Here are three signs that you’re a global superstar: (1) You have more than 100 million Instagram followers; (2) your concerts sell out in seconds; and (3) you’ve performed at an Ambani wedding.
The Ambanis are Asia’s richest family, worth more than $122 billion. To put that in perspective, Mukesh and Nita Ambani are wealthy enough to buy a copy of “Crazy Rich Asians,” as well as movie popcorn, for every single person on earth. They live in a 27-story building in Mumbai, a home that has three helipads, a 160-car garage, a swimming pool, and a movie theater. About 600 people are employed at their home, including more chefs than Norwegian Cruise Line.
Mukesh and Nita have thrown lavish weddings for all three of their children, spending hundreds of millions to ensure that celebrities and well-known figures show up, including Priyanka Chopra, Ivanka Trump, David Beckham and Hillary Clinton.
Their daughter, Isha, married Anand Piramal in 2018, and the singer at one of the pre-wedding events was someone named Beyoncé. You may have heard of her. She and her background singers treated guests to a “mini-concert.” Having Beyoncé perform a “mini-concert” at your child's pre-wedding is like getting the Pope to perform a “mini-blessing” at your child’s pre-baptism.
Before the sangeet ceremony with Beyoncé, Isha and Anand had an engagement ceremony at Lake Como in Italy. Guests at the engagement ceremony, including a number of Bollywood stars, got a performance from a true LEGEND.
Yes, John Legend sang at the ceremony. “‘Cause all of me, loves all of you, love your curves and all your edges, all your perfect imperfections,” he crooned, serenading Isha with his hit song “All of Me,” while her attendants and makeup artists scrambled around to see if they had missed any “imperfections.”
The following year, when Isha’s twin brother, Akash, tied the knot with Shloka Mehta, the performers at a pre-wedding celebration in St. Moritz, Switzerland, included Chris Martin of Coldplay and The Chainsmokers. For another pre-wedding ceremony in Mumbai, Maroon 5 performed some of their hits, including “Girls Like You,” “Moves Like Jagger” and “Sugar.”
This year, 2024, has been all about the third scion, Anant. He and pharmaceutical heiress Radhika Merchant have spent almost the entire year getting married. It began with an engagement party in January that Bollywood stars such as Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone attended. Then came a pre-wedding party in March that included choreographed dancing from Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and probably Imran Khan too. (Genghis Khan was a no-show.) Someone named Rihanna also performed.
Two months later, another pre-wedding party was held on a four-day European cruise from Palermo to Rome. Performers during the cruise and several stops included Backstreet Boys, Pitbull, David Guetta, Katy Perry and Andrea Bocelli. It was truly a historic cruise, the first time a cruise ship permitted a Pitbull on board.
In early July, Canadian singer Justin Bieber added his name to the list of stars who have accepted bundles of cash to perform at an Ambani wedding. Singing at the sangeet ceremony, Bieber entertained guests with hits such as "Sorry," "What Do You Mean," and "Baby."
Bieber was reportedly paid $10 million to perform at the sangeet ceremony.
“Name your price, Justin.”
“$10 million.”
“Done. The money is on its way.”
“Wait, did I say $10 million? I meant to say $20 million. India is a long flight away.”
“Sorry. We had a deal.”
“But I …”
“Sorry, Justin. Is it too late now to say sorry?”
