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AsiaOne
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- AsiaOne
Bezos and Sanchez head to wedding ceremony in star-studded Venice, World News
VENICE - Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez left their luxury hotel on Venice's Grand Canal on Friday (June 27) to head to their wedding ceremony, the centrepiece of a three-day gala featuring dozens of stars but also protests by local activists. Sanchez, 55, waved and blew kisses to onlookers as she boarded a sleek motor boat outside the Aman hotel wearing short-sleeved, cream, fitted skirt suit, with shades and a head scarf to protect her from the blistering summer sun. Around two hours later Bezos, 61, wearing a black tuxedo and bow tie over a white shirt, made the same short trip across the lagoon to the small island of San Giorgio where the couple will exchange rings, accompanied by singing from Matteo Bocelli, son of Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. The evening ceremony will have no legal status under Italian law, a senior city hall official told Reuters, suggesting the couple may have already legally wed in the United States, avoiding the bureaucracy associated with an Italian marriage. The festivities, estimated to cost around $50 million (S$63 million), culminate on Saturday with a party in a former medieval shipyard where media outlets say Lady Gaga and Elton John are set to perform. Bill Gates, Leonardo DiCaprio, Orlando Bloom, Tom Brady, the queen of Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, Kris Jenner and Kim and Khloe Kardashian as well as Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner and Domenico Dolce from Dolce & Gabbana are among the 200-250 guests. Amid tight security, there have been glimpses of the celebrities moving around town, the women in summer dresses and high heels stepping somewhat gingerly off boats ferrying them around the city's canals. Celebrations began on Thursday evening in the cloisters of Madonna dell'Orto, a medieval church in the central district of Cannaregio that hosts masterpieces by 16th-century painter Tintoretto. "This magical place has gifted us unforgettable memories," the bride and groom said on their wedding invitation, in which they asked for "no gifts" and pledged charity donations for three Venetian institutions. Their donations are worth 3 million euros (S$4.4 million). Protest movement Businesses have welcomed the glitz and glamour but it is opposed by a local protest movement whose members resent what they see as Venice being gift-wrapped for ultra-rich outsiders. Bezos is No 4 on Forbes' global billionaires list. Giulia Cacopardo, a 28-year-old representative of the "No Space for Bezos" movement, complained that the needs of ordinary people were being neglected in a city that is a tourist magnet and fast depopulating largely due to the soaring cost of living. [[nid:719535]] Venice's city centre has less than 50,000 residents, compared to almost 100,000 in the late 1970s. "When you empty a city of its inhabitants, you can turn it into a stage for big events," Cacopardo told Reuters. "(But) the money that Bezos spends on this wedding does not end up in the pockets of Venetians. The owners of luxury hotels are not Venetians." Cacopardo was one of 30-40 activists who staged a protest in St Mark's Square on Thursday, chanting "We are the 99 per cent" as a masked couple posed as bride and groom and one man climbed a pole to unfurl a banner reading "The 1 per cent ruins the world". Police intervened, forcibly removing the protesters. The anti-Bezos front is planning a march on Saturday, and their activities have already led authorities to step up security and move the location of the closing party to a more secluded part of Venice, the Arsenale former shipyard. Charlotte Perkins, an Australian tourist, said she could understand the locals' resentment at their city being treated as a celebrity playground. "I'd probably feel the same if I lived here," she said. But politicians, hoteliers and some other Venice residents are happy about the wedding, saying such events do more to support the local economy than the multitudes of day-trippers who normally overrun the city. "We are happy and honoured to welcome Jeff Bezos and his consort Lauren Sanchez," said Mayor Luigi Brugnaro, who sent white roses to the bride and a maxi-bottle of Amarone luxury red wine to the groom. A study by Italy's tourism ministry estimated the overall economic impact of the wedding at 957 million euros, with an 896 million euro boost from "media visibility", and the rest coming from direct or indirect spending related to the event. Bezos, Amazon's executive chair, got engaged to Sanchez in 2023, four years after the collapse of his 25-year marriage to MacKenzie Scott.
