For the past few days, the streets have been deserted, traffic diverted and employees encouraged to stay at home. The stars are pouring in, and it's all over the papers. This is not Paris and its Olympic Games, but Bombay, on Anant Ambani's wedding day.
Indians are accustomed to splashing out on their children's weddings, but this time, despite the glitz and glamour of the celebrations, daddy Mukesh Ambani won't be left out in the cold. He is Asia's richest man, with a fortune estimated at over €100 billion. He has planned one of the most lavish weddings in history.
The official ceremony will last four days, starting on Friday, July 12, but the celebrations began back in March, with a Mediterranean cruise and sumptuous parties featuring a host of film and music stars. This weekend, Rihanna and Justin Bieber will sing in front of Tony Blair, Boris Johnson, the Kardashians, Lana Del Rey, David Beckham, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, the presidents of Aramco and Samsung and many others. According to the Indian press, the total cost is estimated at $150 million.
The pomp of CEOs has replaced that of kings, and in India today, the upper caste are those who are the friends of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Under his reign, Ambani, who like Modi hails from the province of Gujarat, has expanded his oil empire into telecoms, chemicals and commerce. A conglomerate with sales in excess of €100 billion.
His concern now is preparing the transfer to his children. One of them is Anant, aged 29, the family tree-hugger. He is in charge of the group's renewable energy business and owns a huge animal park in Gujarat, home to 200 elephants, 300 felines, crocodiles and tropical birds.
Anant will have to tame other animals. Business animals. His future wife also belongs to this new aristocracy. Radhika Merchant is the daughter of Viren Merchant, another Gujarati billionaire, whose fortune, more modest than Ambani's, is thanks to his pharmaceutical group Encore Healthcare. The Indian business world, buoyed by the country's growth, has remained largely feudal in its practices and culture. As part of their premarriage, Ambani also took care to finance the union of 50 modest couples in the country, with handsome cheques to match. A great lord.