Silicon Valley's Cultural Cosplay at the Met Gala Is a Dangerous Smokescreen - CNET

Our gifting experts are obsessively searching for holiday gifts that are unique, thoughtful and suitable for any budget. Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Commentary: For tech execs such as Jeff Bezos, there really is nothing money can't buy. Nothing, that is, except true cultural capital. Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez Bezos at the 2026 Met Gala: Connoisseurs of taste, or just billionaires? After many years of Silicon Valley nudging its way into Vogue’s Met Gala, this week’s edition marked the completion of tech’s semihostile takeover of the fashion magazine’s annual party to raise money for the Costume Institute at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. This year, the event’s co-chairs were Amazon founder and tech billionaire Jeff Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sanchez, who had reportedly paid $10 million for the honor. Also in attendance were executives from Meta, Snapchat, OpenAI and others, which has ignited outrage — especially among those who consider the Met Gala not a vulgar display of excess, but the most exclusive and stylish event on fashion’