To find the Ambani wedding distasteful

[Soonenough]

I know everyone can do what they like , it's their money . But such an extravagant event in a place where a large proportion of the population live in slum conditions is rather unsettling.? Plus the bride is stunning but the groom unfortunately does not come across as an individual with a lot

of intelligence . Before I get flamed , he and his family are encouraging the public to view them and I guess are expecting admiration.

I think the thought going through many minds is, what on earth is wrong with a global system that facilitates, or even encourages, the accumulation of so much wealth and power in so few hands? And the idea of “trickle down wealth” becomes laughable when you observe how little of it trickles down when one family spends over a billion pounds on one wedding. Most of that wealth is circulating and recirculating amongst the already wealthy guests and performers. Is it anything more than an advert to the super wealthy that India wishes to be a haven for the super wealthy, so feel free to accumulate your billions there? And is this global competition to attract the billionnaires any good for anyone in the long run? Will it result in a better world for all? Where so much wealth and power is held by so few, they can and do ensure they stitch it up so that nobody can challenge it or compete. How is this healthy? Lots of people spending money on a lot of weddings would surely be preferable?

The lack of basic numeracy on this thread probably explains why this insane inequality exists. Average couples spending roughly a year’s salary for a low income family on their wedding, compared to this couple spending HALF A BILLION POUNDS in a country where the poorest earn around one millionth of that in a year. That is not comparable, by a factor of one million.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/dvc1370/

world wide cities with the most disparity www.worldatlas.com/articles/cities-with-the-most-income-inequality.html

Its 11 billion rupees not £, its reported to be £1,5million sterling

It is not half a billion pounds as 1.5 million £ is not half a billion

@Whatabonkersworld
The Indian government have asked for aid not to be sent https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/9061844/India-tells-Britain-We-dont-want-your-aid.html

there has been many press articles on this matter and a twitter war of words

500 million pounds was quoted upthread. Google says a low-income Indian family has around 5000 rupees a month, that converts to around £500 a year.

I’ve just looked, and media reports indicate that so far it is thought the Ambanis have spent around £120million, not £1.5 million. Even using Google to convert 11 billion rupees into pounds comes up with £101,464,309 not £1.5million.

Of course, it’s hard to keep track of actual spending when you celebrate a wedding for several months and plan to keep the party going in more than one country. Not to mention the backhanders involved in disrupting the traffic, redesignating regional airports as international ones, etc.

so even further away from the half a billion quoted

https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/bazaar-brides/a61594448/ambani-merchant-wedding-guests-performances-cost-explained/#

I wasn't sure whether the 11 billion rupees getting converted to half a billion pounds somehow?

The whole wedding is over the top.
the £8,000 wedding invitations, the watches gifted to the groomsmen. The whole affair is so expensive and flaunting of wealth it’s distasteful.
however you saying “he doesn’t not come across as an individual with a lot of intelligence” is a sad judgement. He is highly intelligent and works in the business.
He suffers with serious health concerns hence the weight.

It is I believe a tradition. (neutral comment)
The money will be circulating and that is good. I presume the millions came out of wealth storage like a bank it was then spent on companies that have many employees. Therefore it was paid to middleclass and lower status people as wages.
Probably the only good thing about the day.

I think you’ll find £101,464,309 is considerably closer to half a billion pounds than £1.5million is…

Points to ponder

1. they are worth 114 billion in USD all self made. Their grandfathers worked at a gas station in middle east before he built an empire
2. they employ millions of people in india in telecom, oil refineries and media houses. India loves them.
3. how much was spent on Coronation of KC and Jubilee and Harry’s wedding? Do they employ and contribute to the country’s GDP?

Tbh, I don’t find it reassuring that one family should be so wealthy that they need to spend multi millions on one wedding just to get a tiny proportion of their wealth “circulating.” It’s also a very inefficient way of circulating it, as loads of it simply went straight into the bank accounts of other wealthy people taking part in the celebrations. It seems that more people in Mumbai feel they have been inconvenienced by the celebrations than have benefited from them.

I was literally just thinking the same thing

@Hawkinsresident - they’ve done well. No doubt. Self made in a way the RF aren’t but the amount of backhanders and luck and Modi really helps.

gross wedding but if that’s what they want then brill.

(I’m that background but only ‘half’ I’m told often by the Indian pure breeds🤣🤣).

You are astoundingly inumerate. Scary. £1.5m is quite a bit further away from half a billion than £101m is. £1.5m wouldn’t even touch the sides of an event like this. I don’t think the number crunching has counted the jewellery which alone would easily be several millions.

It’s all in quite poor taste, from the hosts, to the arranged marriage whiff about it, to the guests participating in this spectacle.

I love that sentence........almost Dorothy Parker worthy.
I will use it at earliest possible opportunity.
Thank you!

@CelesteCunningham ".......Rich and powerful people having an extravagant wedding in an unequal society isn't a new thing, is it ?"

No but because of media, social media, PR and perhaps more enlightened social consciences, we are more aware of it.
In a country with huge inequalities, a country that the UK, despite having social deprivation of its own, sends millions in aid to it really is disgusting flaunting wealth in this way.

I have huge admiration for Chuck Feeney, one of the founders of Duty Free Shops who gave much of his billionaire fortune away to benefit others.

Some of my dc went to a school where the religious who ran it had some of their congregation working in India.
Sometimes these people returned and raised awareness of the really difficult lives of the people they were helping.
It was heartbreaking to hear.

Yes quite agree, totally vulgar . I don’t see why they wanted such a public spectacle, with all that money you would have thought they could afford a bit of dignity. I thought the Blairs looked particularly gruesome.

i agree - not cool......

I do apologise I didn't put the zero on the end of 1.5 - my mistake

I was looking at the pics and had quite harsh thoughts that the groom was very lucky to be super rich to get a super rich bride (overweight and not great) seems more a marriage of two dynasties than star crossed etc

Must be great for all the people paid to work on the wedding, cater the food etc, hotels for the guests. Florists, air lines etc making money from it. Providing employment for hundreds.
Can not understand jealousy of multi millionaires having a spend up.
Politics of envy.

Yes. Very pleased some wealth is finally "circulating" towards the Kardashians.