True 'obscene' cost of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's wedding revealed including $5 million ring
Billionaires don't become so rich by throwing money down the drain, but it seems as if Jeff Bezos is willing to make an exception as he prepares to marry American journalist Lauren Sanchez.
Despite losing a reported $38 billion to his ex-wife MacKenzie Scott in one of the biggest divorce settlements in history, it seems as if the Amazon founder hasn't given up on love.
Bezos, who is worth $215 billion at the time of writing, sent his wife-to-be to space earlier this year to prove his love, even if he did literally fall for her when she landed back on Earth.
And unsurprisingly, their wedding also looks to be an expensive affair, even if they have had to move it from its original Venice location due to protests involving inflatable crocodiles, where activists threatened to fill the canals to stop the happy couple using the Scuola Grande della Misericordia, a majestic 16th-century building in the city centre.
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And their unusual plans certainly had the desired effect after Bezos vowed to move his celebrations to a more secure venue in Venice, perhaps where the two can shoot off into space or pay for a private Rihanna performance or do some other weird rich people stuff.
"This is a big victory for us," declared Tommaso Cacciari, a member of the No Space for Bezos protest group.
"Who would have thought that we could change the plans of one of the richest men on the planet?"
Although the tiny violins were brought out after Donald Trump's tariffs hit billionaires across the world particularly hard, Bezos clearly wants to make sure that his fiancée has the best day of her life, even if it sets him back $25 million.
US senator Bernie Sanders took to X to share the details of the Bezos-Sanchez wedding, and the numbers are enough to drive even the biggest capitalist fans crazy.
He wrote: "This is oligarchy. This is obscene. While 60 percent live paycheck to paycheck and kids go hungry, Jeff Bezos, worth $230 billion, goes to Venice on his $500 million yacht for a $20 million wedding & spends $5 million on a ring while his real tax rate is just 1.1 percent.
"End this oligarchy."
More than 90 private jets are expected to land in the city of love (could they not car pool) for the wedding, while all the local five-star hotels have been booked out, which is no doubt setting Bezos back a few pennies.
The three-day event is also reportedly going to include elegant dinners and pyjama parties, so if you've made the unfortunate mistake of booking a holiday to Venice this week, I can only say sorry and wish you good luck.
Or maybe you'll find a few $100 bills scattered across the city's fountains?
Topics: Jeff Bezos, Sex and Relationships, World News
James Moorhouse