Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez kick off wedding celebrations with foam party on $500m yacht amid protests in Venice
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's Italian wedding festivities appear to be underway, while locals in Venice continue to protest the upcoming nuptials amid the swell of overtourism in the city.
The couple was spotted on Bezos' $500 million yacht, Koru, on the island of Cres in Croatia on Sunday, leading up to their lavish wedding in Venice.
In paparazzi photos obtained by the Daily Mail, the pair were seen covered in soap during a foam party with their friends on the boat. Sanchez opted for a black bikini and tan brim hat, while her soon-to-be husband wore green swim trunks and a white bucket hat.
The Mail also noted that there was a 'Happy Birthday' sign on the boat, suggesting that the party may also have been in celebration of Sánchez's son Evan, who turned 19 on Sunday.
Bezo and Sánchez, who got engaged in 2023, will begin their three-day wedding in Venice later this week — an exact date has not been confirmed; however, multiple outlets report it will take place from Thursday to Saturday. Ahead of their arrival, there have been many protests against the couple in the floating city.
Last week, demonstrators took to the Rialto bridge — one of Venice's most famous landmarks — where they hung a giant banner reading 'No Space for Bezos,' a nod to the billionaire's space exploration company, Blue Origin.
One of the protesters, Marta Sottoriva, told The Independent that allowing the billionaire to have his wedding in Venice creates the idea that 'a city can be sold to the highest bidder with the most money.'
On Monday, global environmental organization Greenpeace joined the protests, with members of the organization unfurling a giant banner in St. Mark's Square that read: 'IF YOU CAN RENT VENICE FOR YOUR WEDDING YOU CAN PAY MORE TAX.' Local police quickly folded the sign up and took it away.
The wedding is estimated to cost anywhere from $11.5 million to upwards of $21.5 million. About 30 of Venice's 280 water taxis have been reserved for the weekend, city hall officials said in a statement.
The city's mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, addressed the wedding back in March, denying claims that he booked a large number of hotel rooms, gondolas, and water taxis for the event. 'We are mutually working and supporting the organizers to ensure that the event will be absolutely respectful of the fragility and uniqueness of the city,' he said in a statement to People magazine at the time.
'The many speculations and fake news circulating about Jeff Bezos' wedding are completely unfounded,' the municipality added in its own statement, saying its 'utmost priority to make sure the city functions as normal, for all, with no abnormal disruption to anyone.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
44 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
The Bezos-Sánchez wedding woes are in a class of their own: Human blockades, yacht parking
Be glad you're not Jeff Bezos or Lauren Sánchez. Sure, being that rich would be awesome, but being rich comes with rich-people problems. With their Italian wedding imminent, they have a host of things to worry about that would never cross the imaginations of other, more average couples who don't have 12 digits representing their net worth. Most details of the Venice fête are being kept close to the vest. A couple of local companies have confirmed they are contributing handcrafted glassware and local pastries to the wedding-favor goodie bags. Some guests' names leaked when the invites went out in March (we name-drop below, never fear). But a few details that might be quite vexing to the bride and groom are playing out in public. Let's take a look. All of Venice may not truly be ticked off, but photos, activists and media coverage make it seem that way. Venice teacher and activist Marta Sottoriva called the wedding 'the symbol of all that is wrong with Venice.' 'There's a lot of anger in the air because once again the council has enslaved itself to the logic of profit — our city has been sold to the highest bidder,' she told the Guardian. 'Every time an event of this kind happens, the city comes to a standstill, certain areas become inaccessible and even more tourists arrive.' (Venice has been really annoyed lately by its number of tourists, kind of like the Louvre is really annoyed.) But tourism councilor Simone Venturini was shocked that anyone might be upset that such a high-profile event was happening in the city. 'We should all be proud that the Bezos wedding, an event of international importance, is being held in the waters of our lagoon,' he told the Guardian. 