Bill Gates and girlfriend Paula Hurd attend Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s engagement party

Bill Gates and his girlfriend Paul Hurd were among the guests who attended Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez’s engagement party on Wednesday (2 August).

The Amazon executive and billionaire, Bezos, 59 and former news anchor, Sánchez, 53, reportedly got engaged in May while on holiday in Cannes, France.

People reports that the celebration took place onboard the Amazon founder’s yacht in the Amalfi Coast, Italy. The Independent has contacted representatives of Bezos and Gates for comment.

According to the publication, Microsoft founder Gates, 67, was spotted wearing a grey tuxedo jacket and matching t-shirt, as he attended the event alongside Hurd.

Gates and Hurd reportedly began dating two years after the billionaire business mogul divorced his ex-wife Melinda French Gates in August 2021, after 27 years of marriage.

The new couple were spotted out together on several occasions and sitting next to each other at sporting events. They were last photographed together in January during the Men’s final at the Australian Open.

At the time, a source told People: “It’s widely known that Bill Gates and Paula Hurd are dating, but she hasn’t met his kids yet.”

Gates shares three children with his ex-wife Melinda: Jennifer, 27, Rory, 24 and Phoebe, 20.

Hurd was previously married to Mark Hurd, CEO of the software company Oracle, for 30 years until the businessman died in 2019 aged 62.

Meanwhile, Bezos and Sánchez made their relationship public in January 2019, following his divorce from MacKenzie Scott after 25 years of marriage.  The former couple share three sons and one daughter but keep their children’s lives private, with only the name of their eldest son, Preston, known to the public.

At the time, Sánchez was divorcing her ex-husband of 13 years, Patrick Whitesell, with whom she shares two children. Sánchez also has a son with former NFL star Tony Gonzalez.

Last month, Bezos was seen snapping photos of his Sánchez aboard his new yacht as it travelled through Italy.

The couple took a trip to Portofino, Italy, last month on Bezos’ superyacht, Koru, which is reportedly worth $500m (£394m).

While aboard the large luxury boat, Bezos wore a black shirt and multi-coloured swim trunks, while his partner of five years wore a black bikini, which she paired with matching sunglasses.

Bezos, who is worth more than $148bn (£116.5bn), also became Sánchez’s personal photographer. While leaning on the metal railing of the yacht, the 53-year-old appeared to pose in front of the iPhone her partner was holding.

People joked that Bezos is the world’s most overpaid “Instagram boyfriend” – a term used to describe someone who frequently takes photos of their partner, typically at the partner’s request.