Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Bill Gates visited the Statue of Unity in India before heading to the Ambani pre-wedding bash.Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally invited Gates to view the tallest statue in the world.The Ambani’s three-day party featured tech CEOs like Gates and other celebrities.
Before rubbing elbows with the world’s rich and famous at the Ambani pre-wedding bash, Bill Gates was just being a tourist in India.
Gates posted photos of him on Instagram Friday at the Statue of Unity, the world’s largest statue, which is located in the Indian state of Gujarat. The towering memorial to politician Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel — who helped reunite India post-British colonial rule — is nearly 600 feet tall and was commissioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2013.
While Gates appears to be participating in regular old tourist activities, the former Microsoft CEO was personally invited by Modi himself to view the statue.
“Thank you @narendramodi for the invitation to visit the impressive Statue of Unity. It is an engineering marvel and a great tribute to Sardar Patel,” Gates wrote on Instagram under a photo of him grinning in front of the steel and bronze colossus. “Also great to see it is creating economic opportunity for local tribal communities, especially women.”
Gates was so inspired by the visit that he posted a follow-up video of his experience at the Statue of Unity set to “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen.
Before Gates also sat down with Modi to discuss “using AI for public good,” he wrote in the caption an Instagram post that featured him posing with the Prime Minister. Gates also later met with multiple local leaders, per posts on his social media.
What Gates has been making headlines for, however, is his attendance at one of the biggest parties of the year so far — the Ambani family pre-wedding bash hosted by Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani. The soiree celebrating his son Anant Ambani’s upcoming marriage featured a private performance by Rihanna and some of the most prominent names in business and Bollywood.