'Instead, the usual protest professionals have wasted no time. We want to reiterate that Venice is open to everyone.' Venturini was more colorful in speaking to the Wall Street Journal, saying, 'If Bezos' wedding goes ahead as planned, without these pain-in-the-ass protests, Venetian citizens won't even notice.' The couple's London-based wedding planners, Lanza & Baucina, told CNN in a statement, 'Rumors of 'taking over' the city are entirely false and diametrically opposed to our goals and to reality.' They and the client, the planners said, wanted to minimize any disruption to the city. That said, it's impossible to get a reservation this week at the Aman Venice, the nearly 500-year-old hotel on the Grand Canal where the happy couple are rumored to be staying, at least for part of their wedding week, along with a host of wedding guests. The place is fully booked through Sunday, per TMZ, at a reported $2,000 to $10,000 a night per room. Forget throwing soup on the 'Mona Lisa' — the Bezos wedding protesters might do something truly offensive: They are threatening to screw up traffic on the big day. 'Bezos will never get to the Misericordia [event space],' activist Federica Toninello told an appreciative crowd last week, according to CNN. 'We will block the canals, line the streets with our bodies, block the canals with inflatables, dinghies, boats.' Having just learned what the Misericordia is, we have no idea what role the location might play in the nuptials, but it looks like a nice enough spot for a reception. Fondazione Giorgio Cini, a cultural center built in 1951, has also been floated as a wedding venue. But let's get back to the blockades and such. Another speaker at that same rally said she didn't want Venice remembered as a beautiful wedding venue but 'as the city that did not bend to oligarchs.' 'We can't miss a chance to disrupt a $10-million wedding,' Na Haby Stella Faye said — because, really, how often does that chance come around? Although her goal stated at the rally was 'to stop this wedding,' in her Instagram stories Monday, she was promoting a planned Saturday protest of Bezos, President Trump and, well, war. Less aggressive protests include a host of banners and 'No Space for Bezos' posters that have been hung around the city. A colossal message from Greenpeace to Bezos was laid out Monday in the Piazza San Marco. The square banner, which read 'IF YOU CAN RENT VENICE FOR YOUR WEDDING YOU CAN PAY MORE TAX,' was quickly folded up and carried away by local cops, the Associated Press reported. 'It's absurd to treat this city like it's Disneyland,' said Grazia Satta, a retired teacher and social worker, per the Wall Street Journal. 'The message this wedding sends is that rich people can do whatever they want. We shouldn't kneel before wealth like this.' By Monday, Bezos' security team was making last-minute changes to try to outsmart the activists, according to TMZ. Even the water-taxi companies are being 'kept in the dark,' the site said, and if the water taxis don't know what's going on, who really does? Perhaps Bezos could tap that $212-billion bank account and enlist a Prime Delivery person to drop off himself and his bride discreetly at their reception? Though the human-size Amazon box could be a dead giveaway. Yes, we know yachts don't 'park,' they drop anchor. But no matter what you call it, the biggest yachts can't drop anchor in all parts of Venice. One wedding theory has held that Bezos and Sánchez will exchange their vows on his 417-foot yacht, the Koru, where he proposed to her two years ago after five years of dating. But reported plans to dock the yacht in a lagoon might have changed. Apparently the close-to-shore concept is starting to look like a safety hazard due to those threatened protests of the second-richest man in the world. The Koru is far from the only big boat floating around town, mind you. Venice has nine 'yacht ports,' all of which have been booked for the wedding week. Apparently, TMZ reported, noncelebrity billionaire yacht owners are altering their Venice vacation plans to avoid the crush. That has to sting. Fortunately, although the yacht situation is fluid and the airspace over Venice is closed, CNN reported that private helicopters are being given a pass, in case a head of state decides to chopper in. As one does. One type of watercraft not involved in the festivities? Gondolas, or at least those piloted by people the WSJ talked to. 'We are too slow,' one gondolier lamented. President Trump reportedly scored an invitation to the wedding. Unclear if a plus-one for Melania was included. However, the commander in chief is a wee bit busy handling world events these days — hard to tell if he will be able to get away, even for a gala event like this one. Aren't destination weddings the worst? So inconvenient. That said, Ivanka Trump and hubby Jared Kushner reportedly got invited too, along with Jared's brother Joshua Kushner and model wife Karlie Kloss. So the first family might be represented after all. And who knows, POTUS could swing by. Does Marine One count as a 'private' helicopter? Others on the guest list, per TMZ, include Leonardo DiCaprio, Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, Bill Gates, singer Jewel, Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Corey Gamble, Barbra Streisand, Eva Longoria, Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, Brian Grazer, Barry Diller, Diane von Furstenberg, models Brooks Nader and Camila Morrone, and Queen Rania of Jordan. Perry won't attend, though, because she's on tour.
