Source: AFP
The world’s top celebrities will don “jungle fever” gear in India for a trip to the zoo on Saturday as part of a party thrown by Asia’s richest man.
Pop icon Rihanna, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka are among the rich and famous guests who flew in for a three-day gala celebration hosted by billionaire tycoon Mukesh Ambani.
This weekend’s party is an elaborate pre-wedding ceremony for youngest son Anant and fiancee Radhika Merchant, daughter of wealthy pharmaceutical tycoons.
The three-day gala — at which “Umbrella” singer Rihanna performed Friday for the first time since last year’s Superbowl — will continue Saturday with a trip to an “animal rescue center” that houses exotic animals.
The installation is a pet project of Anant’s built in his family’s hometown of Jamnagar in the western state of Gujarat, where the weekend party takes place.
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Indian media reported that the family will host a “Walk on the Wildside,” an outdoor event at Ambani’s animal rescue center, on Saturday.
“Jungle fever” is the suggested dress code and visitors have been advised to wear comfortable shoes and clothing, reports said.
In the evening, reports added, guests will ditch their safari-themed attire for more elegant attire for an evening party celebrating Indian culture.
Mukesh Ambani, 66, is chairman of Reliance Industries — India’s largest company by market value — and the world’s 10th richest person, according to the Forbes billionaires list, worth more than $116 billion.
He inherited a thriving oil, gas and petrochemicals business from his father and grew it into a commercial behemoth with lucrative interests in retail, telecommunications and an Indian Premier League cricket team.
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Reliance’s partnerships with well-known fashion brands such as Burberry, Armani and Jimmy Choo have helped the group cater to the growing appetite for luxury goods among India’s middle class.
The Ambani family home — a 27-story skyscraper called Antilia that reportedly cost more than $1 billion to build and has a permanent staff of 600 employees — is one of Mumbai’s most prominent landmarks.
It was criticized after its completion in 2010 by author Arundhati Roy and others for starkly illustrating the wide gap between India’s business elite and its poor masses.
Ambani held the most expensive wedding in India to date for his daughter in 2018, which reportedly cost $100 million and saw American pop megastar Beyoncé.
Younger son Anant, 28 — who also serves as a director on the boards of several Reliance-owned companies — is expected to marry Merchant, 29, later this year.
This time, the guest list includes Disney chief Bob Iger, following a deal agreed on Wednesday between Reliance Industries and Walt Disney to merge their Indian media businesses.
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The merger will create an $8.5 billion entertainment behemoth in the world’s most populous nation and fifth-largest economy.
Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, cricket icons Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni, and industry titan Gautam Adani are also invited to a who’s-who of India’s super-rich.
Source: AFP