Tech

Zuckerberg, Rihanna and Bill Gates were among guests at lavish bash for son of Asia's richest man

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Arjun Kharpal@ArjunKharpal
WATCH LIVE
Key Points
  • Tech executives including Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates attended a lavish three-day pre-wedding celebration for the son of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani.
  • The bash was held to celebrate the upcoming marriage of Anant Ambani, the youngest of Mukesh Ambani's sons, to Radhika Merchant, scheduled for later this year.
  • Mukesh Ambani is the chairman of Reliance Industries, a conglomerate that spans everything from oil and gas to telecommunications.
Anant Ambani, left, son of Chairman of Reliance Industries Limited Mukesh Ambani, and his fiancee, Radhika Merchant, greet media persons during their engagement ceremony in Mumbai, India, on Jan. 19, 2023.
Rajanish Kakade | AP

Tech executives including Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates attended a lavish three-day pre-wedding celebration for the son of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, Asia's richest man, over the weekend.

The bash was held to celebrate the upcoming marriage of Anant Ambani, the youngest of Mukesh Ambani's sons, to Radhika Merchant, scheduled for later this year.

Mukesh Ambani is the world's ninth-richest person with a net worth of $117.8 billion, according to Forbes. He is the chairman of Reliance Industries, a conglomerate that spans everything from oil and gas to telecommunications.

West Indies' cricketer Dwayne Bravo arrives to attend pre-wedding celebrations of Anant Ambani, son of Mukesh Ambani, and Radhika Merchant, daughter of industrialist Viren Merchant, at the airport in Jamnagar, Gujarat, India, on March 1, 2024.
Amit Dave | Reuters

The three-day pre-wedding party kicked off Friday with a performance from U.S. megastar Rihanna. Meta CEO Zuckerberg and Microsoft co-founder Gates also attended.

Zuckerberg's attendance makes sense. In 2020, Facebook invested $5.7 billion in Jio Platforms Limited, a company owned by Reliance Industries. In 2022, Meta released a feature to allow users to browse and buy products on JioMart, a grocery app, inside of WhatsApp.

Meanwhile, Microsoft and some of Reliance Industries' other businesses have collaborations.

Filmmaker Kiran Rao; actor Vicky Kaushal and his wife, actor Katrina Kaif; and actor Shahid Kapoor arrive to attend the pre-wedding celebrations of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant in Jamnagar, Gujarat, India, on March 2, 2024.
Amit Dave | Reuters

The celebration, which took place in Jamnagar city in the Indian state of Gujarat, was a star-studded event with Bollywood royalty such as Shah Rukh Khan also in attendance.

Ivanka Trump, the daughter of former U.S. President Donald Trump, also reportedly attended the party.

Reuters, citing a planning document it had seen, said guests were treated to 500 dishes created by about 100 chefs.

(L to R) Anand Piramal, Mukesh Ambani, Radhika Merchant, Anant Ambani, Neeta Ambani, Isha Ambani Piramal, Shloka Mehta Ambani and Akash Ambani pose for the media during a photo opportunity at the red carpet ceremony to celebrate the engagement of Anant and Radhika at Ambani's Antilia residence in Mumbai, India, on Jan. 19, 2023.
Indranil Aditya | AP

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