Inside Bezos and Sanchez’s multimillion-dollar wedding: Venice venues, VIP guests and star power

VENICE, June 28 — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez invited scores of VIPs from film, finance and showbusiness to Venice this week for three days of wedding celebrations.

Here are some facts and figures about what has been dubbed the “Wedding of the Century”.

Cost of the wedding

The wedding celebrations for around 200-250 guests are expected to cost €40 million to €48 million (RM198 million to RM236 million), Luca Zaia, president of the Veneto region, which includes Venice, told reporters on Tuesday.

Italy’s tourism ministry said yesterday it carried out a study estimating the overall economic impact of the wedding at €957 million, including an 896 million euro benefit from “media visibility”.

The rest would come from direct or indirect spending related to the event, such as €28.4 million for hotel and location expenses and €17.6 million for transportation and other service expenses.

Workers unload a barge in front of the Madonna dell'Orto church in Venice on June 25, 2025. Celebrities in superyachts sail into Venice this week for the three-day wedding party of Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, despite irate locals who say the Unesco city is no billionaire's playground. — AFP pic

Venice wedding venues

Celebrations began on Thursday evening in the cloisters of Madonna dell’Orto, a medieval church in the central district of Cannaregio that hosts masterpieces by 16th century painter Tintoretto.

Yesterday, the couple were due to exchange rings on the small island of San Giorgio, opposite St Mark’s Square, accompanied by singing from Matteo Bocelli, son of the Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. The main party is due today at the Arsenale, a former shipyard where vessels were built for the Venetian Republic’s maritime empire. Several media outlets are reporting there will be performances by Lady Gaga and Elton John.

Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner leave the St. Regis hotel, on the second day of the wedding festivities of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez, in Venice June 27, 2025. — Reuters pic

Which celebrities are attending the Bezos wedding?

US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner were among the first guests to arrive in Venice on Tuesday. They were joined by dozens of other A-listers including Bill Gates, Orlando Bloom, Tom Brady, the queen of Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, Kris Jenner and Kim and Khloe Kardashian as well as Domenico Dolce from Dolce & Gabbana.

Oprah Winfrey leaves Gritti Palace, on the second day of the wedding festivities of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez, in Venice June 27, 2025. — Reuters pic

Bezos and Sanchez landed in Venice on Wednesday, arriving by helicopter.

Kim Kardashian and Khloe Kardashian leave Gritti Palace Hotel, on the second day of the wedding festivities of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez in Venice, Italy, June 27, 2025. — Reuters pic

Where are the wedding guests staying in Venice?

Five of the city’s most luxurious hotels have been booked, including Cipriani on the island of Giudecca, and the St Regis near St Mark’s Square. Bezos and Sanchez took up residence at the Aman, where rooms with a view of the Grand Canal go for at least €4,000 per night. The same hotel hosted US actor George Clooney for his 2014 wedding with human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin.

Bezos and Sanchez charity donations

Bezos and Sanchez donated €3 million to three Venetian institutions, with €1 million each going to Corila, an academic consortium that studies the lagoon ecosystem, Unesco’s local office, and the Venice International University. — Reuters