This time its not an outsource, it’s another Ambani take-over
When I was growing up in England in the nineties we were constantly hearing on the tele that some low-level mundane tasks in IT departments were being outsourced to India because it was cheaper than keeping it in-house mainly due to their lower cost of living.
Move forward thirty years and we can see that India has really continued to take on the outsourcing of work from western countries to their homeland, quite literally. This has enabled the vast population of India, well over a billion people, to have benefited from the large influx of working in some sort of technology field. Behind the demand to perform tasks has created a massive infrastructure boom in construction, telecoms, banking, steel, medical many industries really where the now common worker can live and work like a Westerner.
One of the families to have benefitted from this economic boom is the Ambani family. Current head of the business empire Mukesh Ambani who is currently the richest man in Asia, with an estimated net worth of £94.95 billion and ranked as 11th richest in the world. This past week Mukesh’s son Anant married Radhika Merchant, heir to a pharmaceutical empire. We say this past week but actually from engagement to wedding reception the festivities have been going on for some four months.
Being super wealthy has allowed some perks though. Quite literally anybody who is an A-lister has been paid to appear at the wedding. We’ve had at pre-wedding functions Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Akon, Pitbull, Andrea Bocelli. For the wedding weekend itself we had seen Adele, Drake, Rema – even Bollywood actors, John Cena, business folk like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, US and English politicians such as Tony Blair and Boris Johnson! We’ve seen some weddings where the family have invited the milkman but the Ambani’s have taken it to a whole new level.
Many of these have been flown in on private jets. As of yet we are still unable to get a reference that quantifies the amount of carbon used and the climate change impact. Beyond that we cannot forget the thousands of designers, tailors, caterers and carpenters working behind the scenes.
According to Harper’s Bazaar an event management company estimated the cost to be between £101 – 120 million. At the main wedding ceremony some 2,000 guests were in attendance at the massive Jio World Center which is an 18.5 acres business and cultural center, also owned by the Ambanis. According to Telegraph India the full estimate lies at a whopping $600 million.
The bride Radhika told Vogue magazine that her new mother-in-law Nita Ambani was the visionary behind the celebrations, along with her new sister in-laws Isha and Shloka.
So while the main theme has been a wedding of two people, it would seem the rather shrewd business family have bought many guests as they say in India ‘In their pockets’. Only time will tell whether these influencers will be doing future deals with the Ambani empire but watch this space.
There have been a luxury overload from many Instagram accounts – One saying ‘I can not take any more bling’. Another saying ‘I can’t bear to see another Ambani photo’.
The wedding festivities still not finished once they had tied the knot have now continued onto the UK. Notably, at Stoke Park [2], a lavish 300 acre country club steeped in a 1,000 year history and enjoyed by high society and locals alike. Anant and Radhika will stay there till September (some two and a half months). Famously the backdrop to James Bond’s Goldfinger. Mukesh Ambani purchased the estate’s leasehold in 2021 and immediately terminated some 850 memberships. They said it was for refurbishment, however, the freehold of the estate still being owned by the local council have deemed that the use must be as a public country house. However, the Ambanis have flagrantly disobeyed this and have been using the estate for their own personal use. Mukesh also bought nearby properties at a cost of over £8 million.
From an English perspective it does seem rather strange to us that:
- Guests are being paid for. Whether that be for past service or on the day or even in the future. Would you mix your most personal event with an epic business twist?
- Would you use the holy communion of two souls as a showcase of how much money both your country and family have garnered?
- According to Virtualemployee.com almost 50% of the Fortune 500 have outsourced work to India. With another industry conquered do you sense that India is trying hard to monopolise the wedding industry, be it through glamour, events, catering, and now of course Wedding dress designers.
- India became wealthy of recent times by outsourcing. Every now and again we will see in the news an IT disaster especially with banks and the airline industry that can be tracked back to poor quality at an Indian outsourcer [1]. Is it time to for Western countries to bring IT services back home?
So do tell us, aside from the takeover aspect – Will you be taking any of these inspirations and thoughts from the Ambani weddings?
References:
1. Be wary outsourcing your data: https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/any-answers/india-outsource-problem
2. Stoke Park: https://www.tatler.com/article/ambani-wedding-celebration-uk-stoke-park-scandal
3. Stoke Park in FT: https://www.ft.com/content/5dcd18d6-8c1e-4d3c-a5b5-93b355e78ead
Photo credit: Reliance industries
