All eyes are on Anant Ambani, 28, and his long-time girlfriend Radhika Merchant, 29, who will tie the knot in July. Radhika is the daughter of Viren Merchant, CEO of Encore Healthcare, and entrepreneur Shaila Merchant.

Such festivities keep up with the Ambani family’s tradition of lavish and over-the-top parties, while displaying the Indian billionaire’s economic and political clout.

Mukesh Ambani: Asia’s richest man

Mukesh Ambani, 66, is currently the world’s 10th richest man with a net worth of US$115 billion, according to Forbes. He is also the richest person in Asia.

His Reliance Industries is a massive conglomerate, reporting over US$100 billion in annual revenue, with interests ranging from petrochemicals, and oil and gas to telecoms and retail.

Under Ambani’s leadership, Reliance – founded by his father in 1966 – sparked a telecoms price war with the launch of the 4G phone and broadband service Jio in 2016.

Today, it has more than 420 million subscribers and offers 5G services. Earlier this week, Disney struck an US$8.5 billion deal to merge its India business with Ambani’s Reliance Industries, forming a new media giant.

The Ambani family owns, among other assets, a 27-story private residential building, named Antila, worth US$1 billion in Mumbai. It has three helipads, a 160-car garage, a private cinema, a swimming pool and a fitness centre.

Ambani’s critics say his company has flourished mainly because of political connections during the Congress governments in the 1970s and 1980s, and subsequently under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rule after 2014. They say “crony capitalism” in India has helped certain corporations, such as Ambani’s, thrive.

Ambani, 66, has started passing the torch to his two sons and daughter. The oldest son Akash, is now chairperson of Reliance Jio; his daughter, Isha, oversees retail; and the youngest, groom-to-be Anant, has been inducted into the new energy business.

No party like an Ambani party

Extravagant parties are the Ambanis’ speciality.

In 2018, when his daughter married, Ambani made the headlines because of the grand celebrations, with US pop sensation Beyoncé performing at the pre-wedding festivities.

At the time, former US secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry were among those who rubbed shoulders with Indian celebrities and Bollywood stars in the Western Indian city of Udaipur.

Later that year, the happy couple, Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal, officially celebrated their engagement overlooking the picturesque Lake Como in Italy. In December 2018, they got married at the Ambani residence in Mumbai.

Anant’s glitzy shindig

The three-day pre-wedding bash offers a glimpse of the opulence expected at the July wedding.

The Ambanis are celebrating it at the family’s hometown of Jamnagar – a city of around 600,000 in a near-desert part of Gujarat state – where they also have the business’ main oil refinery.

Guests were told to don jungle-themed outfits to visit an animal rescue centre run by Anant. Known as “Vantara”, or “Star Of The Forest”, the 3,000-acre (1,200-hectare) centre houses abused, injured and endangered animals, particularly elephants.

The invitation also said guests would start each day with a new dress code, mood boards and an army of hair stylists, make-up artists and Indian wear designers at their hotel to help them prepare.

There were also traditional Hindu ceremonies in a temple complex.

The guests, many who arrived by chartered planes, were served 500 dishes created by around 100 chefs.

The guest list also included Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Jassim al Thani; former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper; and Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck and Queen Jetsun Pema.

On Wednesday, the Ambani family organised a community food service for 51,000 people living in nearby villages.