The eye-watering amount Jeff Bezos paid to be the face of the Met Gala
Jeff Bezos reportedly spent a whopping $20 million to land a leading role at this year’s Met Gala extravaganza – according to critics RadarOnline.com should make the public “sick” of the widening wealth gap in America.
Amazon founder Bezos, 62, and his wife Lauren Sánchez, 56, were honorary co-chairs of the 2026 fundraiser for the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, alongside Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams and longtime organizer Anna Wintour.
The event – held on Monday, May 4 with the theme Costume Art – remains one of the most visible intersections of celebrity, philanthropy and power in fashion.
Former Fashion editor William Norwich said ahead of this year’s ceremony: “The Bezoses are where the American dream is right now in terms of status, wealth and style.”
He added: ‘They show remarkable consumption, and they have the AWOK – the Anna Wintour OK.'”
Insiders told us that the size of Bezos’ reported financial support for the event was between $10 million and $20 million.
A source close to the gala said: “This feels less like patronage and more like buying cultural capital – the kind that once took decades to earn. In other words, Bezos has bribed him.”
“He was hardly a fashion icon before, right? This level of cash-for-access should make millions of Americans sick, not just because of the sheer amount of money spent to attend one event, but because it totally reflects how America’s wealth is now in the hands of a few,” the insider noted.
The criticism follows a period of increased visibility for Bezos and Sánchez, including their lavish wedding in Venice in 2025, attended by Kim Kardashian, Oprah Winfrey and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Sánchez’s digital Fashion The pre-ceremony cover – reportedly styled in Dolce & Gabbana – was widely interpreted as a signal of approval for her by Wintour.
Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a former Fashion The special events planner who oversaw the gala for more than a decade sneered at the couple’s involvement in this year’s gala: “To me, it’s not just about the gala, it reflects a broader shift in the world we live in.”
She continues, “There was a time when access to spaces like the Met Gala, or even the pages of Vogue, wasn’t something you could just acquire — it was something you grew into through your influence, your work, and your impact. It brought with it a sense of prestige that felt earned, not transactional.”
“The gala has evolved. And in many ways it has become something different. It used to be a true celebration of designers, their muses and the artistry behind fashion,” Wolkoff continued. “Every person on that carpet felt intentional, like they were part of a larger story. That sense of purpose feels less defined now.”
The backlash has been exacerbated by a series of high-profile absences.
Meryl Streep, who has just taken over her role as fashion editor in The devil wears Prada 2declined to attend, with a representative saying, “It was never entirely her stage.”
Actress Zendaya also opted out, needing a break from press tours The drama And Euphoria season three.
Model Bella Hadid made her disapproval known ahead of this year’s gala by airing criticism online, including a post suggesting that political expression would not be welcome at an event so closely associated with Bezos.
One industry observer said: “There is unease about what the gala represents now that Bezos has shown he can buy in.”
Despite the inconvenience, the guest list remained filled with cultural heavyweights, with organizers focusing on the theme of ‘fashion is art’.
