Ambani wedding allows rich Indians to flaunt it
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.
By Una Galani
Singapore, July 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) -If you've got it, you can flaunt it in India. Anant Ambani, a director of $260 billion Reliance Industries RELI.NS and youngest son of Asia's richest man, is marrying his long-time girlfriend Radhika Merchant this week in Mumbai. It caps at least seven months of extravagant celebrations. Most eye-catching, though, is the acceptance of the extreme show of wealth in a deeply inequitable society.
Some 100 private planes may be used to bring guests to the ceremony at the Jio World Centre, opened in 2022 and part of Reliance; roads in the financial district around it have been closed for the event. It follows a pre-wedding bash in March in Gujarat near the family's petroleum refinery, and another, a luxury European cruise, in May. Those invited include Saudi Aramco 2223.SE CEO Amin Nasser, Samsung Electronics' 005930.KS Jay Y.Lee, and HSBC HSBA.L Chair Mark Tucker, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter. Rihanna and Justin Bieber are among the stars who have already performed.
The celebrations are not to everyone's taste, but they spark aspiration and provide entertainment in a country that loves big weddings. They also advertise India's vibrant capitalist spirit.
China's President Xi Jinping, meanwhile, is promoting "common prosperity" to close a wealth gap: flashy weddings have been out of vogue in the world's second-largest economy since an anti-corruption drive started roughly a decade ago. Instead of asking India's wealthy to tone it down, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is calling on tycoons to wed in India rather than overseas to support the national economy - and its $50 billion wedding industry.
True, the Ambanis are uniquely placed to show off and get away with it. Reliance's foray into new businesses in recent years has burnished the family's reputation with hundreds of millions of consumers; the conglomerate has launched price wars against Bharti Airtel BRTI.NS, Amazon AMZN.O and Netflix NFLX.O, provided low-cost mobile data, and aired the Indian Premier League cricket for free. Last week, the family hosted a mass-wedding for 50 underprivileged couples.
Indeed, India's poor are not to be ignored. Their dissatisfaction arguably cost Modi his electoral majority in June; politicians are keenly aware of the urgent challenge of raising incomes and providing better jobs. One survey, somewhat controversially, concludes the gap between haves and have-nots in India is worse than during British colonial rule. The top 1% gathered almost 23% of national income in 2022, the highest level since 1922. That proportion compares with about 16% in China, according to a report co-authored by economist Thomas Piketty. For now, India still has the luxury of celebrating its rich.
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CONTEXT NEWS
Anant Ambani, son of Reliance Industries Chair Mukesh Ambani, will wed his long-time girlfriend, Radhika Merchant, this week in Mumbai.
The wedding on July 12 will feature traditional Hindu rituals, and the reception will be held over two days. On Monday, there will be a "special reception" for Ambani's household staff, according to a document detailing the plans.
Rajan Mehra, chief executive of Club One Air, said the Ambanis have hired three of his company's Falcon-2000 jets to ferry wedding guests and expects more than 100 private planes to be used for the events.
Last week, Canadian pop star Justin Bieber performed for hundreds of guests at a private pre-wedding concert. Rihanna sang at a three-day celebration in March in Jamnagar near Reliance's main oil refinery in the Western state of Gujarat, where Bill Gates and Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg were among 1,200 guests. In May, the Ambanis hosted a pre-wedding European cruise with 800 guests including Bollywood stars and cricketers.
Graphic: One in two Indians earns less than $900 a year https://reut.rs/3XVAFvT
Editing by Antony Currie and Aditya Srivastav
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