Photo Jeff Bezos arrived in Venice for the “wedding of the century” that angered the locals. Where the festivities will take place
US billionaire Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, arrived in Venice on Wednesday before three days of lavish parties dedicated to VIPs, organized in the romantic Italian lagoon to celebrate his marriage to journalist Lauren Sanchez, despite the protests of the locals, reports Reuters.
About 90 private planes are expected to land at local airports this week, bringing first-rate stars in the world of showbiz, politics and finance, to what many are already calling the “wedding of the century”, which will cost Bezos between 40 and 48 million euros.
Bezos, the fourth richest man in the world, was seen by a Reuters reporter entering the exclusive “Aman Venice” hotel, located on Canal Grande, where many of the famous guests will be housed.
Lauren Sanchez has not yet been seen in Venice.
Bezos came to Venice the day before the party
A source close to the organizers told Reuters that the festivities will start on Thursday evening with an open air party in the inner courtyard of the “Madonna Dell'orto” church, a medieval church in the Central Cannaregio neighborhood, known for its lively night life.
The City Hall of Venice issued a directive on Wednesday by which the larger area is surrounded, to isolate invitations by activists who protest for weeks, claiming that parties will transform the city of gondolas and palaces into a private amusement park for rich.
“Now there is only one thing that matters: the money, the money, the money, so we are the losses,” said Nadia Rigo, a resident of Venice, for Reuters.
“We, those who were born here, either we have to move to the continent, or we must ask them to be able to climb a vaporetto. They have become masters,” she accused.
Bezos invited over 200 celebrities and relatives to his wedding
The official date and place of the wedding are not yet known, and some have speculated that Bezos, 61, and Sanchez, 55, could have already been married in a private ceremony in the United States.
It is expected that most of the approximately 250 guests arrive in time for the second party, which, according to the source, is scheduled on Friday on San Giorgio Island, in front of the famous San Marco market, with its 99 -meter high bell tower.
San Giorgio Island hosts the Cini Foundation, which organizes international cultural and political meetings in an ancient monastery dating from 1000, surrounded by a labyrinth garden.
In front of the hotel “Aman Venice”, the workers raised on a floating pontoon a striped cloth cover, with side walls, to protect invitations from the indiscreet eyes and the telephoto lens.
The billionaire will marry in an inaccessible location on land
The series of events will end on Saturday with the main wedding party, which will take place in one of the arsenal halls, a vast former medieval naval site transformed into an artistic space located in the East Castello district.
Surrounded by water and impossible to access on land when the mobile bridges are high, the respective room is considered a safer place than the previous location considered for the final party, a former medieval religious school in cannaregio.
Bezos, the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Amazon electronic trade giant, has an estimated fortune of Forbes at over $ 228 billion. He was engaged in 2023 with Lauren Sanchez, a former US TV presenter. The two formalized their relationship four years after the breakdown of Bezos's 25-year marriage with Mackenzie Scott.
The couple's decision to marry in Venice follows the example of other famous weddings organized in the floating city, such as that of the American actor George Clooney with a specialized lawyer in AMAL ALAMuddin, in 2014.
