Justin Bieber heads wedding gala thrown by Asia's richest man
MUMBAI, India — Canadian pop star Justin Bieber entertained some of India's biggest celebrities in the latest installment of months-long wedding celebrations thrown for the son of Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani.
Bieber, who shot to prominence as a teenage heartthrob, is among several global celebrities who have jetted into India for the marriage festivities of Ambani's younger son Anant and fiancee Radhika Merchant.
He and Merchant, both 29, were childhood friends and are set to marry in a three-day Hindu ceremony beginning on July 12.
Bieber, who flew in from Los Angeles, was pictured at the Mumbai airport Friday morning wearing an oversized pink T-shirt and a bucket hat.
Footage of his concert in the financial hub that night shared on social media showed him performing his 2015 hit "Sorry" in front of hundreds of VIP revellers.
Bollywood star Salman Khan and former India cricket captain M.S. Dhoni were among the celebrity guests in attendance on Friday.
Indian media reports said Bieber was rumored to have been paid up to $10 million (P585 million) for the performance.
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Anant Ambani and Merchant have already staged two elaborate and star-studded parties ahead of this month's main event, including a three-day gala in February in Gujarat state.
There, Rihanna performed her first concert since last year's Super Bowl for guests including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and former US president Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka.
In June, the couple embarked on a four-day Mediterranean cruise, where singer Katy Perry performed at a masquerade ball at a French chateau in Cannes. The Backstreet Boys, US rapper Pitbull, and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli also provided entertainment.
Anant's billionaire tycoon father is no stranger to throwing a costly wedding. He held the most expensive wedding in India to date for his daughter in 2018, which reportedly cost $100 million (P5.85 billion) and saw US singer Beyonce perform.
Ambani, 67, the chairman of Reliance Industries, has a fortune of more than $113 billion (P6.61 trillion), the 11th wealthiest person in the world, according to the Forbes billionaires list. He is also a key ally of India's right-wing Hindu nationalist leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Ambani inherited a thriving industrial enterprise spanning oil, gas and petrochemicals. He grew it into a commercial behemoth with lucrative interests in retail, telecommunications and an Indian Premier League cricket team. Merchant is the daughter of prominent pharmaceutical moguls.
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