I wonder if he now looks at it and thinks it looks crap :dunno:
Billionaire Indian tycoon throws a lavish house-warming for 80 guests at the £630 million 'Taj Mahal of the 21st century'
If you weren't there you were neither rich enough nor famous enough.
Only the cream of Indian society and Bollywood got through the opulent doors.
There were heaving buffet tables, a lavish ballroom with a marble floor, nine lifts, a temple, a swimming pool and three helipads.
No wonder one of the guest at billionaire Mukesh Ambani's lavish house-warming party described it as the 'Taj Mahal of the 21st century.'
Stunning: Antilia, built by tycoon Mukesh Ambani for his family of four, towers 27-storeys over Mumbai, India
Glitz and glamour: Crystal chandeliers take up most of the ceiling at this ballroom. There is also a stage for entertainers and a kitchen which can serve hundreds of guests
There are countless lounges throughout the building where fine rugs, chandeliers and mirrors feature heavily
To celebrate moving into the £630 million home overlooking Mumbai's sprawling slums, Mr Ambani invited 80 guests including Bollywood actors, writers and wealthy businessmen.
It may need 600 staff to run it, cost £98,000 a month in electricity and looks like it was designed by a blindfolded architect, but no-one at the party cared.
Indian novelist Shobhaa De described gliding down a high-speed elevator to 'what has got to be the biggest, glitziest ballroom in India – the Palace of Versailles is a poor cousin.'
She told the BBC: 'It was possible to believe for one mad moment that we were all at Cinderella's ball.
'There is a lot of marble, there is a lot of mother of pearl. There are gardens and lotus pools and an absolutely beautiful Krishna temple.
'The Taj Mahal was considered one of the wonders of the world, this is...I'm sure it's going to be one of the wonders of modern India.'
Other guests included Bollywood stars Preity Zinta and Aamir Khan, billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla and India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has previously called on business tycoons to be 'role models of moderation'..
Towering above the Mumbai skyline, the £630 million property at 570ft high has a temple on the ground floor and a library on the top.
It was designed according to Vaastu principles, an Indian tradition similar to Chinese feng shui. Mr Ambani, 53, will live there with his wife and three children
According to Forbes magazine, he has amassed a $27bn (£17bn) fortune as chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, one of the largest, oil and retail conglomerates in the world.
Extravagant: Construction work on the property can be seen. The 37,000 sq ft property features three helipads, a swimming pool and a four-storey hanging garden
Tycoon: Mukesh Ambani, who owns much of oil and retail giants Reliance Industries, paid £44million to build the property and will employ 600 staff there
Numerous powder rooms and reception areas lead off the lobby which has nine elevators. Each floor uses different materials to give a differing look
He paid £44 million to build his dream house, but astronomical property values in the Indian city mean it is worth 15 times that amount.
Shiny Varghese, deputy editor of Indian magazine Design Today, said: 'It's so obscenely lavish that I'm not sure too many people will go all that way, but we are heading into the sort of culture where money is not a question when setting up a home.'
But friends have defended him against charges of excess.
One told the newspaper: 'He can't just walk into a cinema and watch a film like you or me.
'It's only a family home, just a big one. It's a question of convenience and requirements.'
Novelist De said the property was built to the personal taste of Mr Ambani, and that people should not 'grudge him his indulgences'.
She added: 'He generates a great amount of employment for those very poor and contributes to the economy.'
Mr Ambani's brother, Anil, held a "parallel party" at the 14-storey residence which houses the rest of the family.
Relations between the brothers became strained during a dispute over the division of the conglomerate left by their father, Dhirubhai, who died in 2002 without a will.
Watch video report here
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...30m-21st-century-Taj-Mahal.html#ixzz16hLlRfk1
