Final bash set to end lavish Bezos wedding party in Venice
Kim Kardashian and Khloe Kardashian travel on a boat, on the second day of the wedding festivities of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez, in Venice, Italy, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
Fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger and Tom Brady leave Gritti Palace, on the second day of the wedding festivities of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez, in Venice, Italy, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Manuel Silvestri
Oprah Winfrey leaves Gritti Palace, on the second day of the wedding festivities of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez, in Venice, Italy, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Manuel Silvestri
Kris Jenner and Corey Gamble leave Gritti Palace Hotel, on the second day of the wedding festivities of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez in Venice, Italy, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Manuel Silvestri
Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos and Media Personality Lauren Sanchez Bezos react on the day of their wedding in Venice, Italy, June 27, 2025 in this picture obtained from social media. @laurensanchezbezos via Instagram/via REUTERS
VENICE - Newlyweds Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez left their luxury hotel on Venice's Grand Canal on Saturday for a final night of partying, crowning a three-day star-studded wedding extravaganza.
Bezos, 61, and Sanchez, 55, exchanged rings on Friday evening on the small island of San Giorgio, across the water from Saint Mark's Square, accompanied by singing from Matteo Bocelli, son of Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli.
Bill Gates, Leonardo DiCaprio, Orlando Bloom, Tom Brady, Jordan's Queen Rania, Oprah Winfrey, Kris Jenner and Kim and Khloe Kardashian, as well as Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were among the A-listers present.
Saturday's evening bash -- wrapping up celebrations for 200-250 guests estimated to have cost some $50 million -- was due to take place in the Arsenale, a former medieval shipyard in an eastern district of the lagoon city.
Around 1,000 people marched against the event on Saturday, groups of activists and residents who object to the wedding and to seeing Venice being gift-wrapped for the uber-wealthy.
Some guests were seen leaving the Gritti Palace hotel in central Venice wearing their pyjamas, sometimes beneath colourful dressing gowns, before boarding small boats to reach the party.
Bezos and Sanchez had a more sober style. He was dressing a black skirt and suit, while she had a soft-colour off-the-shoulder dress. They kissed on the boat while greeting those around them.
At the ceremony the bride wore a high-necked silhouette dress and a tulle and lace veil by Dolce & Gabbana, which she told magazine Vogue was based on Sophia Loren's dress to marry Cary Grant in the 1958 film, Houseboat.
Sanchez was also wearing a pair of diamond earrings by Dolce & Gabbana, which, according to Vogue, was lent to her in keeping with the tradition that it brings good luck for a bride to wear something borrowed.
Bezos, who is No. 4 on Forbes' global billionaires list, donned a black tuxedo and bow tie over a white shirt.
BUSINESSES, POLITICIANS WELCOME EVENT
Friday's ceremony had no legal status under Italian law, a senior city hall official told Reuters, suggesting the couple may have previously wed legally in the United States to avoid the bureaucracy associated with an Italian marriage.
While some residents and activists raged against Bezos as a symbol of inequality and arrogance, Venetian businesses and political leaders welcomed the luxury nuptials, hailing them as major boost for the local economy.
"Those who protest are in contradiction with the history of Venice, which is a history of relations, contacts and business," Mayor Luigi Brugnaro told Reuters.
"Bezos embodies the Venetian mentality. He is more Venetian than the protesters," said centre-right mayor, adding that he hoped Bezos, who donated 3 million euros ($3.51 million) to local institutions, would return to the city to do business.
Brugnaro said Bezos had attached no conditions to holding his wedding celebrations in Venice, and City Hall had only learned about his donations after they had already been made.
Bezos, Amazon's executive chair, got engaged to Sanchez in 2023, four years after the collapse of his 25-year marriage to novelist and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
UK police studying Glastonbury performances after anti-Israel chants
Mo Chara of Kneecap performs at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy GLASTONBURY, England - British police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows. "We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday. Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces. "Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said. The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival". Prime Minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury. The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge. A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. "I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News. "I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
11 hours ago
- Straits Times
Russian culture minister in North Korea praises ‘unprecedented' cooperation
Russian Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova arrived in North Korea on June 28 with a 125-strong delegation of performers. PHOTO: REUTERS Russian Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova arrived in North Korea on June 28 with a 125-strong delegation of performers and praised cultural cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang for achieving "unprecedented heights". Ms Lyubimova, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said a series of concerts and lectures would take place in the North Korean capital in the coming days. Among those in the delegation were performers from the Pyatnitsky Choir and the Gzhel dance troupe. Ms Lyubimova said that thanks to agreements clinched between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un "cooperation in the cultural sphere between our countries has reached unprecedented heights". Since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Moscow and Pyongyang have drawn closer together, with the two leaders signing a treaty, including a mutual defence pact. After months of silence, North Korea and Russia have disclosed the deployment of North Korean troops and the role they played in Moscow's offensive to evict Ukrainian troops from the Kursk region. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
13 hours ago
- Straits Times
Russian culture minister in North Korea praises 'unprecedented' cooperation
FILE PHOTO: Russian Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova attends a ceremony of awarding India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia July 9, 2024. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File Photo Russian Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova arrived in North Korea on Saturday with a 125-strong delegation of performers and praised cultural cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang for achieving "unprecedented heights". Lyubimova, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said a series of concerts and lectures would take place in the North Korean capital in the coming days. Among those in the delegation were performers from the Pyatnitsky Choir and the Gzhel dance troupe. Lyubimova said that thanks to agreements clinched between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un "cooperation in the cultural sphere between our countries has reached unprecedented heights". Since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Moscow and Pyongyang have drawn closer together, with the two leaders signing a treaty, including a mutual defence pact. After months of silence, North Korea and Russia have disclosed the deployment of North Korean troops and the role they played in Moscow's offensive to evict Ukrainian troops from the Kursk region. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