Politico
an hour ago
- Politico
Blue Origin eyes Cruz's space tax
With Daniel Lippman BLUE ORIGIN REHIRES CAPITOL COUNSEL: Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin has added a familiar face to its growing mix of outside lobbyists as the industry faces a potential new tax in the GOP reconciliation bill. — Capitol Counsel's Mac Campbell, who previously lobbied for Blue Origin in 2021, resumed working for the company last month — along with tax lobbyists David Olander and David Bridges — to 'monitor and evaluate proposed changes to the Internal Revenue Code being considered by Congress as part of the budget reconciliation process,' according to a disclosure filing. — Under an initial version of the bill unveiled earlier this month by Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas), space companies would be subject to a new user fee covering launch and reentry licenses and permits. The fee, which varies based on the weight of a spacecraft's payload, would kick in beginning next year and gradually increase before being indexed to inflation. — A summary released by Cruz's committee estimates the fees would bring in $100 million through 2034 to support the FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation, which is facing budget cuts as the surge of commercial spaceflight in recent years strains the office's resources. — As Ars Technica's Stephen Clark notes, 'the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, an industry advocacy group that includes SpaceX and Blue Origin among its membership, signaled last year it was against the idea of creating launch and reentry fees, or taxes, as some industry officials call them.' — Capitol Counsel is the third new outside firm retained by Blue Origin this year. In January, the space company brought on S-3 Group and Ballard Partners. — Cruz's proposal varies considerably from the potential tax threat faced by space companies the last time Capitol Counsel worked for Blue Origin. As Democrats worked to pull together what would eventually become the Inflation Reduction Act, then-Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) introduced legislation targeting billionaire-owned space companies like Blue Origin, Elon Musk's SpaceX and Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic. Blumenauer proposed an excise tax for flights 'carrying human passengers for purposes other than scientific research' in an effort to offset some of the environmental impacts of space tourism. The proposal never went anywhere. MICHAEL BEST ADDS TRUMP ALUM: Michael Best Strategies has enlisted an alum of the first Trump administration to stand up a health care practice at the firm. Ninio Fetalvo has come on as a principal from Brunswick Group, where he served as a director and head of the U.S. health and life sciences group. — Fetalvo was an assistant White House press secretary during Trump's first term before moving over to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services as director of strategic communications to Administrator Seema Verma. He also served as a comms adviser for Trump's Covid 19 task force. — Fetalvo's move to Michael Best marks a reunion with Reince Priebus, the firm's board chair, and Tory Sendek, the firm's head of government relations, who overlapped with Fetalvo at the RNC ahead of Trump's election. Happy Monday and welcome to PI. Thanks again to Daniel for filling in for me on Friday. What's going on out there? Add me on Signal or email me at coprysko@ And be sure to follow me on X: @caitlinoprysko. FLYING IN: The American Medical Manufacturers Association, which represents domestic manufacturers of medical devices and equipment like PPE, will be on the Hill tomorrow with representatives from nearly 20 different member companies. — The fly-in will focus on pushing for policy priorities to shore up the domestic medical product supply chain. Those include targeted tariffs and tougher enforcement of trade restrictions, incentives to onshore medical manufacturing and address worker shortages, and favorable tax policies. The coalition also plans on discussing the implementation of the Make PPE in America Act and domestic procurement mandates and call for continued funding for NIOSH and its National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory. — The coalition has meetings slated with officials from the Trump administration as well as with Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Reps. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) and Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa). THE 30,000-FOOT VIEW: The second Trump administration is gutting a suite of ethics reforms aimed at clamping down on executive power, conflicts of interest and more that were put in place following the resignation of President Richard Nixon, 'essentially closing the 50-year post-Watergate chapter of American history — and ushering in a new era of shaky guardrails and blurred separation of powers,' The Washington Post's Naftali Bendavid writes. — 'In 1976, for example, Congress created a 10-year term for FBI directors; Trump has forced out two FBI directors. