Online Reporter
Robson Sharuko
H-Metro Editor
WICKNELL Chivayo hasn’t made it a secret that his dream is to be a BILLIONAIRE and this means taking a leaf out of the book which chronicles how the world’s richest men live − comforted by their wealth, powered by their success and fuelled by their relentless ambition.
Just like the world’s richest men, Chivayo loves life in the fast lane where travel is in private jets, holidays are spent at exotic beaches and mega deals are struck at regular intervals.
In their world, even a wedding has to shake the world, in one way or the other, and in Chivayo’s case, even a mere Roora Day has to make headlines in the tabloid newspapers and dominate the local social media landscape.
That was the case in March when Chivayo splashed about US$300,000 to organise his Roora Day in Marondera as he celebrated his union with Lulu Muteke.
It’s very likely the Harare businessman will be watching closely this weekend when the third richest man in the world, American tycoon Jeff Bezos, ties the knot with his lover Lauren Sanchez in the Italian city of Venice in what has already been dubbed the ‘Wedding Of The Year.’
With a net worth of US$234 billion, Bezos, the founder of Amazon, is the third richest man in the world and will splash a staggering US$55 million for the wedding.
Only Elon Musk, with a net worth of US$369 billion, and Mark Zuckerbeg, with a net worth of US$245 billion, are richer than Bezos.
Bezos, just like Chivayo, travels in private jets but his personal collection of four Gulfstream G650 ER jets, the most expensive business jets, which also have the longest flying range, means Bezos is in a different league to the local businessman.
Each Gulfstream G650 ER business jet costs around US$70 million and this means that the value of Bezos’ collection is more than a quarter-of-a-billion dollars.
Bringing all the guests, who have been flying into Venice on private jets, is set to add another US$2 million to the wedding bill.
Chivayo told H-Metro that he splashed a considerable amount of money to hire the likes of Jah Prayzah, Killer T and Enzo Ishall to perform at his Roora Day but the wedding set for this weekend is in a different league altogether.
If you are a football fan you can call it the Champions League of weddings:
· For his wedding, Bezos has splashed US$5,5 million just to ensure that Lady Gaga and Elton John serenades his guests in Venice this weekend.
· Elton John charges about US$2,9m for a private function, like this weekend’s wedding, while Lady Gaga charges US$3,6m for such a function.
· Reports have indicated that Bezos and his fiancé are working with wedding planners Lanza & Baucina and they are likely to cost at least US$30,000.
· The couple have also booked all 250 of Venice’s water taxis, which costs about US$594,000 per day for 12 hours of service and when one multiplies this by three days of the wedding, then you get an extra US$1,8m on the cost.
· Bezos’ 417-foot sailing yacht, Koru − the largest sailing yacht in the world − is in Venice to play its part in the show and the cost of docking and operating it just for the weekend adds another US$2 million to the bill.
· The custom-designed wedding rings are likely to be from top jewellers like Cartier, Tiffany & Co., or Harry Winston and a pair will cost about US$3.5 million.
· After all, the couple have to beat the US$2.5million which was splashed on the engagement rings.
· Lauren’s 200-carat emerald necklace at the Oscars was worth several millions of dollars and, given this is the actual wedding, the special necklace could cost even more this time around.
· If she wears a matching set of necklace, bracelet and earrings in that style, alongside her wedding band, it could easily cost between US$10 million and US$20 million.
· Lauren’s wedding dress is reported to be an Oscar de la Renta custom gown, priced at US$250,000 and after being spotted at Dolce & Gabbana in Milan in March, she could also be donning a custom Dolce & Gabbana gown, usually priced at US$100,000–US$350,000.
· As for the venue, the wedding is said to be taking place at the Scuola Grande della Misericordia, with costs estimated at US$22,000 to US$55,000 per day.
· Guests are staying at Aman Venice or the Gritti Palace, where rooms start at US$3,200 a night, totalling about US$1,920,000 for 200 guests over three nights.
· High-end catering at venues like these ranges from US$200 to US$400 per guest, which adds up to US$240,0000 at the higher range for 200 guests over the three days.
· With expensive Italian wines like Roagna and Masseto costing over US$1,000 per bottle, plus Champagne like Dom Pérignon, it would likely cost between US$70,000 – US$140,000 to stock the bar for the 200 guests.
This is clearly a different league to what even Chivayo can put together for his wedding but, given his boundless ambition, it’s very likely that he will be taking some notes.
After all, the likes of Bezos, who is having his second wife, didn’t just start with US$55million weddings. The US$300,000, which Chivayo splashed for lobola payment in Marondera in March, is a good start for someone who grew up in Chitungwiza and now dreams of one day becoming a billionaire.
Chivayo sent a messenger with US$50,000 to deal with the lobola requirements and he called back to advise him that everything demanded by the in-laws had been fully catered for by that payment and there was a “lot of change.”
The businessman said he also carried a further US$75,000 in his car, just to make sure there would be no shortfalls.
In the end, he didn’t need to use that supplementary cash for the lobola ceremony.
There will certainly be a lot of notes for Chivayo to take this weekend.
− Additional reporting by www.goss.ie
