World’s most expensive party ever took place in…, hosted by…, had 18 tonnes food, 25000 wine bottles, 2700….; cost more than Mukesh Ambani’s parties

The parties and family events hosted by the Ambani family showcase some of the finest in wealth, luxury, and extravagance. Hosted by Asia’s richest family, these events are not simply private celebrations; they are high-profile spectacles that attract the global business tycoons, sports legends, and even royalty.

Before the Ambanis established new benchmarks for extravagance by hosting weddings costing in the billions of rupees, there was a king of Iran who threw a party so indulgent that it is still in the record books as the most expensive party ever hosted! It featured 18 tonnes of food, 25,000 bottles of wine, and over 100 planes involved! It made headline news worldwide. It was considered a benchmark that has never been beaten. But who was this king?

Who Was the Ruler Behind the World’s Most Expensive Party?

Fifty years ago, Iran was an entirely different country. During the early 1970s, women walked freely in Western attire; Iran was considered modern, progressive, and friendly to the rest of the world. Then came the Islamic Revolution in 1979. The overthrow of the Pahlavi monarchy and the rise of the Islamic Republic brought about radical changes to nearly every aspect of political, cultural, and social life, particularly concerning women’s rights and personal freedoms.

Iran went through a dramatic change after the revolution of 1979 that saw the downfall of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran. This gave rise to Ayatollah Khomeini. One of the key events that set off public anger was a lavish celebration hosted by the Shah—the party was perhaps the most extravagant celebration ever thrown.

To showcase the richness of Iranian culture and an increase in global stature, the celebration inadvertently showed the disconnect between the monarchy and the people. When citizens were struggling to meet their basic needs, the extravagance of the Shah’s party was viewed as insensitive and hurtful, and only intensified public anger. The open inequality fostered by the celebration helped catalyze the revolution that brought down a 2,500-year-old monarchy.

Who was Mohammad Reza Shah?

Mohammad Reza Shah was crowned as king in 1941. He was a man of considerable wealth and ambition, and planned to modernize Iran and remake it into a modern, progressive state. Seeking to adopt Western values, he implemented liberal reforms, modernized, and made systematic attempts to destroy tradition, which of course included the hijab. This zealous form of Westernization provoked strong resistance among religious clerics and conservative groups, who felt that he was threatening the cultural and spiritual integrity of Iran. Mohammad Reza had no tolerance for dissent. Punishment for critics, whether vocal or nonvocal, who attacked his reformist values was met with censorship, imprisonment, or simply being banned, which instilled in people’s minds fear and totalitarianism.

Why Was the World’s Most Expensive Party So Controversial in Iran?

In 1971, the ruler of Iran, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, threw what many still believe to be the most extravagant party in human history: a quest to commemorate 2,500 years of existence of the Persian Empire. In the archaeological ruins of Persepolis, it gathered royalty and representatives from 65 nations, all flown in to see a concert and spectacle the world had never seen – and would likely never see again.

Who Were the VIP Guests at This Once-in-a-Lifetime Event?

However, underlying the gold-tasseled tents and bedecked chandeliers was a different story: thirst for power and growing disquiet. The media put the price of the party at around $100 million; outrage rose in Iran. With many citizens dealing with poverty and inequality, the ostentatiousness became a metaphor of the gap between the monarchy and its people, and the moment of revolt against the object of revolution.

Planning for the celebrations began in 1970, but as it progressed, it became evident that the royal palaces in Tehran were far too small to host such a lavish occasion. Shah agreed to celebrate in the ancient ruins of Persepolis, a largely empty desert at that time. In that truly barren place, a luxury city of tents with gold trimmings was erected from scratch. The bill was $100 million, which is unbelievable even today. Although the Shah intended to show the richness of Iran’s 2,500 years of imperial power, many people saw it as a sign of unrestrained wealth and power.

What Was on the Menu at the Shah’s Extravagant Banquet?

To most Iranians who lived there in the late 1970s and the many observers around the world, the celebration illustrated the separation of the monarchy from its people. What was intended to show national pride became focused on resentment. In retrospect, that legendary party is often viewed as one of the first stories about the monarchy that fueled its downfall just a few years later.

Shah advisers took extreme measures to create a lush oasis in the middle of the desert by importing 50,000 birds to create a jungle! Only to have most of them die within a matter of days from the desert heat. They built a temporary luxury city of tents on the sands of the desert for the world’s rich and famous. The complexity of building this tent city was mind-boggling: 40 trucks and 100 planes from France only to carry the materials to build the extravagant tents. It was unlike anything in the world-18 tons of food with 180 waiters, 2,700 kg of meat, and 25,000 bottles of the world’s best wines served to the kings, queens, and top political leaders of the world.

The cover of extravagance was so insurmountable that it was dubbed “the world’s most expensive party”. But it was also painful and symbolic for millions of Iranians, a clear reminder of how distant their ruler had become from the struggles of ordinary life for the majority of the Iranian people.

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