The origin of the phrase “Barbarians At The Gate” appears to refer to the unsuccessful attempt by Ottoman Turks to take Vienna in 1529 and again in 1689.

But what happens when the barbarians are not at the gate because they already live in the city?

If you have $50 million, you can become a major donor to charities, museums or nonprofit causes. You can endow a scholarship at a number of schools for the benefit of future students . You can underwrite research to cure cancer. You can provide sleeping nets to control malaria in mosquito environments. You could provide antiviral drugs to control AIDS. There is no shortage of needs in this world which $50 million could address.

If you are Jeff Bezos, you can also have a $50 million wedding in Venice and invite certain so-called” A Listers” to participate. Bezos tried to get Elton John and Lady Gaga to perform on the third day but was unwilling to meet John’s $6 million appearance fee and tried to negotiate. Sir Elton said “no” and appeared instead at a party in the Hamptons for his $6 million and he arrived with a red piano. Lady Gaga also did not make the Bezos affair.

Now it’s true that Bezos has given considerable funds to charities but compared to his former wife, McKenzie Scott, he’s a piker. McKenzie Scott has a whole lot of money ($36 billion) but Bezos has considerably more ($226 billion) and yet she laps him several times in charitable giving.

So why object to a $50 million wedding? I can think of two reasons. First, what is the need for such conspicuous consumption? Can’t you just have a tasteful ceremony and a great reception for, say, $1 million? Second, why did these so called “A Listers” attend this extravaganza? Of course, the Kardashians were there since such garish displays are right down their alley and they must keep up the brand (Kris Jenner apparently called to get ALL her girls in). But, why in God’s name, did Oprah attend?

Bezos is one of the richest men in the world and, along with his first wife, started Amazon from their garage in Seattle selling books over the Internet. He was the first to understand that the Internet could be harnessed for the sale of retail items. Amazon is a truly remarkable company which has completely disrupted retail sales and now is the “go to” place to order virtually anything and have it delivered to your door in a matter of hours or days.

Some of his later ventures are less worthy of praise. He purchased the Washington Post. Bezos was on Donald Trump‘s naughty list and so he has used the Post to get back in Trump‘s good graces. He vetoed the Post’s endorsement of Kamala Harris and has neutered its editorial policy to please the Trump administration. The net result was that any number of staffers resigned and the Post is no longer the newspaper that it once was.

I know little about Bezos’ wife, Lauren Sanchez, except that she wears undergarments that make her waist go in/in/in and her breasts go out/out/out. Days after the wedding, she was an unsuccessful bidder for Jane Birkin’s original Hermes bag (1984) which just auctioned in Paris for $10.1 million. I suspect she knows a number of plastic surgeons. 

The Birkin bag is, in itself, a story. Who would pay over $10 million for a 40-year-old used satchel? Someone with $10 million and very little sense. Not to be a scold but surely there was a better destination for that $10 million.

There is Internet speculation that Kim Kardashian was the anonymous bidder for the Birkin bag. That clearly is not true for several reasons. First, if she was a successful bidder, her PR machine would be blasting it all over the world. Second, it is more likely that her PR people put that out in the first place since apparently Kim has figured out that her days as the “it” girl are over as the younger crowd at the Venice affair has forced her out.

And then there is the Met Gala, a fashion event held in May of each year. If you can get an invitation, it would cost you $75,000 to go. Bad Bunny stole the show in 2023 in a suit with a 26-foot floral train. Seeing is believing: Bad Bunny.

For all practical purposes, the gatekeeper at the Met Gala is Anna Wintour who just completed her 37-year run as editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine and has been in charge of the Met Gala for 30 years. The Gala is considered the premier fashion event of the year and invites attendees to display the most unusual dresses and the like. Proceeds benefit the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

And if you think Bad Bunny had an unusual costume, take a gander at some from this year:

So what does all of this have to do with “Barbarians At The Gate?”

Do you really think that they are outside the gate?