One of the richest men in the world, Jeff Bezos, is preparing to marry in Venice this week, but arrangements have had to change amid concerns that demonstrations will disrupt what some have dubbed the “wedding of the century,” according to multiple media reports.
A host of celebrities, businessmen and other VIP guests have flocked to the Italian lagoon city in dozens of private jets and superyachts for the lavish, three-day wedding celebration of billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and former TV journalist Lauren Sanchez.
Details about the event remain strictly under wraps, although it is believed the couple will exchange vows on Friday in the 16th-century basilica San Giorgio Maggiore on a Venetian island of the same name.
The main wedding reception is expected the following day in the Arsenale, a 14th-century shipyard converted into an exhibition space known for hosting the Venice Biennale. The selection of Arsenale, which is impossible to reach when the bridges are raised, appears to be a concession to fears about demonstrations at Cannaregio’s Scuola Grande della Misericordia, a medieval former religious school, located in a popular and central nightlife area, that was chosen as the original venue.
Venice authorities have rolled out a huge security operation for the event, amid growing concerns over protests and blockades. Local residents and pressure groups have contended for weeks that the wedding extravaganza will turn a city already overwhelmed by tourists into a private amusement park for the rich.
The No Space for Bezos movement protesting the wedding extravaganza has brought together different groups from across the city, as well as Greenpeace Italia, British activist group Everyone Hates Elon and Extinction Rebellion, a global environmental movement known for headline-grabbing protests.
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On Monday, the anti-Bezos campaign unfurled a huge banner in St Mark’s Square, a laughing picture of the billionaire accompanied by the text: “If you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more tax.” A similar banner was hung from a huge crane in front of Hotel Danieli, where some guests are staying, the following night.
Venice’s tourism councillor Simone Venturini dismissed the objections as “a few dozen professional protesters” driven by a desire for media attention. Mayor Luigi Brugnaro called the protestors “shameless” and pointed to the money brought in by the 90 private jets carrying guests to local airports, expected to bring in up to 48 million euros (US$55.69 million) – a point unlikely to impress protesters who are concerned about wastefulness, extravagance and its effects on the planet.
Reports in the Corriere della Sera newspaper and by the news agency Ansa indicate that Bezos will make sizable charitable donations, including 1 million euros (US$1.16 million) towards a project that studies Venice’s lagoon system.
Nonetheless, deep seated and widely shared grievances appear to lie behind the protest. Jorge Molina, a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion, explained to the Guardian that Bezos’ “inconceivable amount of wealth” should be seen as a failure of taxation. “We ask that the rich are taxed more to give hope to the planet,” the 22-year-old environmentalist said.
Leading investigative journalism outlet ProPublica reported in 2021 that Jeff Bezos, then the world’s richest man, had paid less than 1 percent in taxes between 2014 and 2018. While his wealth grew an astonishing US$99 billion during the period, Bezos only paid US$973 million, amounting to a tax rate of 0.98 percent. The reporting details the Amazon founder’s avoidance over more than a decade, including when he paid no income tax one year despite growing his fortune by US$3.8 billion.
