Wealth on display at Met Gala

The annual Met Gala, which takes place this year on Monday, May 4, is always a lightning rod for controversy. The 2026 gala, celebrating the accompanying exhibition, “Costume Art,” has proven especially contentious, with critics calling out the event’s sponsors, including Amazon co-founder and executive chair, Jeff Bezos, and his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced he will skip the A-list gathering, citing his focus on affordability and making the city more affordable. The mayor’s decision is likely due to the event’s feminine style and high-profile attendees.

The evening’s sponsors have also drawn criticism, with many social media users calling for a boycott due to allegations of labor violations surrounding Amazon’s e-commerce business. They argue that the event is tone-deaf, given the wealth disparity between the sponsors and the workers.

Max Hollein, the museum’s director and chief executive officer, sees the Met Gala as part of “the history of American philanthropy,” where people across the political spectrum support culture and other causes. He emphasized that the Bezoses’ support is for the museum and Costume Institute’s ethos and initiatives, not a donor’s personal agenda.

The Met Gala is the primary fundraiser for the Met’s Costume Institute, which houses over 33,000 objects spanning seven centuries. The gala’s funds also support salaries for its 29-person staff, as well as the institute’s gallery spaces, including the 4,300-square-foot Anna Wintour Costume Center and the brand-new nearly 12,000-square-foot Condé M. Nast Galleries.

Individual tickets for the gala are priced at $100,000 for 2026, while a table sells for $350,000. Critics argue that the event is excessive, with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wearing a dress that reads “Tax the Rich” in 2021, sparking accusations of hypocrisy. The Met Gala debut of young celebrities like Blue Ivy also highlights the event’s luxury and extravagance.

A group of organizations, including the Service Employees International Union and the Amazon Labor Union, will stage a Ball Without Billionaires, a fashion show in downtown New York, to raise awareness about worker exploitation and safety issues at Amazon warehouses. They will use makeup and fashion to make a statement about the need for better working conditions.

Cindy Castro, a New York-based designer, said, “If there is that money to sponsor this gala, there should also be money to pay the workers fairly.” April Watson, an employee at an Amazon Warehouse in northeast Georgia, will model in the Ball Without Billionaires show, citing concerns about worker safety and exploitation.

An Amazon spokesperson said, “Safety is our top priority and at the core of everything we do. Amazon does not have fixed quotas at our facilities. Instead, we assess performance based on safe and achievable expectations and take into account time and tenure, peer performance, and adherence to safe work practices.” The spokesperson’s statement is an attempt to address the criticism, but it may not be enough to alleviate the concerns of workers like Watson.

Jeff Bezos is not new to the Met Gala, having previously sponsored the event in 2012 and posed with the likes of Anna Wintour and Carey Mulligan. At the time, Bezos was worth an estimated $18.4 billion, according to the outlet, making him the 26th richest person in the world. Now, he’s worth an estimated $224 billion, ranking fourth.

Watson said, “Jeff Bezos seems almost like royalty. He is so wealthy, and I know that he is the one that started Amazon – he’s very creative, and he’s a good organizer. He built it. And now I feel like he’s celebrating his success and just not interested in us who are at this bottom tier.” The Met Gala has helped shape the way many see fashion, with exhibitions like last year’s show on Black dandyism and this year’s show highlighting the dialogue between different arts about the dressed body.

A museum, after all, is not a donors’ playground, but a place for the world to access art, as Watson noted, “Museums in general allow ordinary people — anyone — to come in and see, face to face, these priceless pieces of art.” The museum’s director, Max Hollein, emphasized that the institution’s integrity and curatorial vision are paramount, and that the donors’ support is for the museum’s programs and initiatives, not their personal agendas.