
Life-size mannequin of Jeff Bezos lying on a giant Amazon box dropped into Venice canal in wedding protest
A life-size mannequin of Jeff Bezos lying on a giant Amazon box floated through Venice's Grand Canal on Thursday (26 June) in protest of the billionaire's upcoming wedding.
Clutching dollar bills, the figure drifted past gondolas, amusing onlookers while making a pointed statement about wealth and inequality.
The stunt, orchestrated by activist group Borne Media, used a remotely controlled motorised raft to carry the fake Bezos.
His wedding to Lauren Sánchez has sparked backlash from Venetians and activists, who see it as a symbol of the growing divide between rich outsiders and local residents struggling with rising costs and overtourism.

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Daily Mail
26 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Lauren Sanchez appears in terrifyingly tight corset alongside Jeff Bezos for star-studded Venice wedding party
has stepped out in a terrifyingly tight corset as she continues her wedding celebrations in Venice. The bride-to-be, who is set to tie the knot with Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos on Friday, emerged in a striking ensemble on Thursday. She boarded a water taxi in the one-piece by Schiaparelli. More follows.


Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Pregnant Karlie Kloss hits Venice for Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's $20M wedding (after her famous in-laws)
Pregnant Karlie Kloss was the image of summery glamour when she arrived in Venice for Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez ' reportedly $20 million wedding. The 32-year-old supermodel alighted on the Italian city this Thursday, one day after her world-famous in-laws Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. Karlie is expecting her third child by her husband, Jared's brother Joshua Kushner, who was not with her when she was glimpsed stepping off a Venetian water taxi. Her blossoming baby bump was distinctly in evidence in her nautical chic outfit, which included a snappy midnight blue blouse-slacks combo. Accessorizing with a crisp wide-brimmed straw hat, she swept her hair back into a ponytail and warded off the Mediterranean rays with a sleek set of shades. She will be featured among a star-studded guest list at Jeff and Lauren's nuptials this weekend, including the Kardashians, Oprah Winfrey and Orlando Bloom. Orlando notably showed up without his fiancée Katy Perry, under a gathering cloud of reports that the pair have gone their separate ways. Katy, who along with Lauren was part of the much-derided all-female space flight launched by Jeff's Blue Origin, is currently in Australia on her Lifetimes tour. Meanwhile Kim and Khloe Kardashian have been spotted in Venice ahead of the ceremony, as has their mother Kris Jenner with her longtime beau Corey Gamble. Oprah has also jetted to Italy to watch Jeff and Lauren exchange vows, as has her best friend Gayle King, another member of the Blue Origin flight crew. A fleet of other celebrities is expected to attend the nuptials, including Eva Longoria, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lady Gaga, Barbra Streisand and Mick Jagger. Guests are also expected from the world of business, such as Bill Gates and Lachlan Murdoch, and from sports, like Tom Brady and Michael Jordan. Karlie ecstatically announced her latest pregnancy in March of this year, showing off her bump in an Instagram photoshoot captioned: ' Three's a party.' The Chicago-born clotheshorse also gave a statement saying: 'Family is everything to me. Josh and I are incredibly grateful for this blessing,' via Vogue. Her blossoming baby bump was distinctly in evidence in her nautical chic outfit, which included a snappy midnight blue blouse-slacks combo Karlie and Josh already share two sons - Levi, three, and Elijah, who will celebrate his second birthday next month; they are pictured in 2023 while she was pregnant with their second child She and Josh, who tied the knot in 2018, already share two sons - Levi, three, and Elijah, who will celebrate his second birthday next month. The willowy fashionista has publicly expressed her political disagreements with her Trump relatives on multiple occasions in the past. Jeff and Lauren's romance went public in January 2019, hours after he announced his split from his first wife Mackenzie Scott, who built Amazon alongside him and became one of the world's richest women upon their divorce. He and his new wife, with whom he has reportedly signed a prenuptial agreement, are said to be tying the knot this weekend on the isle of San Giorgio.


The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Celebrities make a splash in Venice amid protests over €40m Bezos wedding bash
The world's rich and famous have arrived in Venice as the three-day wedding bash hosted by the Amazon billionaire, Jeff Bezos, and his wife-to-be, Lauren Sánchez, gets under way amid protests in the lagoon city. The US reality TV personalities Kim and Khloé Kardashian were spotted clambering into water taxis in stilettos, while Kris Jenner, Oprah Winfrey, Orlando Bloom and Jordan's Queen Rania have also been seen. Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka, was among the first of the 200 or so guests to arrive and has been spending the pre-wedding downtime sightseeing and shopping despite the stifling heat. More than 90 private jets flew guests to Marco Polo airport for what has been described as 'the wedding of the century', while others have arrived on their super-yachts. Bezos, the fourth richest person in the world, and Sánchez, a former TV journalist, were expected to kick off the celebrations with a party on Thursday night in the cloisters of the Madonna dell'Orto, a 14th-century church in the Cannaregio area that is home to masterpieces by the Italian Renaissance painter Tintoretto. The nuptials are said to be costing €40m-€48m (£34m-£41m). The bride and groom arrived in Venice by helicopter on Wednesday and have been lodging at the seven-star Aman hotel, where George and Amal Clooney stayed during their wedding in 2014. Rooms with a view of the Grand canal go for at least €4,000 a night. The couple were seen leaving the hotel at around dinner time, with Sánchez wearing a vintage Alexander McQueen dress – one of 27 outfits reportedly packed for the occasion. Cagdas Halicilar, a German professional Jeff Bezos lookalike, has been making the most of baffling the crowds as he posed for photos close to the Aman hotel. The Venice authorities have tightened security across the city, with pedestrians and water traffic banned from the area of Thursday night's festivities from 4.30pm local time until midnight in an attempt to thwart protesters who had threatened to ruin the party. Protests have raged for weeks in the run-up to the wedding, which critics say threatens to turn the Unesco world heritage site, already swamped by millions of tourists each year, into a playground for the rich. Luca Zaia, president of the Veneto region, said the couple had raised their donation to a project that studies the city's lagoon system from €1m to €2m. Bezos and Sánchez will reportedly exchange their vows on Friday at a black-tie ceremony on the tiny island of San Giorgio Maggiore, where they will be serenaded by Matteo Bocelli, the son of the famed opera singer Andrea Bocelli. The island is home to a basilica filled with artistic gems, including Tintoretto's The Last Supper, an amphitheatre and a kilometre-long maze. The main wedding reception is expected to be held on Saturday in the Arsenale, a historic complex of shipyards surrounded by fortified walls. The big party was supposed to take place in a 16th-century building in the centre of the city but was switched due to security concerns. Over the coming few days, the celebrations will reportedly included a pyjama party, a foam party and a Great Gatsby-theme event.