BILLIONAIRE Jeff Bezos has kicked off his lavish week-long wedding celebrations aboard his $500 million superyacht.

The Amazon boss is set to tie the knot with fiancée Lauren Sanchez later this week with celebrity friends expected to join the couple in Venice.

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Pre-wedding festivities are estimated to cost between $15 to $20 million.

The luxury vessel is named Koru after the Māori word for “loop” or “coil”, symbolising new beginnings and growth.

Bezos, 61, proposed to Sanchez, 55, in 2023 aboard the yacht, presenting her with a 20-carat pink diamond ring worth $2.5 million.

They have been spotted on the vessel several times, soaking up the sun ahead of their private wedding ceremony scheduled for Friday in Italy.

Measuring 417 feet in length with three towering masts over 230 feet high, Koru is currently the world’s largest sailing yacht, according to Boat International.

The superyacht can reach speeds of up to 17 knots per hour, powered by twin, 1,500hp MTU diesel engines.

It cruises comfortably at 15 knots – about 2.25 knots faster than the average for similar vessels.

Said to have been first commissioned by Bezos in 2018, the yacht was built by Dutch yacht maker Oceanco near Rotterdam and delivered to Gibraltar in April 2023.

The yacht’s support vessel reportedly added another $75 million to the already staggering $500 million cost.

Its exterior design was completed by Dutch company Dykstra Naval Architects, while London-based company Mlinaric, Henry & Zervudachi completed its interior design.

Koru can host up to 18 guests in nine staterooms, along with around 36 crew members.

Its full features remain unclear, but Architectural Digest reports that Koru includes multiple outdoor lounging areas, three jacuzzis and a swimming pool.

Around 200 guests are expected to attend the wedding, which has been in the works for months.

Multiple reports suggest Leonardo Di Caprio, Orlando Bloom, Mick Jagger and Beyoncé are expected to attend, as well as Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.

The upcoming event is reported to be as extravagant as a royal wedding, with Sanchez’ brother Paul telling TMZ it would “be like a Princess Di thing”.

The couple’s wedding organisers, Lanza & Baucina Limited, have worked with stars like George and Amal Clooney and Salma Hayek and François-Henri Pinault in the past.

Exact details of the celebrations remain confidential, but the wedding is expected to take place from June 24 to June 26.

The couple also threw an engagement party aboard the yacht in Positano, Italy, back in August 2023.

Sanchez at the time told Vogue that she “blacked out a bit” upon seeing her ring during the proposal.

Bezos, with an estimated net worth of $212 billion, reportedly placed the ring under her pillow before she found it and opened the box.

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