Attention-seeking celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Kim Kardashian caught water taxis in Venice Friday to watch Jeff Bezos, the world’s third-richest person, go through the motions of exchanging wedding vows with his equally attention-seeking bride, Lauren Sanchez, even though the couple already reportedly tied the knot more than a month ago in the United States.
But as opulent and headline-grabbing as the multimillion-dollar extravaganza turned out to be, the billionaire Amazon founder might be nursing a bit of disappointment because he couldn’t entice the most powerful person in the world to come to the ancient Italian city and be present on his special day, according to the Daily Beast, citing a report in the Wall Street Journal.
Bezos “really” wanted to play host to President Donald Trump at his wedding, mostly as part of a “charm offensive” aimed at winning lucrative government contracts for his Blue Origin space company. The Wall Street Journal said that Bezos’ Blue Origin executives have pushed for more government contracts in the wake of Trump’s explosive bust-up with rival billionaire space company founder Elon Musk.
But unfortunately for Bezos, Trump wasn’t expected to make an appearance at his wedding, due to scheduling conflicts, according to The Wall Street Journal.
US businessman Jared Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump leave the St Regis Hotel on the wedding day of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos with Lauren Sanchez, in Venice on June 27, 2025. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)
That means Bezos had to settle with hosting Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Then again, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner served as senior White House advisers during Trump’s first administration. Ivanka also is known to be Trump’s favorite child, as well as a good friend to Sanchez, so perhaps she can put in a good word for Bezos.
Meanwhile, Bezos’ reported desire to have Trump at his wedding raises plenty of questions about how the controversial MAGA president would have gotten along with some of the other some 200 wedding guests, notably liberal A-listers like Winfrey, Leonardo DiCaprio and Eva Longoria. These celebrities all opposed Trump’s re-election in November and have blasted his politics and policies as “authoritarian” and “inhumane.”
US talk show host Oprah Winfrey leaves the Gritti Palace Hotel on the wedding day of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos with Lauren Sanchez, in Venice on June 27, 2025. (Photo by Stefano Rellandini / AFP) (Photo by STEFANO RELLANDINI/AFP via Getty Images)
Winfrey, in fact, warned that America stood on the “precipice of danger” if Trump gained control of the White House again and said that those reluctant to vote for a presidential candidate risk relinquishing their control to “an authoritarian regime.” DiCaprio, a self-proclaimed environmentalist, denounced Trump’s denial of “the facts” and “science” on climate change and accused him of rolling back any regulation opposed by the oil and gas industry if he can count on getting “a billion-dollar donation.”
As for Longoria, the “Desperate Housewives” star was one of a number of celebrities who blasted the recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Los Angeles, as well as Trump’s decision to send in military forces to suppress protests.
“These round-ups are happening at birthday parties, at elementary school graduations, at Home Depot. Those are not criminals,” Longoria said on TikTok earlier this month. “We need more compassion. Immigrants feed us, care for our families and support our communities. We can’t deny their humanity.”
Even Kim Kardashian, who has become good friends with Ivanka Trump, expressed dismay over Trump’s immigration crackdown, similarly calling his policies “inhumane” and saying that Americans should “speak up” and “do what’s right.”
US reality TV personality Kim Kardashian snaps a selfie as she arrives at San Giorgio Maggiore on the wedding day of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos with Lauren Sanchez, in Venice on June 27, 2025. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)
But if Trump attended the wedding, it’s also easy to imagine Winfrey, DiCaprio, Longoria and Kardashian playing nice if they bumped into him at the reception — and not just to be polite. These stars appear happy to be part of the “in crowd” in Venice and being photographed heading to and from the festivities, where they can be other famous, wealthy people, like Tom Brady, Jerry Seinfeld, Barbra Streisand, Bill Gates or Hollywood’s current “it girl” Sydney Sweeney. These stars seem delighted to attend the biggest, most exclusive party on the planet. Maybe certain stars would have even been happy to be photographed with the president, despite their objections to his “authoritarian,” “inhumane” regime.
Meanwhile, Winfrey and Longoria have continued to flaunt their friendship with Bezos and Sanchez, even after the couple have gone out of their way to cozy up to Trump and to live up to the “oligarch” label attached to them by standing in “billionaire’s row” at his inauguration, clearly happy to display their access to presidential power.
Both Winfrey and Longoria also have provided their star power to boost Bezos and Sanchez’ public image and, by extension, to potentially normalize their actions with regard to Trump. Winfrey, for example, attended the launch of the much-maligned Blue Origin “space tourism” ride that her friend Gayle King joined Sanchez on, while Longoria has shared social media posts of herself in the company of the former TV personality.
Bezos’ desire to cozy up to Trump comes after he wasn’t one of Trump’s favorite billionaires during his first term. Trump attacked both Amazon and The Washington Post, which Bezos owns and which opposed Trump’s election in 2016 and 2020, the Daily Beast reported. Trump also referred to Bezos as “Jeff Bozo.”
But the once-strained relationship seemed to warm up ahead of Trump’s second term, with Bezos congratulating Trump on his win and Amazon donating $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, the Daily Beast also said.
Bezos and his Blue Origin certainly need those government contracts, according to the Daily Beast. Even if Bezos is worth more than $200 billion, Blue Origin, like its rivals, including Musk’s SpaceX, rely on government contracts for steady income, credibility and access to major U.S. projects.
