Anger and awe as Ambanis prepare for billionaire heir's extravagant wedding

The unmatched extravagance of Indian billionaire heir Anant Ambani's wedding is creating divisions in a country where the gap between the rich and poor is stark and growing.

The son of Asia's richest man has already partied through a series of pre-wedding festivities for his coming union to Radhika Merchant, including a three-day March event with a performance by pop superstar Rihanna and a guest list featuring billionaires Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, a slew of Bollywood stars and former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper.

There was also a three-day cruise in May featuring Katy Perry, Pitbull and David Guetta, and a July 5 sangeet — a traditional Punjabi and North Indian pre-wedding ceremony involving song and dance — with a performance by Canada's Justin Bieber, who was reportedly paid $10 million US  for the gig.

'New age royalty of India'

"It's like [the Ambanis] are the new age royalty of India," Surbhi Gupta, South Asia editor at New Lines Magazine, told CBC.

"They expanded our imagination manifold on how an Indian wedding could be."

Anant Ambani, centre, smiles as he shares a light moment last week during a pre-wedding ceremony, ahead of his marriage to Radhika Merchant. (Rafiq Maqbool/The Associated Press)

The wedding itself, set to take place over three days this weekend in Mumbai, promises to outdo all of its preceding events, and is rumoured to feature performances by Adele and Toronto rapper Drake, who are both on the guest list.

The events have captured the masses on social media, but not everyone is impressed.

In a country with some of the highest income inequality in the world, some have taken to social media to criticize the Ambanis for not spending more money to help the country's working class.

"You can see in some of the social media posts that people are angry," said Rekha Krishnan, a business professor at Simon Fraser University who studies social order in organizations, markets and society.

LISTEN | Why all eyes are on Mumbai this weekend:

She says while wedding rituals are supposed to unite society, they can also divide. In this case, the bold display of wealth splashed across social media is stirring up feelings of anger and disgust for some.

Even for a society that places significant importance on extravagant weddings, "they consider this a bit over the top — a bit too much," she said.

Father Mukesh Ambani is worth $122.6 Billion

The groom's father is Mukesh Ambani, the richest person in Asia, with a net worth of $122.6 billion US, according to Forbes. His Reliance Industries is a massive conglomerate with interests ranging from petrochemicals and oil and gas to telecoms and retail.

The oldest son, Akash Ambani, 32, is now chair of the family's telecoms business, Reliance Jio. His twin sister, Isha Ambani, 32, oversees retail, while Anant, the youngest at 29, has taken a role in its new energy business.

Anant's bride, Merchant, 29, is the daughter of billionaire pharmaceutical tycoon Viren Merchant and is the marketing director for his company, Encore Healthcare, according to Vogue.

Radhika Merchant, centre, fiancée of Anant Ambani, smiles during her pre-wedding ceremony at Antilia, in Mumbai last week. (Rafiq Maqbool/The Associated Press)

While Indian couples will often spend one fifth of their entire life earnings on a wedding, the Ambanis are spending a fraction of that, proportionally, to stage a series of events that most people couldn't imagine in their wildest dreams.

Adding salt in the wound for some, Reliance Jio increased the price of its telecoms service last week, which many Indians already struggle to afford.

"This makes you feel like somebody's making you pay for all the fun that they're having," Krishnan said.

She said Anant's father, Mukesh, who built the empire, is generally admired in India for having worked his way up from a middle-class background. Ambani's critics say his company has flourished mainly because of political connections and say "crony capitalism" in India has helped companies like his survive.

However, many aspire to the family's extreme wealth.

In 2018, Pakistani celebrities dressed up as members of the family for a lavish Ambani-themed party in Karachi, inspired by Isha's wedding, which featured a private Beyonce concert.

Wedding is getting attention from the lovers and the haters

"People may hate it, love it — but they are following it, and they're invested," said Gupta.

Gupta says people outside of South Asia who find the events wasteful might not realize the extent to which Indian weddings are a chance to signal one's social status and wealth.

Many have also expressed appreciation for the extravagant wedding's celebration of traditional Indian culture and rituals.

"It's just a part of the culture," Gupta said. "You want to throw that big fat Indian wedding in whatever way you can."

Still, she says the Ambanis are reaching new heights of excess with the extended length of the pre-wedding celebrations. She says the family has also raised the bar in terms of food, fashion and jewelry — Anant's mother, Nita, for example, wore an emerald necklace to Monday's Haldi ceremony that is reportedly worth as much as $82 million Cdn.

According to Vanity Fair, fashion insiders are saying the wedding will set trends "for decades to come."

People walk past the Antilia mansion, house of billionaire Mukesh Ambani, while it is lit up ahead of his son's wedding, in Mumba on Wednesday. (Rajanish Kakade/The Associated Press)

Jenna Drenten, a marketing professor who studies digital consumer culture at Loyola University Chicago, says the string of events is an "extreme wedding on steroids."

"As everyday consumers, I think a lot of people can't conceive of having that amount of money, that amount of excess, to throw such a lavish wedding," she said.

Wedding could elevate family's global status

While other wealthy families have held more low-key affairs in recent years, she says the Ambanis' attention grab has made them more of a known name globally, which could bode well for their international status and future business dealings, even if it stirs up some negative feelings in the short term.

"I think that it raises a status to be on that same echelon, from a celebrity perspective, where people are maybe Googling, 'Who are these people? How did they get their money? What are they known for?'" she said. "I think what they get out of it is eyeballs and attention, and a marker of status from a global standpoint."

The Antilia mansion, house of billionaire Mukesh Ambani, is lit up ahead of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant's wedding, in Mumbai on Wednesday. (Rajanish Kakade/The Associated Press)

The Ambani family owns a 27-story private apartment building, where some of this weekend's events will be hosted, that has three helipads, a 160-car garage, a private movie theater, a swimming pool and a fitness centre.

The main wedding ceremony is set for Friday, followed by a grand reception on Sunday, according to local media. Celebrations are expected to be split between the Ambani's 16,000-capacity Jio World Convention Center in Mumbai city and their family home.

The dates were reportedly chosen based on the couple's birth charts, as is typical in Hindu custom.

The family also organized a mass wedding for more than 50 underprivileged couples on July 2 as part of the pre-wedding celebrations.