Monday’s Official Co-Chairs With Gala include Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williamsand, of course, Anna Wintour. However, the star-studded line-up is overshadowed by the event’s “chairs of honour”, a largely ceremonial title that has drawn a lot of attention this year. Instead of designers, actors, musicians or athletes, the roles have gone to billionaires Jeff Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sanchez Bezos.
This isn’t the first time members of the tech elite have appeared at the Met Gala — Bezos himself attended in 2012, 2019 and 2024. But the prominence of his inclusion this year has sparked a wave of criticism, shedding light on Silicon Valley’s increasingly influential role in fashion’s biggest night.
A growing relationship between the Met Gala and tech executives is “a new phenomenon in terms of the broader history of the gala, which was really about fashion.” Deirdre Clementea fashion historian at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas told the Observer.
Founded in 1948 by publicist Eleanor LambertThe Met Gala began as a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, attended primarily by New York City socialites. It was a far cry from today’s global spectacle. The shift to celebrity accelerated in the 1970s under the previous time Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland, and by the time Wintour took over as chair in 1995, the event was well on its way to becoming a cultural juggernaut. (Wintur recently resigned as editor-in-chief of Vogue US but remains its global editorial director.)
As the Met Gala’s profile has grown, so has the price of admission. Tickets — available only to Wintour-approved guests — cost $100,000, while tables start at $350,000. As tech companies have amassed great wealth, they have stepped in more and more to foot the bill in exchange for the cultural package. Buyers of this year’s table is said include Amazon, OpenAI, Meta and Snap.
“I’m calling it”Technical Galabecause so much technology has been incorporated over the past decade,” Amy Odellauthor of the 2022 Wintour biography Annasaid the Observer. “Over the years, the price of admission has become so high that it’s like who else can afford it?”
Bezos, the founder of Amazonand Sánchez Bezos are also serving as lead sponsors for this year’s event. But it was the announcement of their roles as honorary chairs in February that sparked reactions. Despite Wintour defending Sanchez Bezos as “wonderful asset for museum and event“In a recent CNN interview, the criticism has continued to mount. An anti-billionaire activist group known as Everybody Hates Elon. he even plastered New York City with posters calling for a boycott.
For some observers, however, the presence of ultra-rich figures represents less a departure than a return to the party’s fundraising roots. “If you’re talking about raising money, you invite the people who have the most money.” Adrienne Jonesa fashion professor at the Pratt Institute, told the Observer. “Who else would you invite to be an honorary chair but one of the richest men on the planet?”
Silicon Valley’s growing presence at the Met Gala has been years in the making. Amazon sponsored the event in 2012, followed by Apple in 2016. TikTok supported the gala in 2022, the same year OpenAI created an AI installation for the accompanying exhibition of the Costume Institute. The attendees included not only Bezos but also Elon Musk, Tim Cook AND Sergey Brin.
In 2022, Wintour even invited Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX the founder was later convicted of fraud, for attending and potentially sponsoring the event. He eventually canceled at the last minute, reportedly to the frustration of Wintour’s team, according to Michael Lewis’ book 2023. Going to Infinity.
Despite the occasional controversy, tech companies remain eager to participate. A six-figure fee “is a point to them,” Odell said. “What they get in return is much more valuable, which is to be seen as glamorous and cool and to get that kind of exposure to a predominantly female audience.”
This year’s reaction, however, signals a shift in public sentiment. Critics are responding not only to the presence of the technology, but also to Bezos and Sánchez Bezos being “front and center this time,” Jones said, also pointing to growing concerns about wealth inequality and the labor impacts of AI.
Whether this backlash will change the Met Gala’s support in Silicon Valley remains uncertain. “They opened the door for Silicon Valley to now be a part of that — and the money that’s bringing in with it,” Jones said.
