Here’s How Much The Bezos-Sánchez Wedding Extravaganza Really Cost

Forbes

The lavish, celebrity-packed affair in Venice, replete with private water-taxis, three-Michelin-star catering and Murano glass gifts for guests, is over the top, but far from the most expensive billionaire wedding on record.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/martinadilicosa/2025/06/27/heres-how-much-the-bezos-snchez-wedding-extravaganza-really-cost/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, here's how much the Bezos-Sanchez wedding extravaganza really cost.

00:07Love is lavisher the second time around. Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez

00:13celebrated their nuptials in a star-studded and controversial three-day celebration in Venice,

00:19and most of the focus was on how much the affair cost. More than six months ago,

00:24rumors started circulating the Bezos-Sanchez wedding, the second time each has said I do,

00:29would be held in Aspen and cost $600 million. Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman joked on X

00:36in December, quote, unless you are buying each of your guests a house, you can't spend this much

00:41money. Bezos himself reposted the comment, stating, quote, this whole thing is completely false,

00:47none of this is happening. Instead, the happy couple opted for what was reportedly an intimate

00:53200-person ceremony, presumed to be much less expensive than the rumored Rocky Mountain hijinks.

00:59And that didn't include a pre-wedding foam party the 61-year-old groom and 55-year-old bride

01:05reportedly threw for one of her sons a couple weekends ago aboard Bezos' superyacht, Kourou.

01:11Based on conversations with a dozen sources, including Venetian wedding industry insiders

01:16and multiple local vendors involved in or with knowledge of the event, Forbes estimates that

01:21the Bezos-Sanchez wedding cost at least $20 million, but could be closer to $25 million

01:27or even more, depending on what surprises the hosts had in store for their guests.

01:32The $20-plus million Forbes estimates for the celebration, based on confirmed costs,

01:38is more than 600 times the cost of an average American wedding, which the wedding site The

01:42Knot puts at $33,000 or about $284 a guest, but won't exactly make a dent in Bezos' estimated

01:50$237 billion fortune.

01:54Bezos and Sanchez's multi-day affair kicked off with a welcome party held near the Madonna

01:58dell'Orto Church last Thursday night.

02:01It was reportedly cut short due to a thunderstorm.

02:04The actual ceremony was held at the 16th-century San Giorgio Maggiore Basilica on one of Venice's

02:10islands on Friday night.

02:11Though the couple don't appear to be getting legally married, they never applied for the

02:15necessary license from the city, suggesting they may have wed ahead of the very public celebration.

02:21Matteo Bocelli, son of Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, reportedly performed at the ceremony,

02:27followed by a reception on the island.

02:30On Saturday, another party was planned at Arsenale, a massive complex of former armories and shipyards

02:36first built in the 12th century.

02:39The couple's A-plus guest list, which ranged from billionaires Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey

02:43to Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Brady, as well as a Vaporetto load of the requisite Kardashians,

02:50had been spotted at five-star hotels across Venice in the days leading up to the wedding

02:53weekend, including at the Gritti Palace, the St. Regis, and the Amman, where the bride and

02:59groom were staying.

03:00The couple reportedly bought out the entire hotel for three nights, which required relocating

03:06guests who had coincidentally booked the Amman to other luxury properties in the city

03:10at the Bezos' expense.

03:11The average cost of a room at the luxury hotels in June, based on the rack rate on several

03:17hotel sites, is about $2,000 per night.

03:20That adds up to some $900,000 for three nights, assuming around 150 rooms were booked.

03:26It's not clear whether the couple were paying for the guests' rooms, but two wedding planners

03:31say it's standard for ultra-lux events like this.

03:34The couple's wedding planners also commissioned about 30 private water taxis to escort guests

03:39around the city, according to a source in Venice.

03:42Each taxi costs between $210,000 and $290,000 per hour, according to the Venice Consortium

03:48of Water Taxis, the largest in the city.

03:51All told, assuming 12-hour days, the cost would be at least $270,000 spent on water transport

03:58alone.

03:59The wedding was catered by three Michelin star chef Fabrizio Melino of Quattro Pasi, a restaurant

04:06in Urano, near Naples, which Bezos has been known to frequent, according to an Italian

04:11newspaper.

04:12The restaurant charges around $1,800 per person, including staff and food transport, to cater

04:18weddings of this level, according to former clients.

04:21That's at least $360,000 in food and beverage costs for the one night, but it is likely a

04:27three-day contract, adding up closer to $1.1 million.

04:33Quattro Pasi is reportedly closed for four days.

04:37For full coverage, check out Martina Di La Cosa's piece on Forbes.com.

04:43This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

04:45Thanks for tuning in.

04:51Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

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