Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his fiancé, journalist Lauren Sanchez, arrived in Venice on Wednesday to begin three days of extravagant wedding parties. The event is expected to draw around 250 VIP guests from entertainment, politics, and finance, arriving on nearly 90 private jets. The celebrations are said to cost between 40 to 48 million euros ($46-$56 million).
The festivities start Thursday night with an open-air gathering at Madonna dell’Orto, a medieval church in Venice’s Cannaregio district. To keep protesters away, Venice City Hall has cordoned off the area amid growing complaints from locals. Residents have voiced frustration over the city becoming a playground for the wealthy, with some forced to leave or ask permission just to use public ferries.
Despite the backlash, the couple donated 3 million euros to local institutions, including a lagoon ecosystem study group and UNESCO’s Venice office. The regional governor welcomed Bezos, calling the gesture one of “extraordinary generosity.” The exact wedding date and venue remain secret, with speculation that Bezos and Sanchez might have married privately in the U.S.
Most guests are expected for Friday’s second party on San Giorgio island, famous for its historic monastery and views of St. Mark’s Square. The celebrations will end Saturday with the main wedding event at the Arsenale, a large former shipyard converted into an art space, providing a secure and private location surrounded by water.
Bezos, one of the world’s richest men, got engaged to Sanchez in 2023, four years after his divorce from Mackenzie Scott. Their Venice wedding joins a list of high-profile celebrity nuptials in the city, including George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin’s 2014 ceremony.