Anant Ambani: The world's richest people are in India to attend the wedding of the businessman's son

Some of the world's most influential people have arrived in the Indian state of Gujarat to attend a wedding hosted by Asia's richest man.

Mark Zuckerberg, Rihanna and Bill Gates were among the guests at the pre-wedding bash hosted by Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani for his son.

Anant Ambani, 28, is set to marry Radhika Merchant in July.

Bollywood stars, including Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan, are attending the three-day event in Jamnagar.

Mukesh Ambani, 66, is currently the 10th richest man in the world with a net worth of $115 billion, according to Forbes. Reliance Industries, founded by his father in 1966, is a huge conglomerate with operations in sectors ranging from refining and retail to financial services and telecommunications.

Anant Ambani is the youngest of his three children, all of whom are on the board of Reliance Industries. The 28-year-old is involved in Reliance's energy business and is on the board of Reliance Foundation.

This extravagant pre-wedding event is in keeping with the Ambani family's track record of hosting lavish weddings.

In 2018, pop star Beyoncé performed at the pre-wedding celebrations of Isha Ambani, Mr. Ambani's daughter, in Udaipur. Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry were among the guests at the event.

Bloomberg a report At the time, citing sources estimated the cost of Isha's wedding at $100 million, a claim denied by a “person close to the family” who said the bill was around $15 million.

The current celebrations began earlier this week with an event where the Ambani family served food to locals in Jamnagar.

About 1,200 guests are attending the pre-wedding party, which is being held in a town in Jamnagar near Reliance's main oil refinery.

Reuters mentioned The guest list includes Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Kumar Mangalam Birla. Disney CEO Bob Iger is also expected to attend the ceremony, which comes days after his company announced the merger of its India assets with those of Reliance.

Zuckerberg, who is on Busy Asia tripI reached Jamnagar on Thursday. Bill Gates, who arrived in India two days ago, had earlier posted a message video A photo of himself drinking tea made by a local vendor – which later went viral.

Others spotted arriving on Friday include cricketers Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo, and BP CEO Murray Auchincloss.

Other guests expected at Ambani's event include BlackRock co-founder Larry Fink, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, and Ivanka Trump.

“The guest list appears to contain more RSVPs from global corporate giants than the weddings of Mr. Ambani’s two eldest children in 2018 and 2019, underscoring Reliance’s growing influence and role as a conduit for the Indian economy to global technology, media and energy giants.” Bloomberg wrote.

Among the entertainment on offer are performances by Rihanna and juggler David Blaine.

Guests are also expected to visit the rescue center in Jamnagar, which is said to be home to more than 2,000 animals. According to a planning document seen by Reuters, the dress code for this visit is “jungle fever.”