As the world faces all manner of destabilizing threats, Jeff Bezos’ planned wedding in Venice — where he reportedly plans to shut down half of the historic city is still going ahead. And now, protests are mounting pressure on the event with calls against “over-tourism.”
We’re just mere weeks removed from Spain formally blocking Airbnb listings in the heart of its cities, with complaints that they’re trampling zoning laws and making it harder for regular people to find housing and just lead a working-class life. Life in Italy’s most famous city, Venice, hasn’t been much different. Venice already hosts multiple events such as the Venice Film Festival annually, so they know how to accommodate large crowds. But unlike these events — which one could argue enrich the culture, support the community, and most importantly create jobs — Bezos’ wedding feels more like an ostentatious display of wealth.
The details of the wedding are trickling in, and it’s starting to sound like a royal affair. Except the “king” here is someone who made his wealth through what Greenpeace describes as “paying his staff poverty wages and dodging taxes.” Page Six reports that Greenpeace has been front and center in leading protests against the “shut down of half the city” for Jeff Bezos’ impending wedding.
Italian protesters have laid down a huge banner with Bezos’ face in the middle of Piazza San Marco, calling out the multibillionaire to pay more taxes. Some banners even took a jab at his recent, equally indulgent outer space escapades like the one that read, “No Space for Bezos.”
The wedding planners, for their part, released a statement saying they don’t intend to disrupt everyday life and plan to employ locals for the event. This isn’t Venice’s first high-profile wedding — the much more beloved Clooney couple also tied the knot there. So perhaps the problem isn’t the logistics, but what this particular wedding represents. It’s what Bezos means to the greater culture. And what he’s chosen to use his wealth for. While the Clooneys have consistently stood up to power and championed human rights — even for those without a voice — Bezos has used his influence to silence those who dare criticize figures like Trump.
Bezos’ wedding culturally reads as flaunting, not celebration. The public has been inundated with headlines of billionaires misusing their power, and considering fictional shows like Succession have showcased the depravity and excess behind these kinds of decisions, the public is more wary now than ever. They certainly didn’t expect wedding planners — of all people — to issue press releases promising “minimal negative impact.” There’s an argument to be made that most weddings don’t even require such a bizarre compromise. But this isn’t most weddings. This is a different world — one where billionaires can make public pronouncements about shutting down half a city or about plans for their 100 children they’ll never meet.
Greenpeace might have a point about increased taxation. This sort of excess can’t continue in a world where so many people have to scrape by with so little just to make ends barely meet.
Published: Jun 24, 2025 06:20 am