Preaching climate justice while arriving in a half-a-billion-dollar superyacht? That’s the kind of cinematic irony Lauren Sánchez served at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, pulling off a Leonardo DiCaprio moment of her own. The Amazon founder’s fiancée made her Cannes debut while being honored at the prestigious Global Gift Foundation charity gala for her environmental efforts through the Bezos Earth Fund and her work in social justice with This Is About Humanity, an organization that reunites families separated at the US-Mexico border.
Interestingly, the soon-to-be Mrs. Bezos was joined by tech tycoon Jeff Bezos and their permanent third wheel, the mighty megayacht, Koru. The 417-foot schooner is the world’s largest sailing yacht, with triple masts towering at 230 feet (and gleaming teak decks made of conflict wood from Myanmar).
Sure, that helps reduce the carbon footprint by harnessing ocean energy, but it doesn’t exactly erase the yacht’s environmental impact. Moreover, the Oceanco mammoth is trailed by a $75 million support vessel, Abeona. This 247-footer by Damen Yachting carries an arsenal of toys, tenders, and the helicopter Sánchez uses to fuel her high-flying passions.
It wouldn’t be wrong to state that together, the vessels burn through hundreds of gallons of diesel per hour. According to researchers from Indiana University and Oxfam, Bezos’s sailing yacht Koru emits approximately 7,154 metric tons of CO₂ annually, the equivalent of about 1,500 average cars. Recently, the $500 million floating mansion, outfitted with multiple pools, a gym, a cinema room, jacuzzis, and a 750,000-liter tank that costs $1.5 million to fill, cruised through the most picturesque spots on the French Riviera, from Cannes to Monaco and then on to the Gulf of Genoa, according to Marine Traffic.
It should be noted that the luxury yacht of the world’s second-richest man, worth $216 billion, consumes nearly 2,000 liters of fuel per hour, according to Libération. In addition to this, Sánchez recently completed an 11-minute trip to space with her group of girlfriends, an admittedly inspiring feat for women around the world, showing that nothing is out of reach.
While the message of empowerment was clearly received, the trip generated as much CO₂ in eleven minutes as an average person would emit over eight years.
That said, billionaires who have worked hard to get where they are deserve a slice of the good life. In the case of Bezos and Sánchez, they’re not only enjoying their wealth but actively working to better the planet through the Bezos Earth Fund, launched in November 2020 to drive transformational change in these critical times.
More about the Bezos Earth Fund:
The Bezos Earth Fund, established in 2020, was backed by a $10 billion pledge to address climate and nature-related issues. The fund supports scientists, activists, NGOs, and other organizations working on climate solutions. With $2.3 billion already granted across seven programs and more than 270 grants, the Bezos Earth Fund backs efforts to protect 30% of the planet’s natural resources by 2030. Combining the forces of climate science, philanthropy, public policy, and social and economic development are Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez, serving as Executive Chair and Vice Chair, respectively.
