NEED TO KNOW
- Bill Gates was spotted arriving in Venice, Italy, on Thursday, June 26, ahead of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez’s wedding
- The Microsoft co-founder attended the couple’s engagement party on Bezos’ $550 million yacht on the Amalfi Coast in August 2023
- Gates’ girlfriend, Paige Hurd, has yet to be spotted in Italy
Bill Gates has arrived for Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez‘s wedding.
The billionaire Microsoft co-founder, 69, was spotted at the Venice Marco Polo Airport in Venice, Italy, on Thursday, June 26. He appeared to arrive alone, as his girlfriend, Paige Hurd, 32, has yet to be seen.
Many celebrity guests have already arrived in the Floating City for the lavish wedding festivities this week.
First to be spotted on Tuesday, June 24, were Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner. That same day, Diane von Fürstenberg arrived at the Venice Marco Polo Airport.
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The following day, on Wednesday, June 25, Corey Gamble arrived solo. PEOPLE confirmed that Bezos, 61, and Sánchez, 55, touched down in Venice via helicopter that day before they headed to the Aman Hotel, and later stepped out for dinner.
Before Gates was photographed in Venice, Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, Tom Brady, Orlando Bloom, Kim Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian and Kris Jenner were seen earlier in the day on Thursday.
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An exclusive source revealed to PEOPLE that Leonardo DiCaprio and his girlfriend Vittoria Ceretti will also be among the wedding guests.
Bezos and Sánchez have asked their wedding guests to not give them gifts.
“We are excited for you to join us! We have one early request: please, no gifts,” their wedding invitation sent out in May reads. “Instead we’re making contributions in your honor and with gratitude to you for making the journey to celebrate with us in Venice.”
The billionaire couple listed three Venetian charities that they will donate to.
“Donations on your behalf are being made to the UNESCO Venice Office to safeguard the city’s irreplaceable cultural heritage, to CORILA to restore the vital lagoon habitats that protect Venice’s future, and to Venice International University to support research and education for sustainable solutions,” the invitation continued.
In August 2023, Gates attended Bezos and Sánchez’s engagement party with Hurd as his date. The party took place on the billionaire Amazon founder’s $500 million yacht Koru on Italy’s Amalfi Coast.
The celebration took place more than two months after Bezos and Sánchez got engaged in May 2023.
