Photo: Instagram/Automobili Ardent India (Composite)
They say true luxury's home isn't in Paris, or London, or New York, but Dubai, the one place in the world where opulence is norm and all dreams become real. If that's true, and you know it is, Dubai just got a 1-on-1 in what opulence is, and did so from a tourist.
He's a billionaire tourist with a home in the finest, most exclusive area of Palm Jumeirah, but still a tourist by most accounts. He is Anant Ambani, the youngest son of India's richest man and a billionaire himself, with a fortune estimated at some $40 billion as of the time of this writing.
Anant Ambani and his new wife, Nita Ambani, were in Dubai earlier this week, stepping out on a couple of occasions that would, in the case of a regular normie, require, at best, a shower and maybe a fresh coat of lipstick, if that. But for the Ambanis, it involved a car convoy with at least 20 blacked-out SUVs, a large police escort, and even a full-size ambulance with a doctor and medical staff onboard. No one likes to plan for the worst-case scenario, but this is on another different level.
In their home town of Mumbai, the Ambanis usually travel like this, with heavy police escort and their own security teams in tow. Again, it seems excessive, but maybe their wealth or other special circumstances require such measures. But you wouldn't expect the same for when they travel abroad, let alone that they do so in cars that seem to perfectly match the spec on their latest daily driver. Assuming they drove, that is.
Photo: Instagram/Automobili Ardent India (Composite)
Case in point, when Anant went to the Dubai Mall to buy a Rimowa suitcase, he rode in an orange Rolls-Royce Cullinan Black Badge that looks very much like the car he was seen in Mumbai shortly before the visit. On the other occasion, he and Nita were in the back of a Rolls-Royce Phantom EWB that looked very much like the one in pink rose she got after the wedding.
That means that either they had their people order or rent out similar vehicles, or they arranged for their cars to travel with them. The latter wouldn't be unheard of, but it's not an effort any billionaire is willing to take unless they plan on an extended stay or they really want to get attention.
The Ambanis' convoy included all blacked-out Chevy Suburbans, Cadillac Escalades, and GMC Yukon Denalis, police cars, and the ambulance. We're guessing they were going for attention-grabbing on purpose.
Then again, you shouldn't expect any less from the son of a man who built a $2 billion skyscraper in the heart of Mumbai and called it a "family home." To the Ambanis, this must feel as casual as getting an Uber does for the rest of us.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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