Rihanna 'makes £5m' performing in India for Mukesh Ambani's son's pre wedding party

Asia’s richest man digs deep for Bajan singer to make rare appearance post birth of child
William Mata2 March 2024
The Weekender

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Rihanna has netted a reported £5 million for performing at the pre-wedding party for the son of India’s richest man and 1,200 guests. 

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani is hosting the three day event at a hotel in the western city of Jamnagar which will cost a total £120 million. 

A video shows Rihanna performing her hit Bitch Better Have My Money alongside a lavish display of dancers and lights. She has previously been seen sightseeing with her partner, the US rapper ASAP Rocky. 

She reportedly performed 19 songs in a 90 minute set.

There could be even bigger celebrations in July when Anant Ambani marries Radhika Merchant. His dad previously paid Beyonce a reported £5 million to perform in 2018 when his daughter Isha got married. 

Billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani, son Anant and soon-to-be wife Nita
AP

It is a significant undertaking but will not make too much of a dent in the finances of Mukesh Ambani, who is worth a reported £90 billion.

Asia’s richest man amassed his fortune through his Reliance Industries empire, a conglomerate of energy, gas and telecommunications businesses. 

His connections and wealth make his parties a big deal and others to attend include Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka, Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg and former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper. 

Despite having not released an album since 2016, Rihanna is not short of money - being one of the world’s richest women.

Photos showed the pair meeting Jamnagar locals at a huge meal along lengthy tables. 

Chairperson and founder of the Reliance Foundation Nita Ambani (R), wife of billionaire tycoon Mukesh Ambani speaking to Ivanka Trump
Reliance/AFP via Getty Images

Who is Mukesh Ambani?

Mukesh Ambani, 66, is currently the world's 10th richest man with a net worth of $115bn, according to Forbes. He is also the richest person in Asia.

His Reliance Industries is a massive conglomerate, reporting over $100 billion in annual revenue, with interests ranging from petrochemicals, and oil and gas to telecoms and retail.

Under Ambani's leadership, Reliance — founded by his father in 1966 — sparked a telecom price war with the launch of the 4G phone and broadband service Jio in 2016. Today, it has more than 420 million subscribers and offers 5G services. 

Rihanna performs at the party
Evening Standard

Earlier this week, Disney struck an $8.5bn deal to merge its India business with Ambani's Reliance Industries, forming a new media giant.

The Ambani family owns, among other assets, a 27-storey private apartment building, named Antila, worth $1 billion in Mumbai. It has three helipads, a 160-car garage, a private movie theatre, a swimming pool, and a fitness centre.

Ambani's critics say his company has flourished mainly because of political connections during the Congress governments in the 1970s and 80s and subsequently under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rule after 2014. 

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