Inside the family life of world's 4th richest man Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez with their 7 children

The Amazon founder and Emmy-winning journalist married on June 27 on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, Italy, following a two-year engagement. The ceremony was attended by over 200 guests, including their seven children from previous relationships.

Bezos has four children with his ex-wife, billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, and Sánchez has three with ex-husband Patrick Whitesell and a relationship with former NFL player Tony Gonzalez.

Bezos has four children with Scott

Of Bezos’ four children, only the name of his eldest son, Preston, has been made public. The 25-year-old shares a family name passed down from Bezos’ grandfather and great-grandfather. The couple's two younger sons remain unnamed and they adopted a daughter from China, according to People magazine.

When Bezos and Scott announced their high-profile divorce in January 2019 after 25 years of marriage, they emphasized a shared commitment to parenting. "We've had such a great life together as a married couple, and we also see wonderful futures ahead, as parents, friends, partners in ventures and projects, and as individuals pursuing ventures and adventures," Bezos wrote on X.

"Though the labels might be different, we remain a family, and we remain cherished friends."

Jeff Bezos and wife Lauren Sanchez. Photo from AFP

Bezos keeps children out of the public eye

The tech tycoon has largely shielded his children from the public. Apart from a few rare sightings of Preston, such as at the 2020 Academy Awards and the 2019 American Portrait Gala, the other children have remained out of the public eye.

Preston reportedly attended Princeton University, following in the footsteps of both his parents. He is also believed to have a degree in humanities and engineering from MIT after Bezos was seen attending MIT’s 2022 commencement ceremony, according to the U.K’s Daily Mail.

One of the family’s few public appearances came in 2016, when Bezos and Scott brought their children to the premiere of "Star Trek Beyond" at Comic-Con International in San Diego.

Sánchez has three children

Sánchez’s three children are Nikko Gonzalez, 24, Evan Whitesell, 19, and Ella Whitesell, 17. She had Nikko with Tony Gonzalez in the early 2000s. After their separation, she married Hollywood agent Patrick Whitesell in 2005 and had two more children with him. The couple divorced in 2019 and share joint custody.

Speaking with the Wall Street Journal newspaper, Sánchez said she now maintains a close friendship with Gonzalez. "It wasn’t always that way. There was friction [at the beginning]," she has said. "But Tony and [his wife October "Tobie" Gonzalez] were at Thanksgiving with us [this year], and we’re really good friends."

"I’m so proud of it. My son looks at me, and he’s like, ‘I’m the luckiest boy in the world because I can have Thanksgiving with both my parents, and they don’t have to be married.’"

She has not publicly commented on her current relationship with Whitesell.

While Nikko has pursued a career in modelling, Evan and Ella remain largely private. Nikko debuted at Dolce & Gabbana’s Fall/Winter 2024–2025 menswear show in Milan and returned to the runway in July for the brand’s Alta Sartoria 2024 show, Women’s Wear Daily reported. "Wait for proud mom moment," Sánchez captioned an Instagram Story of his appearance.

They are building a modern extended family

In 2021 Sánchez revealed she spent Christmas with Bezos, Nikko, her sister, and Bezos’ brother Mark in St. Barts. A source told People that the trip was "a big family celebration." In April 2024 the couple traveled to Japan with Sánchez’s three children during their spring break. Later that year they celebrated Thanksgiving with Nikko, Tony Gonzalez and his wife.

Both Bezos and Sánchez make time for shared family meals. "I like to putter in the mornings," news site CNBC quoted Bezos as saying during a 2018 talk at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. "I like to read the newspaper, I like to have coffee, I like to have breakfast with my kids before they go to school."

Sánchez echoed this in a 2023 interview with Wall Street Journal magazine.

"On a typical Saturday we hang out, we have dinner with the kids, which is always fun because you never know where the conversation is going to go with this many kids," she said. "We are the Brady Bunch!"

Jeff Bezos and ex-wife MacKenzie Scott with their four children. Photo from Instagram

Bezos advocates raising independent children

Bezos has long emphasized the value of independence and hands-on learning. At a 2017 event he said he let his children use knives at age four and power tools by age seven or eight, lessons he attributed to his upbringing on his grandfather’s farm.

At a 2018 gala for the global nonprofit FIRST, Bezos, the world’s fourth richest person with a net worth of US$234.4 billion, spoke about encouraging his children to pursue careers they are passionate about.

"Whatever you do, choose something you can bring passion to. That's going to make it easier for you to make that choice to work hard."

He said Scott shared this outlook, recalling that she once told him she "would much rather have a kid with nine fingers than a resourceless kid", a mindset he described as "a fantastic attitude about life."

Sánchez passes on passion for flying to her children

A licensed pilot, Sánchez said she has passed on her love of flying to her children. In a 2017 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she revealed all three had taken flying lessons.

"I was always in the hangar growing up but knew nothing about flying," she said. "Life can be so chaotic with so much going on. Lift off and you’re in an energy space that no one else is in," she added.

"It’s calming. When I’m up there, I’m completely satisfied. I’m like, ‘This is where I need to be.’"

Sons walked Sánchez down the aisle

In an interview with Vogue magazine before her wedding, the former TV presenter shared that her sons, Nikko and Evan, would walk her down the aisle. Her daughter, Ella, served as maid of honor and gave a reading during the ceremony. She also wore a custom Dolce & Gabbana suit.

"Ella’s original; she beats to her own drum," Sánchez said.

"She had never had a fitting before, and she loved it. She’s going to look amazing. It has been the most fun dressing all the kids."