Anant Ambani and his bride-to-be Radhika Merchant surprised guests during their pre-wedding celebrations with a dance performance in front of an adoring crowd.
Karlie Kloss, Ivanka Trump and Mark Zuckerberg were among the high-profile guests cheering on the loving couple.
The VIPs flew to Jamnagar, Gujarat, in India this weekend to celebrate the upcoming wedding of Ambani and Merchant, children of Asia’s two richest families.
The festivities reportedly cost $152 million and kicked off with a performance by Rihanna, who reportedly requested a $6 million fee and whose partner A$AP Rocky mingled with the guests.
They were in stark contrast to the nearby slums just a stone’s throw away, where some of the world’s poorest work up to 17 hours for just $5 a day.
Video of Anant Ambani and his bride-to-be Radhika Merchant’s lavish celebrations shows the happy couple dancing during their pre-wedding celebrations
Karlie Kloss was one of the high-profile guests at the three-day extravaganza in Jamnagar, India
The supermodel wowed in an iridescent one-shoulder dress as she posed in front of the carnival rides at the bash
Kloss showed off her slim physique in a chic blue dress with a matching scarf draped around her neck
Kloss attended the bash with husband Joshua Kushner and the couple were among the 1,000 people invited
But during the exclusive event, footage shows the happy couple dancing without a care in the world.
Prior to the event, attendees were given a nine-page dress code. Among those who took advantage of the opportunity was supermodel Kloss, who shared stunning photos of two of her looks for the weekend.
In a post titled “Cheers Anant and Radhika,” Kloss showed off her lean physique in a beautiful iridescent dress as she posed in front of carnival rides and next to Zuckerberg’s wife Priscilla Chan.
In other photos, Kloss can be seen wearing a chic blue backless dress, with a matching scarf elegantly draped around her neck.
Husband Joshua was also pictured in a traditional Indian men’s outfit.
The couple were among the thousand guests invited to Ambani’s house for the three-day extravaganza.
Global tech CEOs, Bollywood stars, pop icons and politicians descended on the normally sleepy town of Jamnagar in western India.
The party was hosted by billionaire tycoon Mukesh Ambani for his youngest son.
The spectacular festivities were attended by Ivanka Trump and others as a pre-wedding party for Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant
Ivanka called the celebration “enchanting” in an Instagram post showing off her stunning looks for the weekend
Rihanna kicked off the festivities with a two-hour performance for which she was reportedly paid $6.3 million.
Rihanna’s partner rapper A$AP Rocky, pictured with Meezaan Jafri, attended the bash
Ivanka with husband Jared Kushner and daughter Arabella at the lavish wedding party
Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan wore lavish Indian-style dresses to the wedding party
Anant, 28, will marry Merchant, the daughter of wealthy pharmaceutical moguls, in July.
Their VIP guests included Ivanka and her family, as well as Bollywood legends Salman Khan Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif.
Ivanka shared breathtaking photos and videos of the festivities, which included spectacular fireworks and elephants.
The former White House adviser attended with husband Jared Kushner and their daughter Arabella.
She dazzled in a series of lavish outfits which she showed off in Instagram posts calling the festivities ‘enchanting’.
Behind the celebrations was Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, a corporate giant that deals in everything from energy to textiles to telecommunications.
According to Forbes, the company is worth $112 billion, making it the eleventh largest in the world.
Anant Ambani (right) with Radhika Merchant at the inauguration of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Center in March 2023
Bill Gates and Paula Hurd pose during the pre-wedding celebrations of Anant Ambani, son of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, and Radhika Merchant, daughter of industrialist Viren Merchant
The elites of the tech world were in attendance at the $152 million pre-wedding bash
Larry Fink, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock arrives at the pre-wedding party
Ambani is not a household name in the US, but it should come as no surprise that some of America’s biggest players attended the family’s final bash.
Zuckerberg’s Meta invested $5.7 billion in Jia Platforms, Reliance’s telecom arm, in 2020.
The invite for the pre-wedding celebrations – which have been widely circulated on social media – read, “With hearts full of joy and excitement, we invite you to Anant and Radhika’s pre-wedding celebrations at our home in Jamnagar.
“We look forward to having you with us to share in our joy, love and laughter, and to create memories we will cherish forever.”
Several stars from the sporting world were on the invitation list, including India’s former cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his wife Sakshi Dhoni, Australian cricketer Tim David and his wife Stephanie Kershaw and former West Indies cricket captain Dwayne Bravo.
Top business leaders, including Larry Fink, chairman and CEO of BlackRock, were also in attendance.
Guests were accommodated in specially equipped five-star facilities, with hundreds of staff on hand, and a range of penthouses and villas renovated for the occasion.
More than 100 chefs were flown in to look after them, preparing 500 dishes over three days, ranging from traditional Indian food to Mexican, Chinese and European dishes.
For many people living in the area it was a sad story of poverty and deprivation, a million miles away from the opulence on their doorstep
Jamnagar is normally a very sleepy city and its slums are home to some of the poorest people in the world
The city rarely sees such extravagant displays of wealth, with some residents living on as little as $5 a day
But just meters away, some of the poorest people on earth are making a living by surviving on just five dollars a day.
Usman Ali, 44, barely had time to look up as he stirred a large pot of boiling water as luxury cars sped by, taking Mr Ambani’s high-profile guests to a large, gated compound where they were staying.
He arrived at a shabby roadside stall, not far from the main entrance, to make tea, starting at 6am and ending at 11pm, seven days a week, earning £4 a day.
Wiping sweat from his brow, he told MailOnline: ‘It’s a shame these rich and famous people won’t stop to taste my tea. I can promise you it’s way better than anything these fancy chefs make.
“I heard about this wedding party and how much is being spent. But I don’t understand the amounts they’re talking about because it’s a different world to me. I can’t even say $152 million, let alone think about it.”
He added, “I have been working at this tea stall since I was a child. Life is very difficult for me, and I don’t have time to worry too much about what Mr. Ambani is doing and how he is spending his money.”