing at the Jamnagar celebrations.

Guests: Among the 1,200 guests were Bill Gates, Ivanka Trump, and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg.

Pre-Wedding Luxury European Cruise (May): The cruise cost around $150 m (Rs 12,53,12,08,800 = Rs 1,253 crore) according to an estimate by UK newspaper The Guardian.

The performers at the cruise included:
- Katy Perry (Rs 45 crore)
- Backstreet Boys (Rs 5-7 crore)
- Andrea Bocelli
- Pitbull
- Shakira (Rs 15 crore)
Guests: Nearly 800 attendees

Sangeet (July 5):
Justin Bieber: The Canadian pop star reportedly received $10 million (Rs 83.53 crore) to perform at Anant Ambani's sangeet.

Invitations: The wedding invitations were sent out last month in an ornate red box containing a model silver temple, gifts, and a handcrafted pashmina shawl. Each invitation is estimated to have cost around Rs 7.5 lakh.

Private Jets: The Ambanis have hired three Falcon-2000 jets to ferry wedding guests and expect 100-plus private planes to be used for the events, according to Rajan Mehra, chief executive of Club One Air.

Ambani family home decorations: Ambani's 27-storey mansion, Antilia, in Mumbai is decked up with marigold flowers and yellow lights. The Rs15,000-crore home features a health club with a gym and dance studio, a ballroom, at least one swimming pool, a 50-seater cinema, three helipads, and parking for 168 cars. It employs 600 staff and is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s largest and costliest private residence.