Ambani son's pre-wedding bash features Rihanna, tycoons and Bollywood stars

NEW DELHI - Charter jets for tycoons and celebrities, a performance by Rihanna and directions to don "jungle fever" outfits when visiting an animal rescue centre - that's how billionaire Mukesh Ambani is kickstarting big fat Indian wedding celebrations for his son.

The head of Indian conglomerate Reliance and Asia's richest man with a net worth of $114 billion (S$153 billion) according to Forbes, Ambani is known for never doing a party by halves.

The occasion of the moment that has India transfixed is a three-day pre-wedding jamboree for his youngest son Anant Ambani, 28, who is set to marry his long-time girlfriend Radhika Merchant, 29. It begins Friday (March 1), will entertain 1,200 guests and takes place in a township in Jamnagar near Reliance's main oil refinery in the western state of Gujarat.

The wedding itself does not take place until July and festivities de facto began on Wednesday when Anant and his bride-to-be hosted a communal dinner for local villagers that served 51,000.

In addition to pop and R&B superstar Rihanna, US magician David Blaine will perform and there will also be traditional ceremonies in a temple complex.

Anant's pre-wedding bash is likely to be attended by Bill Gates, Meta's (META.O), opens new tab Mark Zuckerberg, fellow Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Kumar Mangalam Birla, as well as many cricketers and Bollywood film stars such as Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the plans who declined to be identified.

Also likely to attend is Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, which announced a $8.5 billion merger of its India media assets with Reliance's on Wednesday.

Anant is a director at Reliance's new energy business and one of Ambani's three children who