Gargantuan album sales, sold out tours, blockbuster movies, merchandising, sponsorship deals… Other than those things, there aren’t many ways for a pop superstar like to make money.
So, understandably, the Bajan singer has to balance the books with the odd private gig.
Her latest? Luckily for her and her accountant, it was for some really rather wealthy types indeed. When your client is Asia’s richest man, you can afford to quote high. The Fenty founder did just that, agreeing a whopping £5 million for a 90 minute performance.
Mukesh Ambani, 66, has a net value of over £90 billion. The Indian cash collector has no qualms over spending hefty chunks of that fortune on his rather fortunate kids, either.
Rihanna’s job was to jazz up the pre-wedding party of one of his sons. Yep, you read that right – ‘pre-wedding’. It wasn’t even the actual wedding. Presumably for that, Mr. Ambani’s planning on paying to have Elvis and Whitney Houston resurrected for some kind of ghoulishly expensive duet.
The set-up was impressive, with the kind of staging and lighting you might expect of one of Rihanna’s world tour dates or a Superbowl halftime show. The concert itself? Well, hopefully Ambani’s son Anant enjoyed it. Only Rhi-Rhi’s fans weren’t exactly left gushing after a clip L***ed on of her going through the motions a tad.
In the crowd were Anant and bride Radhika Merchant’s many, many, many guests. Including a whole bunch of family and friends you’ve never heard of and some divisive famous folk you have. Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Ivanka Trump all attended the first day of pre-wedding festivities in Jamnagar.
Famous faces from India were in attendance too, including the likes of Madhuri Dixit, Varun Dhawan, Aditya Roy Kapur, Sara Ali Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Ananya Panday, Sidharth Malhotra, Kiara Advani, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Ibrahim Ali Khan.
In another clip online, Rihanna was seen with Indian actress Janhvi Kapoor, dancing to the popular Bollywood song ‘Zingaat‘. Of course, only a cynic would suggest that it was something of a contractual obligation on Rihanna’s part. They’re probably just mates.
Kapoor has faced accusations of being a nepo baby for most of her career, with her family all huge Bollywood players. In the company of Anant Ambani, however, she looks like a plucky girl-done-good, bless her.
Rihanna joins an ever-expanding group of big pop stars to have performed at the famously lavish wedding ceremonies of the Ambani children. Although, it’s doubtful that Beyoncé, Chris Martin, John Legend, The Chainsmokers or Maroon 5 chat too much about their experiences as glorified wedding singers when they bump into each other backstage at the Grammys.
The chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, the most valuable firm in India, billionaire businessman Ambani is the 11th richest man on the planet. He has, however, garnered a certain level of infamy in his home country due to allegations of market manipulation, political corruption and worker exploitation.
That said, he’s generous to his kids. And you can’t call the bloke a skinflint.
