For richer India laps up $600m mega wedding
The Guardian|July 13, 2024
To many in India, it is hard to remember a time when the Ambani wedding wasn't taking place.
Hannah Ellis-Petersen
For richer India laps up $600m mega wedding

The marriage of the son of India's richest man, the billionaire Mukesh Ambani, to the daughter of a millionaire was never going to be a humble affair. The industrialist is worth an estimated $120bn (£92bn) and over the years the Ambani family has not shied away from flashing its cash extravagantly, whether on the world's most expensive home -a 27-storey skyscraper mansion that towers over Mumbai - or on what was previously India's most expensive wedding, spending almost $100m on their daughter's nuptials in 2018, where Beyoncé performed.

Yet even for the Ambani family, the months-long celebrations that have built up to the wedding of the youngest son, 29-year-old Anant Ambani, to Radhika Merchant, the daughter of a pharmaceutical tycoon, have reached pinnacles of opulence.

The event has dominated headlines, in India and globally, for months, with the actual three-day wedding beginning yesterday in Mumbai. Estimates say the fivemonth wedding spectacle is likely to cost upwards of $600m - an eyewatering sum that still accounts for only 0.5% of the Ambani fortune.

In domestic media, which has obsessively reported the affair, it is now regularly referred to as "India's own royal wedding", a nod to the status that the Ambani family holds, with everyone from Bollywood stars to the country's most powerful politicians seemingly at their beck and call.

This story is from the July 13, 2024 edition of The Guardian.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the July 13, 2024 edition of The Guardian.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM THE GUARDIANView All
'Will this ever end?' Abuse survivors on how the long wait for justice prolonged their anguish
The Guardian

'Will this ever end?' Abuse survivors on how the long wait for justice prolonged their anguish

It took more than 40 years before Alison Ruby felt able to tell police about the man who had peeled off her school tights and stolen her childhood. She told detectives that, from the age of 12, an antiques dealer named Richard Craig had regularly enticed her into his home during the school day to rape her in his bed.

time-read
6 mins  |
December 07, 2024
Insurance Make sure you have cover in case presents are pilfered
The Guardian

Insurance Make sure you have cover in case presents are pilfered

Burglaries soar during the festive season, with new smartphones, jewellery, bikes and other gifts offering rich pickings for thieves.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 07, 2024
Christmas How to pick the greenest tree at the best price
The Guardian

Christmas How to pick the greenest tree at the best price

Our comprehensive guide to finding the perfect tree, whether real, potted, rental or artificial. Amy Sedghi measures up the options

time-read
7 mins  |
December 07, 2024
Czech Sphinx Business dealings of tycoon close to takeover of Royal Mail
The Guardian

Czech Sphinx Business dealings of tycoon close to takeover of Royal Mail

On a cool June day in 2016, as Britain reeled from the Brexit vote, a private jet soared into the skies from RAF Northolt, charting a course for Moscow.

time-read
4 mins  |
December 07, 2024
Supermarket Christmas veg price war 'comes at a cost' for British growers
The Guardian

Supermarket Christmas veg price war 'comes at a cost' for British growers

Ten years ago, marketing executives at Britain's biggest supermarket had a brainwave: might slashing the price of basic vegetables tempt people to do their Christmas shop with them?

time-read
2 mins  |
December 07, 2024
The Guardian

Direct Line accepts improved takeover Offer from rival Aviva

The insurance company Direct Line has accepted an improved offer from its rival Aviva in a deal valuing the business at £3.6bn.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 07, 2024
The Guardian

Property prices hit another record high, says Britain's biggest lender

The average price of a house in the UK has hit a record high after a fifth successive month of increases in the value of properties, Britain's biggest mortgage lender has said.

time-read
1 min  |
December 07, 2024
Thames Water receives £5bn buyout offer from Covalis
The Guardian

Thames Water receives £5bn buyout offer from Covalis

Embattled Thames Water has received a £5bn bid from Covalis Capital that would result in France's Suez Group being brought in to manage a restructure of the UK's largest water company.

time-read
1 min  |
December 07, 2024
A 'Brexit problem': fears over safety of tap water after closure of test labs
The Guardian

A 'Brexit problem': fears over safety of tap water after closure of test labs

The safety of tap water in the UK could be at risk because water companies are unable to use products to clean it, industry insiders have said, as all the laboratories that test and certify these chemicals have shut down.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 07, 2024
Golden age Why saving older animals is vital to species' survival
The Guardian

Golden age Why saving older animals is vital to species' survival

It's not just humans who get wiser as they age - animals do too, according to a growing body of research.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 07, 2024