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National Post
a day ago
- Entertainment
- National Post
These are the celebs attending Jeff Bezos' Venice wedding
VENICE, Italy — The Venice wedding bonanza of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez Bezos reached its third and final day Saturday after the couple tied the knot a day earlier in front of around 200 celebrity guests in a secluded area of the lagoon city. Article content Details of the much-anticipated wedding ceremony Friday night were kept tightly secret, until Sanchez Bezos 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. Article content 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. Article content Article content The celebrations are expected to end later Saturday with a large party in a former medieval shipyard, amid high security. Article content Most guests arrived between Thursday and Friday. The star-studded list included names like Oprah Winfrey and NFL great Tom Brady. Article content Here's a look at the who's who of the Bezos-Sanchez Bezos nuptials. Article content The bride and groom are staying at the Aman Venice hotel on the Grand Canal, where the groom posed for photos and the bride blew kisses to the press. Article content Article content Ivanka Trump, her husband Jared Kushner and their three children arrived Wednesday. Article content Article content Other celebrities on the guest list include: Article content — Queen Rania of Jordan arrived in Venice on Thursday for the wedding, but she wasn't accompanied by her spouse, King Abdullah II, the monarch of Jordan. Article content — Kim Kardashian, her sister Khloe and mother Kris Jenner were seen arriving at the Madonna dell'Orto event Thursday evening. Article content — Orlando Bloom Article content — Bill Gates Article content — Usher Article content — Jewel Kilcher — Sydney Sweeney Article content One group called Extinction Rebellion staged a small protest in St. Mark's Square on Thursday featuring a masked bride and groom and people holding posters decrying climate change and income inequalities.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
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. 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. 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. 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.
National Post
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- National Post
In photos: Star-studded guests arrive for Bezos wedding
The sky itself is no limit for billionaire Jeff Bezos and fiancee Lauren Sanchez, who have traveled into space — and expectations are just about as high for their wedding in Venice. Article content One of the world's most enchanting cities as backdrop? Check. Article content Article content Beyond that, the team of the world's fourth-richest man has kept details under wraps. Still, whispers point to events spread across the Italian lagoon city, adding complexity to what would have been a massive logistical undertaking even on dry land. Article content Article content Dozens of private jets touched down at Venice's airport, and yachts pulled into the city's famed waterways. Aboard were athletes, celebrities, influencers and business leaders, converging to revel in extravagance that is as much a testament to the couple's love as to their extraordinary wealth. Article content 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. Article content Article content Still, any desire to dampen the prevailing fever pitch has yet to materialize. Instead, the glitterati were set to party, and the paparazzi jostling for glimpses of the gilded gala. Article content Article content Venice is famed for its network of canals, where gondoliers croon for lovestruck couples and even ambulances are aquatic. But water transport of everything from bouquets to guests makes Venice among the world's most challenging cities for a party, according to Jack Ezon, CEO of luxury travel advisory and event planner Embark Beyond. Article content Article content 'It's a very tight-knit community; everyone there knows everyone, and you need to work with the right people,' said Ezon, whose company has put on a dozen high-end events in Venice. 'There's very tight control, especially on movement there with boats.' Article content It at least triples the cost versus staging the same soiree in Rome or Florence, he said. Article content Veneto Gov. Luca Zaia was first to give an estimated tally for the Bezos/Sanchez bash: He told reporters this week the most recent total he saw was between 40 million and 48 million euros (up to $56 million). Article content Article content It's an eye-popping, jaw-dropping figure that's over 1,000 times the $36,000 average cost of American couples' weddings in 2025, according to wedding planning website Zola's annual report. Article content Bezos' team has been tight-lipped about where these millions are going. When the youngest son of Asia's richest man married last July, performances by pop stars Rihanna and Justin Bieber pushed up the price tag. Article content 'How do you spend $40 million on a three- or four-day event?' Ezon said. 'You could bring headliners, A-list performers, great DJs from anywhere in the world. You could spend $2 million on an incredible glass tent that's only there for 10 hours, but it takes a month to build,' or expand the celebration to local landmarks.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
How to Win Against History review – forgotten toff's stage dreams recovered
'Regrettably,' sings Henry Cecil Paget, 'very little is known about my life.' There's a reason for that: the fifth Marquess of Anglesey died at 29 having bankrupted his estate through his extravagance, including mounting plays that no one came to. His family subsequently attempted to destroy all evidence of the man who had shamed their proud line of landowners and empire builders. Seiriol Davies first discovered hints of the forgotten, cross-dressing Edwardian aristocrat on childhood trips to a local National Trust property, and debuted this chamber musical about him on the Edinburgh fringe nine years ago. This new production, directed by Lisa Spirling, adds zhuzh to the songs, with an onstage four-piece band – directed by Dylan Townley's Maestro – augmenting its original cast. As Paget, Davies sparkles in a series of fabulous outfits beneath designer Hayley Grindle's studded-collar proscenium arch (there are also shades of Faringdon House, the home of Paget's fellow aesthete Lord Berners, who makes an appearance in the story). Both script and songs are