DW
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- DW
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez marry in Venice – DW – 06/27/2025
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos married his fiancée Lauren Sanchez in a controversial three-day celebration. Estimated to cost up to $56 million, the guest list included Hollywood stars, athletes and even royalty. Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos married his partner, Lauren Sanchez, in a lavish ceremony on Friday in Venice's San Giorgio Maggiore island. Sanchez first stepped out from the luxury Aman hotel the couple were staying at, wearing a skirt suit, and Jeff Bezos followed some two hours later. Sanchez's wedding dress was still kept under wraps at the time she stepped onto a motor boat from her hotel but she later revealed the dress on her newly branded Instagram page with the name: Lauren Sanchez Bezos. The former journalist reportedly has 27 outfits prepared for festivities, with Dolce & Gabbana having been the fashion house behind her wedding gown. Bezos wore a black tuxedo and a bow tie over a white shirt, as the official photo Sanchez shared on her Instagram photo showed. The interest around the power couple's wedding sent the media into a tizzy, with dozens of photographers having parked themselves in boats outside Aman, and other hotels where guests stayed. Papparazzi took photos of numerous VIP guests including Kim Kardashian, Oprah Winfrey, Orlando Bloom, Jordan's Queen Rania, US football player Tom Brady, singer Usher and Ivanka Trump — the daughter of US President Donald Trump. But the lavish wedding was not without its objectors. Venice is one of the most iconic cities in the world, but it is also among the most vulnerable to rising sea levels caused by climate change. Its popularity has also led to overtourism, with local residents complaining of a lack of affordable housing and poor access to essential services. At least 95 private planes requested permission to land at Venice's Marco Polo airport for the wedding, the Italian daily reported, while several megayachts have also moored off the city. Environmentalists, housing advocates, anti-cruise ship campaigners and university groups have come together to protest the wedding under the banner "No space for Bezos." The slogan is a play on words that references his space exploration company, Blue Origin, as well as the bride's recent space flight. Greenpeace unfurled a banner in St Mark's Square denouncing the billionaire tech mogul for not paying enough in taxes. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Other activists displayed mannequins mocking Bezos around the city, including one that bobbed in the city's canals, clinging to an Amazon parcel to stay afloat. Bezos and Sanchez are donating €3 million ($3.5 million) to the city, according to Veneto's regional president Luca Zaia, and are employing historic Venetian artisans. The celebrations are set to wrap up on Saturday with a party likely at the Arsenale, a vast shipyard complex dating back to when the city was a naval powerhouse and which nowadays serves as a venue for the Venice Biennale. The party bags will reportedly feature glassware from Laguna B as well as traditional Venetian cookies made by the city's oldest pastry maker Rosa Salva. The governor of Veneto told reporters that the most recent price tag for the three-day event was between €40 and €48 million (up to $56 million). That's more than 1,000 times the cost of the average US couple's wedding, which came in at $36,000 in 2025, according to wedding planning site Zola.
USA Today
3 hours ago
- Business
- USA Today
What to know about Jeff Bezos' first wife, MacKenzie Scott
In true billionaire style, Jeff Bezos, 61, has officially married his second wife, Lauren Sánchez, 55, in a three-day wedding extravaganza in Venice, Italy. The Amazon founder tied the knot with the journalist on June 27 in a star-studded ceremony that featured a guest list with Academy Award winners, fellow billionaires, Tom Brady, the queen of Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, Kris Jenner and Kim and Khloe Kardashian as well as Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner and Domenico Dolce from Dolce & Gabbana are among the 200-250 guests, according to Reuters. While all eyes are on the new mega-wealthy pair tying the knot, many are curious to learn more about the Amazon founder's first marriage with influential philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, 55. The pair met in 1992, while both were working at New York City hedge fund management firm D. E. Shaw & Co, according to the New York Times. The two went on to become partners for over two decades before splitting and moving on to new marriages. Divorced in 2019, the pair remain on good terms as coparents after their amicable split. Here's what to know about their marriage. When did Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott get married? Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott married in 1993, a year after meeting as coworkers and moving to New York City together. When did Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott divorce? Bezos and Scott announced they had separated in 2019 through a joint statement shared on social media. The ex-couple wrote that they felt lucky to have found each other and had no regrets about their 25-year marriage. "If we had known we would separate after 25 years, we would do it all again," they wrote in a Jan. 9, 2019 post on X (then-Twitter). "We've had such a great life together as a married couple, and we also see wonderful futures ahead as parents, friends, partners in ventures and projects, and as individuals pursuing ventures and adventures." How long was Jeff Bezos first marriage? Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott were married for 25 years from 1993 to 2019. How much money did MacKenzie Scott get from Jeff Bezos as a result of the divorce? In their divorce settlement, Scott received 25% of their shared Amazon stake, valued at roughly $36 billion. Bezos retained 75% of the couple's Amazon stock, in addition to her voting control in the company, as previously reported by USA TODAY. The settlement made Scott one of the wealthiest women in the world. How many children do Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott have? Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott share four children together, including their oldest son, Preston Bezos, two other sons, and one daughter, whose names or birth dates have never been made public. What is MacKenzie Scott's net worth? As of June 27, 2025, MacKenzie Scott's net worth is estimated to be 31.5 billion, according to Forbes. What does MacKenzie Scott do? MacKenzie Scott is a billionaire philanthropist and award-winning novelist. She is the author of the 2005 novel "The Testing of Luther Albright" and the 2013 novel "Traps." Post-divorce, the Amazon co-founder pledged to give away the majority of her wealth. She has given away more than $19 billion in donations to date through her foundation, Yield Giving, and has become known as a rapid, "no-strings-attached" philanthropist – in contrast to Bezos' slower pace of giving. She has donated to more than 2,000 nonprofits over the past six years, proving to have a "transformational effect" on said organizations, a February study said. Scott is also part of The Giving Pledge – founded by Warren Buffett, Melinda French Gates and Bill Gates – a commitment by some of the world's wealthiest philanthropists to donate the majority of their wealth to charitable causes, either during their lifetimes or through their wills. How many times has Jeff Bezos been married? Jeff Bezos has married twice, including his 25-year marriage to Scott and his new wife, Lauren Sánchez. Has MacKenzie Scott remarried? After her first marriage to Bezos, Scott married Seattle science teacher Dan Jewett in 2021, after first meeting at her children's school, according to the Washington Post. Scott filed for divorce in September 2022, which was finalized in January 2023. How much is Jeff Bezos worth? Bezos' net worth is estimated by Forbes to be $226.7 billion. He is currently the Executive Chair for Amazon, after stepping down as Amazon's president and CEO in 2021.
Express Tribune
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Lavish Bezos wedding kicks off in Venice
Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos, 61, and his fiancee Lauren Sanchez, 55, kicked off a three-day wedding celebration with guests including Kim and Khloe Kardashian, and Oprah Winfrey, reported AFP. The sumptuous, secluded ceremony attended by celebrity friends on an island in Venice's lagoon, comes amid local criticism over its extravagance and ecological impact. Venice, home to the oldest film festival in the world, is used to VIPs whizzing around in speed boats, and happily hosted the star-studded nuptials of Hollywood actor George Clooney in 2014. But Bezos – one of the world's richest men and founder of a company regularly scrutinised for how it treats its workers – is different. And the festivities have sparked protests from environmentalists and locals who accuse authorities of pandering to the super rich while the city drowns under tourists. Wedding guests snapped by paparazzi as they hopped into boats included Jordan's Queen Rania, US football player Tom Brady, American fashion designer Spencer Antle, singer Usher, and Ivanka Trump – the daughter of US President Donald Trump. The celebrations are set to end on Saturday with a party likely at the Arsenale, a vast shipyard complex dating back to when the city was a naval powerhouse. Bezos and Sanchez are donating three million euros ($3.5 million) to the city, according to Veneto's regional president Luca Zaia, and are employing historic Venetian artisans. Venice's oldest pastry maker Rosa Salva is baking 19th-century "fishermen's biscuits" for party bags which will also contain something by Laguna B, renowned for its handblown Murano glass. Trump and her family visited a glass-blowing workshop on the small island of Murano on Wednesday, according to the owner. Some locals say the A-list guests and their entourages bring good business but critics have accused billionaire Bezos of using the UNESCO site as his personal playground. And environmental activists have also pointed to the carbon footprint of the mega yachts and dozens of private jets bringing the rich and famous to the canal city.
Fox Sports
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Fox Sports
Autographed Michael Jordan rookie card sells for $2.5 million
Associated Press A autographed Michael Jordan rookie card sold for $2.5 million in an auction that closed on Thursday. The 1986-87 Fleer card sold through Joopiter — the auction platform founded by Grammy-winning artist and producer Pharrell Williams three years ago — shows Jordan soaring toward the rim with his right arm extended and tongue dangling. It was one of nine trading cards signed in a blue sharpie at his private golf course in Florida last year. According to ESPN, the $2.5 million is the most paid for a Jordan rookie card — signed or unsigned — and the third-highest price in a public sale for any Jordan card. That record is $2.928 million. In March, an autographed Bulls jersey that Jordan wore in a preseason game during his rookie year sold for $4.215 million at an auction through Sotheby's. ___ AP NBA: recommended in this topic
