Venice Climate Activists Have a Blunt Message for Jeff Bezos

Italian climate activists have a blunt message for tech billionaire Jeff Bezos ahead of his lavish Venice wedding.

Greenpeace Italy unfurled an enormous banner in Venice’s Piazza San Marco today, June 23, criticizing the Amazon founder as he plans to marry his fiancée, former television journalist Lauren Sánchez, in the historic city. Blanketing the public square in front of the Museo Correr, the sign featured a photo of Bezos with his head thrown back in mid-laugh underneath the bold text, “If you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more tax.”

In a statement subsequently posted to Instagram, the environmentalist group decried the lack of action from the “super-rich” to address the ongoing climate crisis.

“Every day, people face the devastating impacts of the climate crisis, including floods, droughts, heatwaves, and wildfires,” the statement read, citing “polluting businesses” that continue to worsen environmental pollution.

“And governments allow them not to pay taxes, instead of encouraging them to contribute to the ecological transition,” the statement read.

Hyperallergic has reached out to Greenpeace, the local police department, and Bezo’s companies, Amazon and Blue Origin, for comment.

The demonstration comes two years after Europe’s top court ruled that Amazon did not have to pay 250 million euros ($273 million) in back taxes to Luxembourg, the country where its European headquarters is located. It also comes just days before the Amazon founder’s wedding, which is slated to take place at an undisclosed venue in the city at some point this week, although details regarding the location, time, and budget remain unconfirmed. Italian newspapers have speculated on locations including the Scuola Grande della Misericordia, an event space used in the Venice Biennale that can accommodate more than 1,000 people, and Lido Beach, where the Venice International Film Festival is annually held. The couple is allegedly spending $7 to $10 million on the ceremony, according to some tabloid reports, although no number has been confirmed.

The couple’s nuptials have been met with backlash from local Venetians, with protesters pasting “No Space for Bezos” posters across the city opposing the event and threatening to block the city’s canals and picket the ceremony.

Many residents also have worries that the three-day event will effectively overwhelm the vulnerable canal-laden city with more out-of-town visitors when it is already swamped with overtourism. (The wedding organizer, Lanza & Baucina Limited, stated that the event will not disrupt the city.) Last spring, Venice became the first city in the world to adopt a daytripper tax of €5 (~$5.33) that went into effect from the beginning of April through the summer in an effort to preserve the city’s cultural heritage and improve its fragile infrastructure.

Climate emergency groups have long scrutinized Amazon’s carbon emissions. A September 2024 report conducted by three environmentalist research groups found that from 2019 to 2024, the corporation’s carbon emissions continued to increase annually by 18%, despite pledging to reduce its footprint.

“Venice (like everywhere) needs public services and housing, not VIPs and over-tourism,” Greenpeace EU posted on Bluesky.

“It’s time to #TaxTheSuperRich and make them pay for the destruction they cause – the world is not their playground.”