crammed with wit as we pinball between classical harmonies, dance breaks and interactive gags with prompt cards. A colonial-nod of a patter song, extolling 'boots and feathers', races us through Paget's typically brutal boarding school upbringing and propels us towards his marriage of convenience with his cousin Lilian. She is played – along with all the other people in Paget's life – by the indefatigable Matthew Blake, exhibiting great comic range as the ultimate 'supporting actor' here. We see him most as Mr Alexander Keith, a Victorian impresario in an enormous peach smoking jacket and the closest thing Paget has to a friend as they tour their terrible shows together. Supposedly Paget's bad art is his way of trying to find human connection. The problem is that, beyond the wide-eyed delusions and the metaphors about diamonds living in his head, we never get enough of a sense of him to know what that means. His loneliness may be touchingly real but the sentimental moments arrive like a demand for sympathy rather than something earned. Providing restitution from historical erasure is undoubtedly a worthy goal of art – but this show feels more like a message than an encounter. At Bristol Old Vic until 12 July. Then at Underbelly, George Square, Edinburgh, 30 July to 24 August
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
The best that Bezos' money can buy: A wedding for the ages in timeless Venice
VENICE, Italy (AP) — The Italian city of Venice was making waves Friday with the most anticipated wedding of 2025 — that of billionaire Jeff Bezos and his fiancée Lauren Sánchez. The sky itself is no limit for this couple who has traveled into space, and expectations are about as high. One of the world's most-enchanting cities as backdrop? Check. Star-studded guestlist and tabloid buzz? Of course. Local flavor? You bet. Beyond that, the team of the world's fourth-richest man has kept details under wraps. Still, whispers point to events spread across the lagoon city, adding complexity to what would have been a massive logistical undertaking even on dry land. On Thursday, dozens of private jets touched down at Venice's airport as yachts pulled into the city's famed waterways. Aboard were athletes, celebrities, influencers and business leaders, converging to revel in extravagance that is 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 have become a lightning rod for protests. Still, any desire to dampen the prevailing fever pitch has yet to materialize. Instead, the glitterati were set to party, and the paparazzi jostling for glimpses of the gilded gala. Whatever happens, it will be a wedding for the ages. Logistics and costs Venice is famed for its network of canals, where gondoliers croon for lovestruck couples and even ambulances are aquatic. But water transport of everything from bouquets to guests makes Venice among the world's most challenging cities for a party, according to Jack Ezon, CEO of luxury travel advisory and event planner Embark Beyond. 'It's a very tight-knit community; everyone there knows everyone, and you need to work with the right people,' said Ezon, whose company has put on a dozen high-end events in Venice. 'There's very tight control, especially on movement there with boats.' It at least triples the cost versus staging the same soiree in Rome or Florence, he said. Veneto Gov. Luca Zaia was first to give an estimated tally for the Bezos/Sánchez bash: He told reporters this week the most recent total he saw was between 40 and 48 million euros (up to $56 million). It's an eye-popping, jaw-dropping figure that's over 1,000 times the $36,000 average cost of American couples' weddings in 2025, according to wedding planning website Zola's annual report. Bezos' team has been tight-lipped about where these millions are going. When the youngest son of Asia's richest man married last July, performances by pop stars Rihanna and Justin Bieber pushed up the pricetag. 'How do you spend $40 million on a three- or four-day event?' Ezon said. 'You could bring headliners, A-list performers, great DJs from anywhere in the world. You could spend $2 million on an incredible glass tent that's only there for 10 hours, but it takes a month to build,' or expand the celebration to local landmarks. There's no sign Sánchez and Bezos, the former CEO of Amazon, intend to take over any of Venice's tourist-thronged hotspots. Still, intense hand-wringing about the prospect prompted their wedding coordinator, Lanza & Baucina, to issue a rare statement calling those rumors false. On Thursday, a string of water taxis cut through the lagoon to bring Bezos, Sánchez and guests to the Madonna dell'Orto cloister as some onlookers cheered. Paparazzi followed in their own boats, trying to capture guests on camera — Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian, Ivanka Trump, Tom Brady, Orlando Bloom — as police on jet skis patrolled. Local media have reported the couple will hold a ceremony Friday on San Giorgio island, across the lagoon basin from St. Mark's Square. Associated Press journalists circling the island Thursday saw workers assembling tents and private security personnel stationed at every pier, including a newly built one. Media have also reported a reception Saturday in the Arsenale, a former navy base best known as a primary venue for the Venice Bienalle. 'No Space' There are some who say these two should not be wed in this city. They characterize 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. About a dozen Venetian organizations — 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 a Venice 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 brings. 'There will be photos everywhere, social media will go wild over the bride's dress, over the ceremony,' Italy's tourism minister, Daniela Santanchè, 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, restauranteurs, hotels. So it's a great opportunity both for spending and for promoting Italy in the world.' Philanthropy As Amazon's CEO, Bezos usually avoided the limelight, frequently delegating announcements and business updates to his executives. Today he has a net worth of $231 billion, 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 Sánchez, a former TV news anchor. Sánchez filed for divorce the day after Bezos' divorce was finalized. He stepped down as CEO 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 Sánchez 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' 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. ___ Biller reported from Rome. AP reporter Barbara Ortutay in San Francisco contributed to this report.
