Amazon founder and member of the richest-people-in-the-world club Jeff Bezos got married to media personality Lauren Sanchez over the weekend in Venice, and many locals weren’t too pleased to have him in the city.
“Bezos, f**k off,” protestors shouted in Italian at a city train station Saturday, according to CNN. “Out of our lagoon!”
One of the hundreds of protestors took inspiration from the “Shrek” line “get out of my swamp,” and his sign even had the iconic ogre’s ears sprouting from it. Another protestor cited by CNN – 22-year-old Sofia D’Amato – said the Bezos was slapping Venetians in the face with his wealth.
Bezos stepped down as CEO of Amazon in 2021 but still serves as executive chairman of the online retail giant. He was previously married for 25 years to Mackenzie Scott and became engaged to Sanchez in 2023, per USA Today.
Variety reported that the Bezos-Sanchez wedding was “held Friday amid tight security on the island of San Giorgio in the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore designed by 16th century architect Andrea Palladio.” It also said that guests included Leonardo DiCaprio, Italian supermodel Vittoria Ceretti, Orlando Bloom, the Kardashians and Jenners, Mick Jagger, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. Matteo Bocelli, son of Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, sang.
Citing Venice’s Ministry of Tourism, CNN said the overall event was held over three days and cost an estimated $55 million that is expected to boost the city’s tourism economy. Sanchez and Bezos gave also reportedly gave 1 million euros each to three Venetian cultural institutions.
“They say that Jeff Bezos donated money to Venice,” D’Amato said. “It was donated after our dissent. Such a sum for a magnate is paltry.”
Amazon has been criticized for its treatment of employees and faced labor strikes last year. This year, CEO Andy Jassy announced that jobs at the company were likely to be cut as it focuses on investing in artificial intelligence.
“(Bezos) has such a lot of power,” Austrian protester Hans Peter Martin told CNN. “And now he’s abusing this city as a place to show off. So, he’s not welcome here.”
Darco Pellos, prefect of Venice, said that “everything went well,” with the Bezos wedding despite the headline-grabbing protests, Il Gazzetino reported Monday.
“Those who wanted to protest within the rules were able to do so, the guests did what they had to do without any worries, but above all the city was not locked down and the citizens and also the other tourists were able to experience it peacefully,” he said. “We guaranteed the rights of everyone, both for and against.”
CNBC noted that Venice was already under pressure over tourism before the Bezos wedding party headed to town. As of last year, there were more tourist beds than residential beds in the city, said the outlet. In fact, it became the first city in the world to introduce a tourist fee last year for the estimated 20 million visitors who walked its streets. Those tourists aren’t always well-behaved – in 2023, Audacy even wrote about a group who capsized a gondola while trying to take selfies.