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Venetians Are Blasting Off On Bezos’s Wedding

The Venice wedding of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez is a lot like an Amazon purchase: a shifting three-day window for when it’s arriving, changing info about its location, and a lot of people don’t think it’s necessary.

Reports say the gaudy celebrations for the nuptials between a man who is finally pro-union and the woman he recently launched into space may begin tomorrow and run through Friday at a newly chosen, isolated location. Rumors were that the festivities could have started in the city center yesterday, but locals threatened to disrupt the event, forcing a change of venue.

Why are locals upset? The world’s fourth-richest person is monopolizing the Italian city’s finite resources, like water taxis, which have already been hindered by overtourism. Venice’s population was ~100,000 in the 1980s, but is now less than 50,000, with residents being driven away by an influx of hotels and short-term rentals. Some also have climate change concerns, which are not allayed by wealthy wedding guests arriving in yachts and private jets.

Bottom line: Local official Luca Zaia says the wedding will cost between $23 million and $34 million, boosting the local economy. But protesters don’t believe it will benefit residents.—DL

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Venetians Are Blasting Off On Bezos’s Wedding

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