Jeff Bezos sponsors Met Gala $10M

The Metropolitan Museum of Art said Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos were the lead sponsors of the 2026 Met Gala and the related spring Costume Institute exhibition, with the couple also serving as honorary chairs for the May 4 event in New York. The museum disclosed that role in a March press release announcing details for the gala and exhibition “Costume Art.” The Met did not publish a sponsorship amount in that announcement. A separate report by eciks.org said Bezos contributed a reported $10 million, but that figure has not been confirmed by the museum. ### Where does the sponsorship detail actually come from? The Met said in its March announcement that “as this year’s lead sponsor for the Gala and exhibition, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos will serve as Honorary Chairs for the evening.” The same release tied the gala to “Costume Art,” the museum’s spring Costume Institute show. The exhibition page and a later Met event page also say “Costume Art” was made possible by Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos, with additional support from Saint Laurent and Condé Nast. (metmuseum.org) May 4 was the gala date listed in coverage around the event, and W Magazine’s post-event reporting also described Bezos and Sánchez Bezos as honorary chairs. W said the gala opened “Costume Art,” an exhibition pairing garments and artworks from the Met’s collection. ### Did the Met confirm the reported $10 million figure? (metmuseum.org) The Met has not publicly confirmed a sponsorship amount in the materials reviewed. The museum’s press release names Bezos and Sánchez Bezos as lead sponsors, but gives no dollar figure. The $10 million number appears in secondary coverage, including the report referenced in the source briefing. (wmagazine.com) Because the museum did not publish that amount, the figure remains a reported sum rather than a confirmed one. ### Why did the sponsorship draw backlash? CNN reported on May 4 that activists across New York City called for a boycott of what they described as the “Bezos Met Gala” after Bezos and Sánchez Bezos were named the event’s main benefactors. (metmuseum.org) W Magazine separately said the Amazon money and the broader presence of technology executives prompted social-media calls to boycott what some critics called the “Tech Gala.” November 24, 2025, was the date CNN said criticism surfaced soon after the sponsorship announcement. CNN’s later video item said the announcement of the Bezoses as sponsors of the 2026 Met Gala drew immediate criticism on social media, though the excerpt available does not include Anna Wintour’s full comments. (edition.cnn.com) ### What was unusual about Bezos backing the gala? The Met identified Bezos and Sánchez Bezos as the lead sponsors of both the gala and the exhibition, placing individual patrons rather than a fashion brand at the top of the sponsor line. The museum’s public materials list additional support from Saint Laurent and Condé Nast, but the lead sponsor credit went to the Bezoses. (cnn.com) W Magazine’s coverage described Bezos as “the Met Gala’s sponsor” and noted the presence of several technology executives at the event. That framing fed discussion online about the prominence of tech money at a gala more commonly associated in public coverage with fashion houses, celebrities and luxury brands. (metmuseum.org) ### What comes next after the gala itself? The Met’s “Costume Art” exhibition is now open at the museum’s Fifth Avenue location and, according to the museum’s website, runs through January 10, 2027. The museum has continued to credit Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos as the backers of the show in its event materials. (metmuseum.org) (wmagazine.com)