Private jets and power players: Celebrities descend on Venice for Bezos and Sánchez wedding

Amazon billionaire and space tourism advocate Jeff Bezos may have been temporarily brought down to earth this week when protesters reportedly forced one of his wedding events to move from a 16th-century hall in the middle of Venice to a more secure location, but, as they say in showbusiness, the show must go on.

The 61-year-old and his fiancee, Lauren Sánchez, 55, arrived in the Floating City on Wednesday, ahead of a three-day extravaganza some speculate could cost anywhere between $US10 million and $US76 million ($15.3 million and $116.7 million). Ninety private jets, according to the London Telegraph, have been bringing in tech tycoons and Hollywood high-flyers for the occasion. But there’s one thing they’re travelling without.

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez are marrying among the world’s rich and famous in Venice this week. They’ve asked their wealthy guests, reportedly including Oprah Winfrey, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lachlan Murdoch, Bill Gates and Kim Kardashian, not to give them gifts.Credit: Aresna Villanueva

What do you get the man who has everything? That’s a conundrum the who’s who of the world’s elite don’t have to ponder, according to ABC News, which claimed to have obtained a portion of the Bezos-Sánchez wedding invitation sent to guests in May. Per the purported invite, the bride and groom’s “one early request” for their nearest and dearest was “no gifts”.

“Donations on your behalf are being made to the UNESCO Venice Office to safeguard this city’s irreplaceable cultural heritage, to CORILA to restore the vital lagoon habitats that protect Venice’s future, and to Venice International University to support research and education for sustainable solutions,” the invitation reads, noting the contributions to the ancient Italian city are being made “with gratitude to you for making the journey” to celebrate the happy couple.

The journey is something most on the exclusive guest list can more than afford. Bezos and Sánchez, after all, aren’t the only billionaires and multimillionaires getting a hostile reception from “No Space for Bezos” demonstrators, who claim Venice has sold its soul for tourism’s sake at the expense of residents.

They’re also not the only ones being warmly received by “Yes Venice Can” demonstrators, with Venetian restaurateurs, hoteliers and business associations rallying for “the image of this city in the eyes of the world”.

Of course, the official guest list – believed to have 200 names on it – has not been released. Flight logs and clues from the couple’s pre-wedding soirées, however, have been pored over by journalists, critics, and fans alike. Here’s who’s been spotted in Venice with Bezos and Sánchez at their extravagant wedding weekend – and those understood to be on the list who are keeping a low profile.

The Trumps

US President Donald Trump was, according to The Wall Street Journal’s citing of White House officials, extended an invitation to the latest “wedding of the century” but reportedly rejected it due to scheduling conflicts.

Bezos and Sánchez are pictured here sharing a kiss as they leave their hotel in Venice for a pre-wedding reception.Credit: AP

But eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, real estate heir Jared Kushner, were among the first public arrivals in Venice this week. The two were snapped boarding a water taxi on Tuesday evening (Venetian time), and, one day later, Ivanka Trump sent her 8.4 million Instagram followers a digital postcard “da Venezia, con amore”. It’s believed her brother-in-law Joshua Kushner and his wife, model Karlie Kloss, will also join them, as well as Donald Trump Jr.

Bezos’ second wedding would not be the first billionaire nuptials the president’s daughter has attended. In March 2024, she was among many celebrity guests flown to India to celebrate the wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant. Ambani is the youngest son of Asia’s richest man. Ivanka Trump has been a close friend of Sánchez’s for years, and has often been seen at events with the journalist and their mutual friend Kim Kardashian.

The Kardashians

Also at the Ambani wedding was Kardashian, whose Gulfstream G650ER was flying in to Venice’s Marco Polo Airport from Los Angeles, according to flight documents seen by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

Corey Gamble, the partner of Kardashian’s mother, Kris Jenner, was snapped in Venice on Tuesday. Kardashian’s sister Kylie Jenner is believed to have flown in from Budapest, and was snapped with sister Kendall Jenner en route to Bezos and Sánchez’s welcome party on Thursday evening (Venetian time). Khloé Kardashian, also an Ambani wedding guest, travelled to the event in a water taxi with her mother.

The magnates

Flight documents cited by American, British and European media outlets suggest Bill Gates is flying in from Brussels, followed closely by Rupert Murdoch’s favoured heir, Lachlan Murdoch, from London. Former NFL star Tom Brady was also snapped chatting with Rupert Murdoch’s ex-wife Wendi Deng while heading to Madonna dell’Orto, the medieval church that was host to Bezos and Sánchez’s welcome dinner.

Billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones is flying from Tanzania, with film producer and record executive David Geffen travelling from Valencia, Spain.

US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump, centre, and her husband Jared Kushner, rear left, arrive in Venice, Italy, ahead of Bezos’ wedding.Credit: AP

Belgian fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg was also snapped in Venice on Tuesday evening, and it’s believed Meta mastermind Mark Zuckerberg will be joining the celebrations. The jury, however, is still out on Bezos’ fellow space enthusiast Elon Musk, with whom he had a 20-year-long public rivalry that may or may not be over.

The space cadets

Speaking of space, part-time astronaut Gayle King will be in the room celebrating Sánchez’s nuptials following their joint zero-gravity frolic earlier this year. King’s best friend, Oprah Winfrey, according to flight documents, flew to Venice from New York.

If Katy Perry, who was also aboard the Blue Origin flight in April, somehow makes it from Adelaide to Venice and back in the one-day break between her four Lifetimes Tour shows this weekend, that would be a surprise to TMZ, which has been reporting Perry has split from long-time fiancé Orlando Bloom – and that Bloom is “making his debut as a single man during the festivities” and is “gonna hit the dance floor hard”.

Kim Kardashian, centre, and sister Khloé Kardashian are pictured here in Venice.Credit: AP

Or, perhaps, “sneak away with Leonardo DiCaprio for some bar crawling”. If Perry and Bloom have split, however, they have yet to confirm it.

Hollywood royalty

DiCaprio – who is understood to be taking girlfriend Vittoria Ceretti as a plus one this weekend – is one of many famous faces who attended Bezos and Sánchez’s August 2023 engagement party, which also counted actors Andrew Garfield, Tobey Maguire and Australia’s own Deborra-Lee Furness among the guests.

Actress Eva Longoria, a long-time friend of Sánchez, is another famous face who has been spotted at wedding-related events, most recently in Paris in May for Sánchez’s bachelorette weekend.

Rumours are also swirling around musicians Lady Gaga, Mick Jagger and Elton John, who are speculated to be performing at the festivities if not attending as guests.

Actual royalty

It’s a family affair for select nobles, with Queen Rania of Jordan travelling to Venice with her son, Crown Prince Hussein, daughter-in-law Princess Rajwa, and granddaughter Princess Iman.

According to Vogue, Rania attended Bezos and Sánchez’s engagement party in 2023, with Bezos previously travelling to Amman, Jordan, in 2016 to meet with Rania and King Abdullah at Al Husseiniya Palace.

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