Jeff Bezos slammed for 'Buying Venice' as wedding sparks class war
ALBAWABA - Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez lavish Venice wedding sparks outrage, protests, and controversy worldwide.
Global news and social media are still dominated by Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's wedding, which has caused a great deal of controversy in the streets of Venice, Italy, where the historic event is being held amid tensions and protests.
Celebrities including Leonardo DiCaprio, Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian, Mick Jagger, Orlando Bloom, and Ivanka Trump are among those in the front rows of invitees, along with several business executives and cultural leaders. To make sure their visitors were comfortable, Bezos and Lauren reportedly reserved rooms at some of the most opulent hotels in the city.
The wedding invitation for Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez was recently made public by ABC News, and it says, "Please, no gifts." — Pop Crave (@PopCrave) June 24, 2025
A luxurious boat and 95 private aircraft are expected to be part of the wedding festivities.
Some of the biggest names in media, politics, and the arts are anticipated to visit Venice, which will be transformed into an outdoor theater for three days in a row, from Thursday to Saturday.
According to reports, the ceremony, which is being held under extreme confidentiality, will take place in famous venues like the Church of Mercy or the old Arsenal building. The venue and guests will be protected by unparalleled security measures.
More than 95 private planes were allowed to land at Marco Polo Airport ahead of Bezos's mega-yacht, "Koru," docking off the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, which overlooks the famous Piazza San Marco. This was in anticipation of the extravagant event, which some have referred to as a "class invasion" of the city.
Activists of international environmental group (Photo by Stefano Rellandini / AFP)
The "No Room for Bezos" campaign's launch
However, more worries have been raised by the growing public ire in Venice. Civil society organizations have voiced their displeasure with the "class display," viewing it as a commercialization of a historic city that is no longer able to support its residents, while others regarded the wedding as a fantastic chance to boost economic activity.
The most well-known voice was that of the "No Room for Bezos" campaign, whose protestors chanted, "If you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more taxes." This compelling message connected the apparent waste of money to the issues with tax evasion that big businesses, like Amazon, are facing.
Environmental groups, led by Greenpeace, also voiced their disapproval of the event's "carbon footprint" in light of Venice's environmental problems, including rising water levels and an expanding population. The criticism was not limited to social justice concerns.
Sanchez's recent involvement in a Blue Origin-sponsored space voyage, which was perceived as a significant inconsistency with her frequent appeals for environmental and climate change protection, further fueled the debate.
The wedding is only "one of hundreds of events" the city hosts every day, according to Simone Venturini, Italy's Deputy Minister of Tourism, who stepped out to try to defuse the uproar. He spoke to the fact that Bezos supported the local economy by giving to charities and buying goods manufactured by regional craftspeople, including traditional pastries and Murano glass.
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