Man and spouse: Jeff Bezos, Lauren Sanchez tie knot in Venice; A-listers in attendance

Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos

Billionaire Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez tied the knot at a luxurious ceremony on an island in Italy’s Venice on Friday, with a number of A-listers in attendance for the couple’s wedding ceremony.Amazon founder Bezos exchanged vows with Sanchez on the long-lasting San Giorgio Maggiore island, information company AFP reported citing Italian media.Later, the bride posted a photograph on Instagram beneath a brand new title – laurensanchezbezos – exhibiting her in an extended flowing white costume and the groom in black tie.Bezos, 61, and Sanchez, 55, are staying on the Aman lodge, a luxurious Sixteenth-century palazzo on the Grand Canal with a view of the well-known Rialto bridge.Their movie star friends are staying on the Gritti Palace and the St. Regis.The celebrations are set to finish on Saturday with a celebration probably on the Arsenale – an unlimited shipyard advanced courting again to when the Italian metropolis was a naval powerhouse.While Bezos was beforehand married to novelist MacKenzie Scott, Sanchez’s ex-husband is businessman Patrick Whitesell.However, the marriage was not with out its share of controversy. Protesters puzzled how lengthy Venice can “endure” – whereas the billionaires celebration, activists say the “fragile” metropolis is “sinking”, overrun by vacationers, and is a sufferer of depopulation as locals unable to pay hovering rents are compelled out.Environmental activists have additionally pointed to the carbon footprint of the mega yachts and dozens of personal jets – not less than 95 – bringing the wealthy and well-known to Venice, which is thought for its canals and waterways, and additionally hosted the 2014 wedding ceremony of Hollywood star George Clooney and human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin.On the opposite hand, Italy’s tourism ministry mentioned it expects the festivities to generate almost one billion euros, of which about 895 million is estimated to come back from the “media visibility.”The newly-married couple are donating three million euros ($3.5 million) to the town, in response to Luca Zaia, the regional president of the Veneto area of which Venice is the capital.