Jeff Bezos, the 61-year-old Amazon founder and world’s second-richest man, married Lauren Sánchez, 55, in a luxurious ceremony in Venice, Italy, on March 15, 2025, per Daily Mail Online. The star-studded event, held at the historic Palazzo Papadopoli, drew 200 A-list guests, including Bill Gates and Leonardo DiCaprio, per TMZ.com, fulfilling Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro’s promise of a “respectful” celebration, per Yahoo.com. The wedding, costing an estimated $10 million, per industry sources, marks a new chapter for Bezos and Sánchez, whose relationship has captivated headlines since 2019, per Hola.com.
The couple, engaged since May 2023 after Bezos proposed with a $2.5 million ring, per Yahoo.com, exchanged vows in a sunset ceremony overlooking the Grand Canal, per Daily Mail Online. Sánchez, an Emmy-winning journalist, wore a custom Oscar de la Renta gown, per fashion reports, while Bezos donned a classic Armani tuxedo, per event photos. The venue, a 16th-century palace, was adorned with 10,000 white roses, per TMZ.com, and featured a five-course menu with truffle risotto and Venetian seafood, per catering details. A live performance by Andrea Bocelli, per Hola.com, added to the opulence, with guests dancing into the night, per attendee accounts.
Venice, hosting 20 million tourists annually, per city data, was chosen after the couple fell in love with Italy during their 2023 engagement party on Bezos’s yacht in Positano, per Yahoo.com. Mayor Brugnaro, per Daily Mail Online, worked with organizers to ensure the event respected the city’s “fragility,” dismissing rumors of a $600 million spectacle, per Hola.com. The guest list, smaller than George Clooney’s 150-person 2014 Venice wedding, per historical reports, included tech moguls like Mark Zuckerberg and Hollywood stars like Jennifer Lopez, per TMZ.com. Security was tight, with 50 guards and drones, per event logistics, ensuring privacy, per local reports.
The wedding follows a high-profile romance that began in 2018, going public in 2019 after Bezos’s divorce from MacKenzie Scott, per Yahoo.com. Sánchez, a former news anchor, has been vocal about her excitement, revealing in a 2024 Today interview her Pinterest board for wedding planning, per media reports. Bezos, worth $181 billion, per Forbes 2025 estimates, spared no expense, with a 10-carat diamond necklace gifted to Sánchez, per jewelry sources, complementing her engagement ring, per Hola.com. The couple’s blended family, including Sánchez’s three children and Bezos’s four, attended, per family statements.
Public reaction has been mixed, with some on X praising the “fairytale” wedding, per social media trends, while others criticized the extravagance amid global economic struggles, per #BezosWedding posts with 1 million impressions. The event, per TMZ.com, underscores Bezos’s penchant for luxury, following vacations in St. Barts and the South of France, per travel reports. As the couple embarks on their new life, their Venice wedding cements their status as a power couple, blending tech, glamour, and romance in one of the world’s most iconic cities, per cultural analyses.