Latest news with #CelebrityWedding
BreakingNews.ie
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
Billionaire Jeff Bezos marries Lauren Sanchez in lavish Venice ceremony
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. Advertisement View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lauren Sánchez Bezos (@laurensanchezbezos) 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. Advertisement 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. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lauren Sánchez Bezos (@laurensanchezbezos) 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. Advertisement 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. Advertisement Kim and Khloe Kardashian leave a hotel ahead of the wedding celebrations of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez (Luigi Costantini/AP) 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. Advertisement 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. Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump attended the wedding (Antonio Calanni/AP) 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. Protests included a mannequin, resembling Jeff Bezos, being floated in a canal in Venice (Click News via AP) 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.
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Angry locals cause chaos for American billionaire Jeff Bezos' lavish Venice wedding
Angry Italians who have been protesting against Jeff Bezos getting married in Venice are said to have finally forced the American billionaire to move a party that was planned in the middle of the city. Bezos, 61, is expected to marry former news anchor Lauren Sanchez, 55, in a lavish wedding in the historic Italian destination this week with three days of celebrations and a star-studded guest list of about 200 people. But Bezos, one of the world's richest people, has not been welcomed with open arms. A large banner reading 'If you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more tax' was put up in St. Mark Square and 'No space for Bezos' posters and stickers have been slapped on buildings throughout the city. The couple have now cancelled their party at a 16th-century hall in the centre of Venice and moved the event to a more secure location after protesters threatened to stop guests arriving by filling the canals with inflatable crocodiles, according to British newspaper The Times. 'Bezos is on the run — this is a crazy victory for a small group of people with no money who went up against one of the richest men on the planet,' protester Tommaso Cacciari told the publication. It's not the only venue change that could happen last minute. A Venetian insider told Page Six that Bezos had booked several venues across a range of dates to keep their options open. 'The strategy serves both to mislead paparazzi and protesters, and to ensure contingency plans in the event of last-minute logistical setbacks,' they said. The ceremony is in a secret location but rumours say it may take place at the historic Church of the Abbey of Misericordia, or at the Arsenale, a vast shipyard complex dating back to when the city was a naval powerhouse. The couple's Sicilian wedding planner Lanza & Baucina said they have been instructed to minimise any disruption to the city. Venice's tourism city councillor, Simone Venturini, denied the wedding would disrupt daily life, telling AFP it was just 'one of many events that the city hosts on a daily basis'. 'It is also relatively small in terms of the number of people involved,' Ms Venturini said. Celebrities including Leonardo DiCaprio, Mick Jagger, Kim Kardashian, Oprah Winfrey and Orlando Bloom are expected to fly into the city for the wedding. At least 95 private planes have requested permission to land at Venice's Marco Polo airport, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera said. Bezos' mega-yacht, Koru, is likely to moor off the iconic San Giorgio Maggiore island, which sits just opposite St Mark's Square and has reportedly been booked in its entirety for the period. As environmentalists questioned the guests' carbon footprint, Greenpeace slammed billions spent on hedonistic partying while the fragile city is 'sinking under the weight of the climate crisis'. Sanchez has also been criticised for saying more must be done to tackle climate change while also taking part in a space flight in April on a rocket developed by Bezos' space company Blue Origin. People close to the couple told Associated Press that they are sourcing about 80 per cent of their wedding goods from Venetian vendors, and there have been various reports of 'sizeable' donations to charities. That includes a million euro donation ($A1,789,000) for Corila, which manages research activities on the Venice Lagoon, and making other donations in honour of their guests in lieu of gifts. Tourism management is a contentious topic in the holiday hotspot. While Venice's economy relies heavily on tourism, some frustrated local residents feel foreigners are using their city as a playground while they are being pushed out through lack of affordable housing and job opportunities outside of tourism. It is one of many popular destinations across the world desperately trying to find new ways to cope with a massive boom in tourism post-Covid and avoid the trend dubbed 'overtourism'. Venice has doubled its entry free for day-trippers this season and expanded the days it applies to. The fee, first introduced a year ago, was 5 euros ($9) and is now 10 euros ($18) for any visitors who don't book more than four days in advance. Also among new rules last year, megaphones and tour groups over 25 people were banned. Bezos is not the first big name to get married in Venice. George and Amal Clooney wed there in 2014.
