Elephants, Michelin stars and Mughal jewels: Indian weddings are a $130 billion business
CNN
In less than a week, Anant Ambani, son of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, will marry his girlfriend Radhika Merchant.
The wedding of the year is here. In less than a week, Anant Ambani, son of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, will marry his girlfriend Radhika Merchant. India is no stranger to opulent weddings, but the preparations and parties for this particular union have transfixed the country. Jaw-dropping guest lists, which have included Silicon Valley billionaires and Bollywood stars, have underscored Mukesh Ambani’s growing influence in the global economy. Asia’s richest family has also shown off its wealth with a display of jewels evoking the long-gone era of maharajahs and Mughal emperors. The Ambanis have set a new benchmark for big, fat Indian weddings, which are bound to grow bigger and louder than ever before as the number of the ultra-rich swells in the world’s fastest-growing major economy. “The Ambani wedding parties have … had a multi-faceted impact on the wedding industry in India, influencing trends, boosting demand for wedding vendors, promoting cultural heritage and even driving economic growth,” Tim Chi, CEO of The Knot Worldwide, a wedding planning service, told CNN. The Indian wedding industry has boomed since the country emerged from the pandemic. Estimated at about $130 billion, it’s now nearly twice the size of America’s, although still smaller than that of China’s, according to a report by Jefferies last month.
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