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 aimed to prevent presidents from dismantling agencies; Trump has essentially done just that. Lawmakers in 1978 installed independent inspectors general in government offices; Trump has fired many of them and is seeking to replace them with loyalists.' — 'Trump has also disregarded post-Watergate safeguards intended to prevent the unjustified firings of federal workers. His U.S. DOGE Service has skirted rules on government secrecy and personal data. He has declared numerous emergencies despite Congress's efforts to rein them in.' — Many of the moves are subject to legal challenges. White House spokesperson Harrison Fields 'said Trump is not dismantling ethics but reviving them in a system that had become corrupted.' MEANWHILE, IN THE STATES: 'Texas' multibillion-dollar hemp market has escaped a death sentence,' POLITICO's Mona Zhang reports, with Republican Gov. Greg Abbott vetoing a bill today that would have banned intoxicating hemp products in the state following fierce lobbying by the industry. — 'The ban would have impacted the vast majority of hemp products in Texas' booming industry, with at least $4 billion in annual sales and more than 8,000 licensed retailers. Abbott is instead calling lawmakers back to Austin for a special session next month to pass a hemp regulatory bill.' — 'The veto marks a major lobbying victory for the fledgling industry, which had pushed Abbot for weeks to kill the bill, arguing that the financial impact would be devastating to the state.' Jobs report — Dipka Bhambhani is now a senior adviser at the EPA. She is an ExxonMobil and U.S. Energy Association alum. — Jared Hopkins is joining Brunswick Group as a director in the New York office. He previously covered health care and the pharmaceutical industry at the Wall Street Journal. — Scott Barnes has joined Emergent BioSolutions as senior director of federal government affairs. He was most recently a financial adviser at Raymond James and is a Vertex Pharmaceuticals and American Psychiatric Association alum. — Ariella Camera has joined the Healthcare Distribution Alliance as senior director of policy Camera is a USAID and CMS alum. — Ben Finfrock is now deputy press secretary for Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.). He most recently was a freelance press and digital aide for the Dignity of Work Institute and is a Sherrod Brown alum. — Ryan Walker is now an external relations manager at Google. He most recently was executive vice president at Heritage Action for America. — Peter Laudeman is now senior policy adviser for trade and foreign agricultural affairs at USDA. He most recently was director of trade policy at U.S. Wheat Associates. — Candee Chambers is now director of the Office of Public Liaison at the Labor Department. She most recently was executive director of the DirectEmployers Association. — Christopher Kotwicki is now senior adviser for intergovernmental and external affairs at HHS. He most recently was a director at the Hargan Group and served at HHS in the first Trump administration. — Jacob Carson is now a research assistant to the director of OMB. He most recently was development assistant at the Center for Renewing America. — Charlie Pritchard is now a special assistant for policy at the Council on Environmental Quality. He most recently was a policy and government relations analyst at Faegre Drinker. — Betsy Rakola is now principal risk manager for the North American food safety team at Amazon. She most recently was acting director of the Office of Tribal Relations at USDA. — Julia Bojczuk is now director of the White House internship program. She most recently was development director at Turning Point USA. — Elena Hernandez is now chief of staff at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. She most recently did policy and corporate communications at YouTube and served at OSTP in the first Trump administration. — Lara Smith is now chief of staff of the Office of the National Cyber Director at the White House. She most recently was chief of staff for public affairs, strategic initiatives and membership at PhRMA. — Audrey LaForest joins Alliance for Automotive Innovation as director of communications. She was most recently a member of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's media relations team. — Andrew Friedman is joining Semafor as general manager and head of public affairs, leading D.C.