Party, party, party Bezos and Sánchez continue to party in Venice until Sunday
The wedding is over, now the party continues: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, one of the richest men in the world, and his new wife Lauren Sánchez Bezos are turning Venice into party capital.
28.06.2025, 15:40
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- US billionaire Jeff Bezos and former TV presenter Lauren Sánchez tied the knot in Venice, surrounded by the rich and famous and shielded from the rest of the world.
- The ceremony with prominent guests took place on Friday afternoon on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore in the Venice lagoon.
- The day-long festivities are to conclude on Sunday night on an old shipyard site.
The day-long festivities are to come to a close on Sunday night on an old shipyard site - again strictly shielded from the public. Even a few hours beforehand, it was kept secret who would be singing.
The 61-year-old US billionaire and the 55-year-old ex-journalist celebrated their wedding on Friday evening in the garden of a former Benedictine monastery on the lagoon island of San Giorgio with around 200 guests. Both wore Italian designer fashion: he a tuxedo by Armani, she a wedding dress by Dolce & Gabbana. It was modeled on a dress worn by Sophia Loren in the 1958 Hollywood classic "Houseboat".
Bride publishes photos of herself during the party
The venue was extensively cordoned off by private security services. The police and military were also present. Allegedly, the wedding guests - including celebrities such as TV stars Kim Kardashian and Oprah Winfrey, US presidential daughter Ivanka Trump, actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Orlando Bloom and Microsoft founder Bill Gates - also had to refrain from publishing photos.
During the ceremony, photos of her in her wedding dress appeared on Sánchez's Instagram account. She added the date June 27, 2025, accompanied by a red heart. The account, which has more than one million followers, now also bears the name Lauren Sánchez Bezos.
Sánchez calls wedding "extremely intimate"
Vogue magazine also published an exclusive wedding story. In it, the former TV presenter was quoted as saying: "I feel like a princess." Speaking about the celebrations, which are estimated to cost between 10 and 50 million euros, she said: "The wedding is extremely intimate." Of the 200 guests, 70 are family members. According to media reports, a total of 27 dresses will be ready for her by Sunday for the celebrations.
With an estimated fortune of 220 billion US dollars, the founder of online retail giant Amazon is one of the richest men in the world. This is the second wedding for both of them. They have seven children from previous relationships. There have been protests against the celebrations for days. Critics accuse Bezos of flaunting his wealth and taking over the whole city for a lot of money. Another demonstration has been announced for Saturday.
Bocelli's son sings Elvis classics
Virtually nothing of the island party was visible to the public. All that could be heard from afar was the Italian Matteo Bocelli, son of star tenor Andrea Bocelli, singing the Elvis Presley classic "Can't Help Falling in Love" - and loud cheers from the party crowd. In the evening, there were fireworks on Venice's Lido beach.
For fear of protests or an attack, everything took place under strict security precautions and in great secrecy. Bezos and Sánchez are staying in a luxury hotel directly on the Grand Canal. For couples from Asia and the USA in particular, Venice is the epitome of romance. Hollywood star George Clooney and his wife Amal also got married here - but without so much secrecy.
Guests on a shopping tour - one in a museum
The couple were hardly seen outside the hotel. However, many guests used their stay for extensive shopping tours in the alleyways around St. Mark's Square and also for selfies against the magnificent backdrop. Microsoft founder Gates, on the other hand, went to the museum. Like other tourists, the 69-year-old queued outside the Gallerie dell'Accademia art academy to visit an exhibition of works by Leonardo da Vinci, Albrecht Dürer and Michelangelo.
The "nozze dell'anno" ("wedding of the year") is also controversial in Italy. Culture Minister Daniela Santanchè put the economic benefit at 950 million euros - a figure that many have considerable doubts about. The actor Andrea Pennacchi expressed his fears in the newspaper "La Repubblica" that Bezos' orgy of money is far from over: "They will buy the Colosseum for their wedding day. And then sell it on."
Donations for the city
According to people close to the US billionaire, he donated three million euros to various institutions in the city - an extremely small amount given his total wealth, according to his critics. The couple also asked their guests to refrain from giving gifts and instead give money for the renovation of Venice. It is not known how much money came in as a result.
