Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s son, Anant Ambani, completed his long-awaited marriage to Radhika Merchant before thousands of guests on Friday. The extravagant pre-wedding celebrations continued for months. Now, people and the media are discussing the total cost of this lavish wedding and related celebrations.
According to a report in the Financial Times, citing various Indian media outlets, the Ambani wedding has been termed the most expensive marriage in the world. The report estimates that all the celebrations cost approximately Rs 5,000 crore, which includes hefty fees paid to global stars like Rs 83 crore for Justin Bieber and Rs 74 crore for Rihanna.
The report states that this figure surpasses the costs of iconic weddings such as Princess Diana and Prince Charles’s, which totaled Rs 1,361 crore, and Sheikha Hind Bint bin Maktoum and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s, which amounted to Rs 1,144 crore, making it one of the most expensive weddings globally.
The Daily Mail also reported that Rs 2,500 crore was allocated solely to the pre-wedding events, covering expenses such as the luxurious Celebrity Ascent cruise liner, private jets, and comprehensive security measures.
According to Forbes, the estimated cost of the entire wedding extravaganza ranges between Rs 4,000 crore and Rs 5,000 crore ($0.6 billion), which is just 0.5 percent of the Ambani family’s net worth.
Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s wedding began with pre-wedding events in March in Gujarat’s Jamnagar, followed by the final celebrations in Mumbai, Maharashtra on Friday.
