Celebrities converge on Venice for Bezos-Sanchez wedding gala
Bill Gates, Orlando Bloom and the Queen of Jordan were among the latest arrivals, joining Oprah Winfrey, Kris Jenner, and Kim and Khloe Kardashian.
Jeff Bezos, left, and Lauren Sanchez leave their pre wedding reception, in Venice, Italy, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (Photo: AP/Luca Bruno)
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez began three days of lavish wedding celebrations in Venice on Thursday (Jun 26), with tight security shielding their VIP guests from protesters.
Bill Gates, Orlando Bloom and the Queen of Jordan were among the latest arrivals, joining Oprah Winfrey, Kris Jenner and Kim and Khloe Kardashian.
US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who arrived earlier this week, have used the extra time for sightseeing and shopping.
Some 200 to 250 guests from show business, politics and finance are expected to attend the event, widely dubbed the "wedding of the century" and estimated to cost around US$50 million.
The event has stirred debate about its impact on one of the world’s most iconic cities. Protesters see it as an example of Venice being gift-wrapped for ultra-wealthy outsiders, while others have welcomed the spectacle and the spending.
An activist climbed one of the poles in St Mark’s Square on Thursday, unfurling a banner that read “The 1% ruins the world” in protest against the presence of billionaire Bezos.
Guests gathered on Thursday evening in the cloisters of Madonna dell’Orto, a medieval church in the Cannaregio district that hosts masterpieces by 16th-century painter Tintoretto.
The city council banned pedestrians and water traffic from the area from 4.30pm to midnight, to ensure security and privacy for the attendees.
LUXURY VENUE AND SECRET CEREMONY
Bezos, 61, and Sanchez, 55, landed in Venice by helicopter on Wednesday and took up residence in the luxury Aman hotel, where rooms overlooking the Grand Canal start at €4,000 (US$4,686) per night.
They are expected to exchange vows on Friday on the island of San Giorgio, opposite St Mark’s Square, in a ceremony that reportedly will not have legal status under Italian law.
Some reports suggest the couple may already have legally wed in the United States.
Celebrations are set to conclude on Saturday with a wedding party at the Arsenale, a former shipyard now used as an arts venue in the Castello district.
The “No Space for Bezos” movement has pledged more protests against what they call the commodification of Venice. However, many locals have voiced support for such high-end events.
ECONOMIC DEBATE
Politicians, hoteliers and other residents argue that exclusive events like the Bezos wedding bring greater benefits to the local economy than the mass tourism of low-spending daytrippers.
“If you look at what concretely the Bezos wedding brings for the good of Venice, there are only advantages and no disadvantages,” said Mattia Brandi, a local tour leader.
“If anything is different, it is because of the protesters ... They don’t realise that it is them who are disrupting the quiet life of the city,” he added.
Venice has previously hosted a number of high-profile weddings, including that of US actor George Clooney and human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin in 2014, and Indian billionaires Vinita Agarwal and Muqit Teja in 2011.
Bezos, executive chair of Amazon and ranked No. 4 on Forbes’ billionaires list, got engaged to Sanchez in 2023, four years after the end of his 25-year marriage to MacKenzie Scott.
