The son of Asia’s richest man is getting married in one of India’s most anticipated — and lavish — weddings of the year

CNN
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Billionaire heir Anant Ambani is set to marry his longtime girlfriend Radhika Merchant later this month, in a lavish ceremony widely described as the country’s wedding of the year.

Extravagant pre-wedding celebrations have already sent Indian media into a frenzy and social media feeds are abuzz over what’s to come.

In March, the couple had a three-day pre-wedding party in the western city of Jamnagar, attended by around 1,200 high-profile guests, including Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates. An elaborate light show featuring 5,500 drones lit up the sky above a glass palace custom-built for the festivities where partygoers danced the night away to a performance by none other than Rihanna.

Then, over a weekend in late May, the couple held a four-day Mediterranean cruise for friends and family, which made multiple stops through Europe, and included a bevy of Bollywood A-listers, with performances by Katy Perry, the Backstreet Boys and opera star Andrea Bocelli.

The Mumbai wedding is set to take place July 12 to 14 at the home of Anant’s parents Mukesh and Nita Ambani – a 27-story residence called Antilia – as well as the family-owned Jio World Convention Centre, a sprawling venue with a capacity for more than 16,000 people.

Details have been tightly guarded, but if the pre-wedding events are anything to go by, the upcoming nuptials are expected to be grand. Here’s what we know.

Who are the bride and groom?

Ambani, 29, is the youngest son of Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, who has an estimated fortune of $118 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His son is responsible for driving the expansion of the energy sector of the family’s conglomerate, Reliance Industries.

The youngest of three siblings, Ambani graduated from Brown University. His brother and sister are on the board of Reliance and manage other parts of the company. Anant has been concerned about animal welfare since childhood.

He recently launched his passion project, Vantara, a 3,000-acre animal shelter, which was toured by VIP guests dressed in jungle-themed attire during the pre-wedding party in Jamnagar.

Merchant, 29, is the daughter of pharma tycoon Viren Merchant, and works for his company, Encore Healthcare.