Venice, Italy – On June 26, 2025, activists staged a fake wedding in Piazza San Marco to protest the extravagant marriage of billionaire Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez.

The demonstration condemned the influence of the ultra-wealthy on the climate crisis and democratic systems worldwide.

As the first day of the three-day luxury wedding began, two masked figures dressed in wedding attire appeared in Piazza San Marco.

They were linked by one hand to a fake planet and by the other to people holding signs reading “governments,” “media,” “economy,” and “justice.”

Behind them, a large banner stating “The 1% ru(i)ns the world” was to be raised, but police quickly dispersed the peaceful protest and forcibly removed dozens of participants.

“Elisa,” one of those pushed aside, said, “The right to peaceful protest is guaranteed by the Constitution, and police can disperse protesters only if they threaten safety and public order. Our dissent cannot be silenced by force: Jeff Bezos’s wedding with 250 ultra-rich guests in a city symbolizing the climate crisis is one of the paradoxes of our time.”

The protesters highlighted how the richest 1% are responsible for roughly 20% of global temperature rise, according to a recent Nature study.

They also criticized billionaire influence on politics and media, noting Bezos’s ownership of the Washington Post, which now focuses editorially only on “personal freedom and free market,” excluding opposing views.

Angela, a protester, responded to a regional president’s call for calm, stating, “Democracy is not silence but the right to peaceful dissent.”

This protest followed others, including a banner drop at Hotel Danieli demanding “Tax the rich to give back to the planet.”

The wedding was relocated from Scuola Grande della Misericordia to the Arsenale, a venue easier to guard against further protests.

The three-day celebration promises unparalleled luxury, featuring historic palace parties and a fleet of yachts in Venice’s lagoon amid soaring global inequality that President Mattarella warns threatens democracy.

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