News in English

Meet the Ambanis, who live in a $1 billion skyscraper and are hosting another lavish wedding

The Ambanis live in a $1 billion skyscraper in Mumbai.
  • Mukesh Ambani is worth $121 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
  • The world's 11th-richest person controls India's Reliance Industries.
  • The Ambanis live in a 27-story skyscraper in Mumbai thought to have cost $1 billion.

Mukesh Ambani, the richest person in India and 11th-richest person in the world, is kicking off pre-wedding celebrations for his son Anant this weekend. 

Mukesh Ambani is worth $121 billion per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

He's the owner and chairman of Reliance Industries, a massive conglomerate that includes telecom arm Jio Platforms, which has been thriving due to a "flurry" of  investments in recent years, per Fortune.

The Ambanis made headlines in 2018 for throwing one of the most lavish wedding celebrations ever for Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal. It included a private Beyoncé concert and celebrity guests including Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas, Hillary Clinton, and Arianna Huffington.

In March the family is staging an extravagant three-day pre-wedding celebration for Anant, Mukesh Ambani's youngest son. Tech heavyweights such as Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg were among the 1,200 guests attending the festivities, The Guardian reported. Rihanna performed at one of the celebrations. 

The Ambani family home in Mumbai is a 27-story skyscraper that cost an estimated $1 billion to build.

Here's a look at the Ambani family's fortune, relationships, friends, and lavish lifestyles.

Katie Warren contributed to an earlier version of this story.

The Ambanis are one of Asia's richest families.
Akash Ambani, Anant Ambani, Isha Ambani, Nita Ambani, and Mukesh Ambani.

The family patriarch, Mukesh Ambani, has an estimated net worth of $121 billion, making him the 11th-richest person in the world, according to Bloomberg. 

The Indian family's massive wealth began with Dhirubhai Ambani, who founded Reliance Industries to manufacture fabrics and textiles.
Dhirubhai Ambani pictured in 2002.

Source: BloombergFortune

Reliance Industries is worth nearly $260 billion, and is one of the most valuable companies in India.

Source: BloombergFortune

Dhirubhai died in 2002 at age 69 without a will, leaving his company to be run by his sons Mukesh and Anil.
Mukesh and Anil Ambani carry their father's body to a crematorium in Bombay in July 2002.

Source: Bloomberg

A bitter succession battle between the two brothers followed their father's death and resulted in a rivalrous relationship between Mukesh and Anil.
Brothers Mukesh and Anil Ambani.

Ultimately, Mukesh was left in charge of the majority of Reliance.

In 2005, the brothers agreed to split control, with Mukesh overseeing oil and gas operations.
Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani.

Anil took over construction, telecommunications, asset management, entertainment and power generation businesses.

Anil Ambani is chairman of Reliance Group but has only a fraction of his older brother's wealth.

Bloomberg reported that 2018 saw Anil's businesses suffer from "legal and liquidity challenges."

Indian media reported in September 2018 that Anil's "cash-strapped" Reliance Communications will quit the telecom business and turn to real estate.

In early 2020, Anil told a UK court that his net worth was in fact "zero" and that he was bankrupt.

Mukesh Ambani is married to Nita Ambani.
Nita is the chair of Reliance Foundation, the company's charitable organization.

She's also involved with the company's sports ventures as well as marketing and branding strategy for Reliance Jio Infocomm, Reliance's mobile network operator.

Nita and Mukesh have three children, with the youngest Anant, 29
Anant Ambani with his parents Nita and Mukesh.
Then there are 32-year-old twins Isha and Akash Ambani.
Isha Ambani and Akash Ambani.
Akash is a board member at Reliance Jio. Both he and his twin sister studied at Ivy League universities in the US, Akash at Brown University ...
Akash is married to his high school sweetheart, Shloka Mehta, the daughter of a well-known diamond merchant. Mehta reportedly studied at Princeton University and the London School of Economics.
Akash Ambani and Shloka Mehta in June 2018.

Source: Forbes, South China Morning Post

They were married in Mumbai in March 2019.
Akash Ambani and Shloka Mehta at their wedding.
Akash's twin sister, Isha, is on the board of Reliance Retail, and is a co-director for the telecoms arm Jio.
Isha Ambani in New York City in 2017.

She previously worked at management consulting firm McKinsey in New York.

Source: Business Insider

Isha married Anand Piramal in December 2018.
Isha Ambani, the daughter of the Chairman of Reliance Industries Mukesh Ambani, and her husband Anand Piramal, heir to a real-estate and pharmaceutical business, pose during their wedding reception in Mumbai, India, December 14, 2018.

Source: Business Insider

The pre-wedding celebrations included a private concert by Beyoncé.

Source: Business Insider

The wedding ceremony was held at the Ambani residence in Mumbai.
Mukesh Ambani and Nita Ambani with Isha Ambani and her new husband at their wedding reception.

Source: Business Insider

An estimated 600 guests attended the extravagant wedding, which some reports said cost about $100 million. A Reliance spokesman said it cost no more than $15 million.
The marriage procession of Isha Ambani seen outside the Ambani home in Mumbai on December 12, 2018.

Source: Forbes

Vintage cars carried guests during the wedding procession.
Brothers Akash and Anant rode in on horseback.
The celebration included dance performances and sightings of many high-profile guests ...
Artists perform at the wedding celebration of Isha Ambani in Mumbai.
... including former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton with her longtime aide, Huma Abedin
... actor Priyanka Chopra and her husband, Nick Jonas ...
The Ambanis family live in a 27-story skyscraper in Mumbai that cost an estimated $1 billion called Antilia, named after a mythical Atlantic island.

Source: Business Insider

Antilia includes swimming pools, ballrooms, a garden that spans three floors, six floors of parking, and three helipads. A staff of 600 run the home.
Antilia decorated and lit up for the wedding of Isha Ambani.

SourceBusiness Insider

Trees surrounding the skyscraper were decorated for Isha's wedding.

SourceBusiness Insider

Isha and her husband moved into a bungalow in Mumbai called Gulita.

Source: Reuters

Mukesh Ambani's three children are all involved in the family business, but succession plans remain unclear.
Akash, Anant, and Isha Ambani.
Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant threw more glitzy pre-wedding parties in June.
Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant

The couple and a large group of their guests went on a luxury cruise that stopped over in Cannes, France and Portofino, Italy. They took over a plaza where Italian singer Andrea Bocelli performed, the Hindustan Times reported. 

Pop star Katy Perry performed some of her hits, including "Firework," in Cannes. Other video clips shared online show the Backstreet Boys and Pitbull took to the stage as part of the pre-wedding festivities.

The couple's wedding is expected to be held from July 12 to 14.
Radhika Merchant and Anant Ambani.

Last weekend the couple held a "sangeet" ceremony, which is usually a part of a wedding celebration and includes musical performances.

BBC News reported that Justin Bieber flew to Mumbai to perform for guests. 

Read the original article on Business Insider

Читайте на 123ru.net