This is an incredible time to be Jeff Bezos. You own James Bond. You shoot pop stars into space inside a comically phallic vanity project. Thanks to the recent revelations about Elon Musk, you are currently the richest man in the world who doesn’t—allegedly—succumb to ketamine-induced incontinence on a regular basis. And best of all, you’re about to get married!
In a little under two weeks, Bezos will marry Lauren Sánchez in a ceremony that will be markedly different from his first. The last time he tied the knot, it was one year before he founded Amazon in the garage of his rented Seattle home. The ceremony was at the Breakers, in West Palm Beach, the reception included an “adult-size play area,” and the pre-nup was so nonexistent that his wife, Mackenzie Scott, instantly became the 38th-richest person on Earth the moment they divorced. This time, though, the stakes are higher. This time, Bezos is essentially buying Venice.