Bezos Extravaganza, Unwelcome Venice
Ecommerce giant Amazon founder and the third richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, 61, might have got a taste of loathe, not merely love, at his super-exclusive three-day wedding in Venice last weekend with former journalist Laura Sanchez. Hundreds of protestors in the famous city filled its tiny streets with guerrilla-style banners that said 'Kisses Yes, Bezos No' and 'No Bezos, No War', held smoke flares with a banner that read 'No Space for Bezos' on its Rialto Bridge, threatened to block the famous canals to stall the boats with wedding guests, and floated mannequins of Bezos look-alikes on driftwood. The protests continued in some form through the three-day extravaganza, which had A-listers, including Hollywood stars, in attendance.
The anti-Bezos protests by Venetians scored at least three wins—it forced the billionaire’s event management team to shift one of the wedding events from the city centre to a former medieval shipyard at Arsenale, which traditionally hosts the Venice Biennale; it drew the world’s attention to the spectre of overtourism or mass tourism in one of the most sought-after destinations that have caused havoc for local Venetians; and it articulated the disgust and antipathy towards the world’s richest at a time of struggle for billions of others. The Bezos-Sanchez wedding ceremony itself was on the historic secluded San Giorgio Island, with nearly 200 guests making their way in boats. Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio did try to hide his face behind a baseball cap.
The spectacle was presumably a part of what the billionaire wanted, an exhibitionism of wealth and power that has come to be associated with his peer Elon Musk back home in the United States. But that was exactly what triggered the locals in Venice, a city of barely 50,000 residents that has hosted nearly 20 million tourists every year since the pandemic. Beyond the massive gain from such peak tourism, Venice has seen crumbling infrastructure, environmental damage, high rents, rising living costs, and inadequate services for residents, leading to frustration and exhaustion. Overtourism has led to protests in Barcelona, Mallorca and other hotspots in Europe too. In the Bezos-Sanchez wedding, Venetians found an ideal occasion to make themselves heard on these issues on the international stage.
The idea seems to have been that if Bezos could use Venice as his backdrop, residents would use his grand occasion to send a message about their home to the world. Neither Bezos’ wedding gift of a million euros donated to three environmental organisations made a difference, nor did the tourism ministry’s assertion that well over half the annual tourism profits came in just that one weekend. The message was clear: money is not all. Venice, in another time, might have been the perfect and idyllic backdrop to tie the knot, as many of the world’s celebrities have done, but in the summer of 2025, the world learned that Venice is not welcoming everyone anymore, especially billionaires, with good reason too.
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