A millionaire will reportedly go to a billionaire's wedding.
According to TMZ Sports, Tom Brady will attend Jeff Bezos' upcoming wedding. The Amazon founder is tying the knot with journalist Lauren Sánchez in Venice.
Brady is reportedly on a short list of under 200 wedding guests also expected to include Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez, Sánchez's ex-husband. The arrangements are expected to cost $50,000 per person.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion is neighbors with Bezos, the Washington Post owner who announced earlier this year that columnists can only write opinion articles that reflect his libertarian viewpoints of "personal liberties and free markets."
Venetian residents and other groups have protested the lavish wedding. Activists recently unveiled a massive sign in St. Mark's Square with a laughing Bezos that read, "If you can rent Venice for your wedding you can pay more tax."
"The problem is not the wedding, the problem is the system," protestor Simona Abbate told Reuters. "We think that one big billionaire can't rent a city for his pleasure."
In a possible attempt to combat backlash (or pay more taxes), Bezos and Sánchez have urged wedding guests to donate to the city of Venice in lieu of gifts. The party was also moved to an isolated part of the city to sidestep disruptions.
Sebastiano Costa Longa, local city councillor for commerce and productive activities of the municipality of Venice, claimed that locals are "quite serene" about the grand-scale event. According to the Associated Press, they're sourcing around 80 percent of provisions from Venetian vendors.
"Many people who work in Venice, artisans, merchants, they are all excited, in ferment and ready to welcome this event and work for those who love Venice," Costa Longa told People's Vera Naydenova and Alina Trabbatoni. "Even the organization at the security level is used to working with major events in Venice, so we are quite calm and prepared."
The precise date remains concealed from the public, but the wedding is expected to take place sometime between this Thursday and Saturday.
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!