Aspen Anti-Billionaire Society

Mr Bezos, 61, is expected to arrive in the lagoon next week aboard his 417ft yacht the Koru. The largest sailing yacht in the world, it boasts three tall masts and cost $500 million (£372 million) to construct.

But that’s not all. The Koru will be accompanied by a support ship – an equally huge vessel called the Abeona.

It is equipped with a helicopter pad – a requirement that is de rigueur for Ms Sánchez, who is a qualified helicopter pilot. The vessel may help transport the 27 outfit changes that the bride will reportedly go through, with gowns designed by the likes of Oscar de la Renta and Dolce & Gabbana.

The wedding is likely to cost around $16 million (£11,889,016), according to one detailed breakdown. The sum includes up to $1 million (£743,000) for flowers and the decoration of the various venues, up to $3 million (£2,229,190) for wedding planners, $2 million (£1,486,127) for the hire of the venues, $1 million for the catering and $1.5 million (£1,114,595) for the bride’s dresses.

There will also be mooring fees for Mr Bezos’s superyachts and the cost of providing lavish gifts for the guests, who include Hollywood celebrities and members of the Trump clan.

Luxury hotel suites will make up around $2 million of the overall cost, according to Manuela Pivato, the founder of an online publication called MyFairVenice.

Last week, activists climbed to the top of the bell tower on the island, let off coloured smoke bombs and unfurled a giant banner with a large red cross scrawled across the word “Bezos”. They hung a similar banner from the Rialto Bridge. The protesters were from an umbrella group called No Space for Bezos, a slogan that plays on the billionaire’s ownership of Blue Origin, the space rocket venture.

In a statement, campaigners said: “Venice is not for sale, it is not for rent, it should not be the backdrop for the wedding of one of the world’s richest men. “As Venetians, we are ready to defend the dignity of our city. Those who expect Venice to be docile and subservient, happy to gather the crumbs that fall from the king’s table, will be disappointed. What we did today is just a taste of what is to come.”

Tommaso Cacciari, an activist from No Space for Bezos, said: “To block their arrival peacefully, we will jump into the canals that surround the venue, and we will also block the alleyways that lead to it.

“Bezos is not just any VIP – he is a multi-billionaire who supports the world view of Trump.”

cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/3168364

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/41167231

I produced this video for The Gravel Institute a few years back before the organization folded.

It’s popped off again recently for some reason. Maybe because everything has gotten worse?

A classic tool for visualizing just how rich the 0.01% are. This has been around for many years and may not be updated to 2025, but is still a very effective tool for visualizing just how rich a billionaire is

Interesting paper that offers one perspective of using tax policy to achieve the same overall effect as a minimum wage increase, and worth some discussion IMO. Link is directly to a pdf of the paper itself

cross-posted from: https://midwest.social/post/29856302

cross-posted from: https://midwest.social/post/29825277

By popular demand, one last map to examine the absurdity of the American economy.

If you saw my map from yesterday that was up most of the day, please see the corrected version below. I done goofed hard on copying a column of state names. The original post has been corrected, but I will also post my previous two maps on this post for easy comparison.

Edit: the red map, for anyone unaware, is based on current individual state minimum wages and not the current federal minimum wage