-based commercial operations. He previously was on Google's U.S. elections team and is a POLITICO alum. — Gene Hamilton has rejoined America First Legal as president. He most recently was deputy White House counsel. — Corey Husak is now director of tax policy at the Center for American Progress. He most recently was tax economist at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, and is a Bob Casey alum. — Clarissa Rojas is now doing policy comms for Pinterest. She previously was deputy communications director and national press secretary for Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) and the House Democratic Caucus. — Jenny Parker will be chief communications officer at American Promise. She previously was vice president of communications at Conservation New PACs Building Blue (Hybrid PAC) Patriots for Paxton (Super PAC) We the People, America for All (Super PAC) New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS Ballard Partners: Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP On Behalf Of Worldpay, Inc. Ballard Partners: Falcon Copper Corp. Ballard Partners: Lego Systems, Inc. Capitol Counsel LLC: Blue Origin, LLC Capitol Counsel LLC: Covestro LLC Capitol Ventures Government Relations, LLC: City Of Tulsa Cgcn Group, LLC: Xgs Energy Checkmate Government Relations: American Turkish Business Roundtable Checkmate Government Relations: Nepa Wholesale, Inc. Compass Capitol Advisors, LLC: Sedgwick Government Solutions Federal Money Services Business Association Inc.: Federal Money Services Business Association Inc. Icebreaker Strategies, LLC: Eo Solutions Modern Fortis LLC: Action Now Initiative, LLC Monument Advocacy: Entertainment Software Association Park Road Trade LLC: We Pay The Tariffs Stinson LLP: City Of Richland Hills, Texas Taxora LLC: Taxora LLC The Daschle Group: Vimo, Inc New Lobbying Terminations Center For Law And Social Policy (Clasp): Center For Law And Social Policy (Clasp) Constellation Brands, Inc.: Constellation Brands, Inc. Jeffrey J. Kimbell & Associates, Inc.: Digital Alpha Advisors LLC Kelley Drye & Warren LLP: Mrcool LLC Stiefel & Jones Consulting, LLC: Bering Straits Native Corporation Stiefel & Jones Consulting, LLC: Prince William Sound Regional Citizens Advisory Council (Pwsrcac) Thorn Run Partners: Central Florida Expressway Authority Thorn Run Partners: Lyondellbasell Industries Tri-Branch Resolution, LLC: Alliant Insurance Services, Inc.
2 hours ago
What to know ahead of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's wedding
Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos is expected to tie the knot this week with Lauren Sanchez, a journalist, author and helicopter pilot. The celebrity couple, who reportedly dated for about five years before they got engaged in 2023, will marry in Venice, Italy, and will be joined by family and friends for the multi-day affair. Here's what to know about the upcoming high-profile nuptials. When will Bezos and Sanchez tie the knot? The exact dates of Bezos and Sanchez's wedding have not been made public. Media reports vary between June 24-26 or June 26-28, according to The Associated Press and The New York Times. Where will Bezos and Sanchez wed? The couple will say "I do" in the capital of the Veneto region, although specific venues are not public knowledge. Sanchez and Bezos, one of the richest men in the world, are reportedly relying on about 80% of local Venetian vendors and organizations for their big day, according to the AP, including pastry maker Rosa Salva, which has been in business for over 140 years, and glassware firm Laguna B, known for its Murano glasswork. Why are people protesting the Bezos-Sanchez wedding? The wedding has drawn protests, dubbed "No Space for Bezos," among some local residents and organizations like Greenpeace, who are speaking out against over-tourism, disruption to everyday life and more. Who will attend the Bezos-Sanchez wedding? Among the big names on the approximately 200-person guest list for the Bezos-Sanchez wedding are celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Mick Jagger, as well as Katy Perry, who traveled to space alongside Sanchez on a Blue Origin flight in April, the AP notes. Other attendees from the entertainment and business industries may include members of the Kardashian family, like Kris Jenner and Kim Kardashian, and actress Eva Longoria -- all of whom helped celebrate Sanchez ahead of her wedding during a bachelorette party in Paris back in May. Have Bezos and Sanchez been married before? Both Bezos and Sanchez have been in past relationships and were married to other people previously. Bezos made headlines in January 2019 after revealing that he and his ex-wife MacKenzie Scott were divorcing after 25 years of marriage. The former couple share four children. Sanchez was previously married to talent agent and businessman Patrick Whitesell for 14 years. Both Sanchez and Whitesell filed for divorce in April 2019, as reported by the AP. They share two children.
