The sky itself is no limit for billionaire Jeff Bezos and fiancee Lauren Sanchez, who have travelled into space, and expectations were about as high ahead of their wedding in Venice on Friday.
One of the world’s most enchanting cities as a backdrop? Check.
Star-studded guest list and tabloid buzz? Of course.
Local flavour? You bet.
And then, time to tie the knot. The couple held their wedding ceremony Friday night, and Sanchez posted to Instagram a photo of herself beaming in a white gown as she stood alongside a tuxedo-clad Bezos, the world’s fourth-richest man.
It was the second day of events spread across the Italian lagoon city, which added complexity to what would have been a massive logistical undertaking even on dry land.
Dozens of private jets had flocked to Venice’s airport, and yachts pulled into the city’s famed waterways. Athletes, celebrities, influencers and business leaders converged to revel in extravagance that was as much a testament to the couple’s love as to their extraordinary wealth.
The heady hoopla recalled the 2014 wedding in Venice of actor George Clooney to human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin, when adoring crowds lined the canals and hundreds of well-wishers gathered outside City Hall.
Not so for these nuptials, which became a lightning rod for small, colourful protests. But any desire to dampen the prevailing fever pitch hadn’t materialised as of Friday. Instead, the glitterati were partying and the paparazzi were jostling for glimpses of the gilded gala.
On Friday afternoon, Sanchez emerged from her hotel wearing a silk scarf on her head and blew a kiss to journalists before stepping into her water taxi. It carried her through the canals to San Giorgio island, across the lagoon basin from St Mark’s Square, where the couple held their ceremony on Friday night.
Bezos followed two hours later.
Then, in a string of water taxis, came their illustrious guests — Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian, Ivanka Trump, Tom Brady, Bill Gates, Queen Rania of Jordan, Leonardo DiCaprio and more.
Paparazzi trailed on their own boats, trying to capture them all on camera.
There are some who say these two shouldn’t have been married in this city.
They characterise the wedding as a decadent display of wealth in a world with growing inequality, and argue it’s a shining example of tourism taking precedence over residents’ needs, particularly affordable housing and essential services.
Venice is also one of the cities most vulnerable to rising sea levels from climate change.
Stella Faye, a researcher at a university in Venice, said: “Venice is not just a pretty picture, a pretty postcard to please the needs and wants of the elite or of mass tourists, but it is an alive city, made of people who want to actually live there.”
About a dozen Venetian organisations — including housing advocates, anti-cruise ship campaigners and university groups — are protesting under the banner “No Space for Bezos,” a play on words referring to his space exploration company Blue Origin and the bride’s recent space flight.
Greenpeace unfurled a banner in St Mark’s Square denouncing Bezos for paying insufficient taxes.
Activists floated a bald-headed Bezos-inspired mannequin down Venice’s Grand Canal atop an Amazon delivery box, its hands clenching fake cash.
Authorities — from Venice’s mayor to the nation’s tourism minister — have dismissed the outcry, saying it ignores the visibility and economic boost the wedding has brought.
“There will be photos everywhere, social media will go wild over the bride’s dress, over the ceremony,” Italy’s tourism minister, Daniela Santanche, told the AP.
“All of this translates into a massive free publicity campaign. In fact, because they will spend a lot of money, they will enrich Venice — our shopkeepers, artisans, restaurateurs and hotels. So it’s a great opportunity both for spending and for promoting Italy in the world.”
As Amazon’s chief executive, Bezos usually avoided the limelight, frequently delegating announcements and business updates to his executives. Today, he has a net worth of 234 billion dollars, according to Forbes.
In 2019, he announced he was divorcing his first wife, MacKenzie Scott, just before the National Enquirer published a story about an affair with Sanchez, a former TV news anchor. Sanchez filed for divorce the day after Bezos’s divorce was finalised.
He stepped down as chief executive of Amazon in 2021, saying he wished to spend more time on side projects, including Blue Origin; The Washington Post, which he owns; and his philanthropic initiatives.
Sitting beside Sanchez during an interview with CNN in 2022, he announced plans to give away the majority of his wealth during his lifetime.
Last week, a Venetian environmental research association issued a statement saying Bezos’s Earth Fund was supporting its work with an “important donation”.
Corila, which seeks protection of the Venetian lagoon system, said contact began in April, well before any protests.
