You probably couldn't miss the buzz surrounding the biggest Asian pre-wedding bash of the year for Anant Ambani, son of one of the richest men in the world.
The celebration marked the engagement of Anant Ambani, the son of India’s billionaire business tycoon Mukesh Ambani, to Radhika Merchant, and took place in Jamnagar, a city in Gujarat.
The pre-wedding bash included some of the richest people in the world like Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, rubbing shoulders all while enjoying Rihanna's greatest hits who was paid millions to perform at the event.
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Mukesh Ambani is the 11th richest man in the world and has a net worth of $116.4billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
With the celebrations splattered across social media, the world has been watching this multi-million dollar budget and star-studded party - so much so, the local airport was granted temporary international status to host the A-listers who landed there for the three-day event.
The event gave the world a sneak peek into the lavish lifestyle of Asia’s wealthiest man and left a lasting impression of Anant Ambani, whose net worth is estimated to be around $40billion (or £31billion) according to DNA.
We look at how Anant Ambani built his fortune, his father’s investments and the factors contributing to his net worth today.
Anant Ambani’s wealth
Anant Ambani is the youngest son of the Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani and Nita Ambani.
Most of Anant’s fortune comes from inheriting Mukesh Ambani’s wealth and from the booming Indian empire. He is one of the most prominent businessmen of his generation and one of the wealthiest young people in the world.
Following in the footsteps of his older siblings Isha and Akash, Anant Ambani also went to college in the US and earned his degree from Brown University.
Since 2020, Anant has been making a fortune with his roles in the Reliance empire; he is a director of Reliance’s energy business, spearheading its green energy operations with an aim to become a Net Carbon Zero company by 2035.
According to the company’s 2023 annual report for the financial year 2023, the company made a profit of approximately £7billion after tax, which is just a teaser to the family fortune.
He is also the director of multinational tech company Jio Platforms Limited, which is valued to be around £49bn.
Other factors that contribute to Ambani’s net worth include owning the Indian Premier League team Mumbai Indians, one of the most successful cricket teams in the league.
Radhika Merchant, Anant’s soon-to-be-wife is, is also a businesswoman and the daughter of billionaire tycoon Viren Merchant and Shaila Merchant, CEO of a private pharmaceutical company Encore Healthcare. She is a board member of the company.
Inside the Ambani family’s expansive fortune
The Ambani family has a diversity of roles spread across various ventures and businesses, but they share the same amount of stake in the family business of Reliance, as reported by the Business Times.
Both Mukesh and Nita Ambani along with the three siblings own 0.12% each, and their grandmother Kokilaben Ambani owns the highest stakes of 0.24%. Her husband Dhirubai Ambani, father of Mukesh Ambani was the founding figure of the giant Reliance empire in 1958.
But the family’s wealth does not end there. The Ambanis live at Antilia, the second most expensive private residence in the world after Buckingham Palace. It is a 27-storey tower that cost around £1.6billion to build, which has famously been termed the world’s first billion-dollar home.
While you may be thinking that this pre-wedding party is a one-of-its-kind, it certainly isn’t the only event by the Ambanis that has created so much noise. The Ambani siblings have had their fair share of bringing together some of the world’s biggest pop icons and global personalities.
In 2018, Anant Ambani’s sister Isha married billionaire Ajay Piramal’s son Anand and had Beyonce perform at their pre-wedding bash in Udaipur, India. A year later, the stakes were raised and Chris Martin of Coldplay and The Chainsmokers performed at Akash Ambani’s wedding in Switzerland.
However, the family’s wealth and influence extend far beyond mere financial success. Mukesh Ambani’s wife Nita Ambani is more focused on the non-profit side of things. She was the first Indian woman to be part of the International Olympic Committee in 2016 and she launched the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai last year.
Her work also includes being the chairperson and founder of Reliance Foundation, one of the largest non-profit foundations in the country. The charity promotes sustainable growth in India and has supported schools, hospitals, cultural centres and established the country’s first registered Braille newspaper.
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