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Jeff bezos’ $500m yacht has a 246-foot support ship, lauren sanchez figurehead.

Much like Amazon, Jeff Bezos’ $500 million superyacht offers every bell and whistle imaginable, from A to Z.

The colossal, triple-masted Koru began its career serving the world’s third richest man this week, cruising the Mediterranean around Mallorca.

The 417-foot schooner first left Rotterdam in the Netherlands for sea trials in February. Dropping anchor in Mallorca put its jaw-dropping size on full display.

It also showed the extent of Bezos’ fleet: Not only did the Koru sail into harbor, so did its support vessel, Abeona, a mega-boat in its own right, the luxurious fast-launches used to move between the two — and aerial support in the form of his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez’s personal helicopter.

Sanchez also seemingly serves as the fleet’s mascot, with the Koru’s figurehead, a part of traditional large sailing ships, modeled after her.

The Koru is the world’s tallest sailing yacht. Its three huge 229-foot masts power it to 20 knots. It’s also the biggest billionaire’s yacht which can move under sail-power alone.

The masts are so tall that Dutch officials considered dismantling the 95-year-old Koningshaven Bridge to allow the vessel past the 131-foot span on its journey from the Oceanco shipyard in Alblasserdam through Rotterdam to the North Sea.

That controversial plan was scrapped after local backlash, including residents being urged to toss eggs at Bezos’ “latest toy,”  the New York Times reported . The superyacht, previously known as Y721, was instead towed to a shipyard in Rotterdam, downstream of the bridge, without its masts.

Bezos, 59, and the bikini-clad Sanchez, 53, appeared ready for the summer as the pair soaked up the sun aboard Koru, a Māori word for loop or coil that symbolizes new beginnings — possibly a coy reference to their relationship.

Sanchez started secretly dating the Blue Origin founder in the summer of 2018. Bezos then announced in January 2019 he and his wife Mackenzie were divorcing after 25 years , while Sanchez finalized her split from husband Patrick Whitesell later that year.

Sanchez plays a critical role in the Bezos fleet: As a helicopter pilot, she was seen landing on the Abeona. She was also at Bezos’ side when he took the wheel of the Koru.

Koru was first seen under construction in 2021 at Oceano’s yard. The company is owned by a fellow billionaire, Oman’s Mohammed Al Barwani.

As many as 18 guests can enjoy the yacht’s three outdoor decks, including one with two pools. The vessel, which has a crew of up to 36, also boasts a cinema, meeting spaces and lounges,  Luxuo reported .

Every detail is designed for luxury, even down to the masts’ technology.

Bezos opted for high-tech “in-boom furlers,” which store the vast canvases at the bottom of the mast, above the deck. Each weighs nearly 2,000 pounds, but they allow his deck to be kept clear of ropes.

Clearing ropes out of the way maximizes entertaining space, and allows for a hot tub forward of the mainmast.

The yacht is also built for speed. Its three masts provide “one of the largest sail areas ever seen in yachting,”  according to SuperYacht Times .

The Koru’s original designer, and the identity of its captain, remain secret. Boat International noted : “With the elegant curve of the bow and a bowsprit, the lines are certainly classic, but we still have no idea which designer drew them.”

The Cayman Islands-flagged vessel also has engine power like most sailing yachts.

And while other billionaires measure yachts by size, Bezos’ is only the 24th largest.

However, since Koru’s masts rule out a helicopter deck, the billionaire commissioned a support vessel, Abeona, named for the Roman goddess of outward journeys.

In addition to a helipad, the 246-foot Abeona features an extra two staterooms for four guests and as many as 45 crew and support staff.

It’s the largest custom-built support vessel ever manufactured by Damen Yachting. On board in Mallorca were at least four jetskis, two fast launches, and an additional dinghy. Its heavy winch is capable of lifting a small submarine, although Bezos is not believed to have one thus far.

The “classic exterior lines” of Koru, are reminiscent of another billionaire’s boat: Eos, a 305-foot sailing yacht owned by Barry Diller, 81, who may have inspired Bezos after hosting him on the vessel.

Favored by megastars like Katy Perry and Bradley Cooper — who were Diller’s guests during 2019’s Google Camp in Sicily — the German-built Eos can accommodate up to 16 guests and 21 crew.

It was the largest private sailing yacht in the world when it was completed in 2006. Diller, chairman of IAC and Expedia, who is worth $3.9 billion, bought it three years later. Intriguingly, its figurehead is modeled on Diller’s wife Diane von Fürstenberg, the fashion designer.

But the $200 million, 305-foot schooner is now dwarfed by Bezos’ boat.

As Koru sailed in the Balearic Sea this week off the coast of Spain, Bezos’ boat symbolically surges past several other tech billionaires’ vessels – including Google co-founder Sergey Brin’s $80 million, 240-foot Dragonfly, and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison’s, $160 million, 288-foot Musashi.

It will cost Bezos, 59, an estimated $25 million per year to operate Koru, but the world’s third-richest man isn’t likely to need a loan with his $140.6 billion fortune,  according to Forbes .

Bezos’ use of sailpower sets him apart from most billionaires, but others are seeking a hi-tech zero-carbon power source: a Japanese billionaire has reportedly commissioned the world’s first hydrogen-powered superyacht.

Germany’s Lürssen Yachts announced in March that they had a hydrogen-powered superyacht in advanced construction.

It declined to identify the future owner of the unnamed superyacht, but specialist publication FuelCellsWorks reported Japanese billionaire tech Yusaku Maezawa, worth an estimated $1.7 billion, commissioned the innovative effort.

Dubbed Project Cosmos, the 374-foot superyacht is designed by Apple’s legendary Marc Newson and was first unveiled in early March at Lürssen’s facility in Rendsburg, Germany.

Once completed as soon as next year, the vessel is expected to utilize emission-free fuel cell technology to generate power lasting up to 15 days while anchored or to travel as far as 1,000 miles at slow speeds.

Three other major shipyards, including in Italy and the Netherlands, are likely to launch their own hydrogen started outfitting newly constructed vessels with hydrogen fuel cells as of March 2022, with the first models reportedly expected in 2024.

Other megayachts expected to soon join Bezos’ Koru in the water include two Lürssen models, the 475-foot Luminance and the 400-foot Jag, and Feadship 821, a 389-foot offering from the Netherlands manufacturer.

But even those won’t best the biggest megayacht in the world, the 593-foot Azzam, which launched in 2013 after being commissioned by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the United Arab Emirates who died last year.

Azzam, which means determination in Arabic, reportedly cost more than $600 million and is nearly 60 feet longer than the world’s second-largest yacht, the 533-foot Eclipse, owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.

Those monster vessels are expected to be surpassed next year by REV, a 600-foot yacht under construction in Norway which will have space for 36 guests and 54 crewmembers, according to Boat International .

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Jeff Bezos has hosted Bill Gates, Ari Emanuel, and other business tycoons and celebrities on his stunning $500 million yacht

• Jeff Bezos' megayacht has played host to several celebrities since setting sail last year.
• Bezos and his fiancée, Lauren Sánchez, held their star-studded engagement party on the yacht in 2023.
• There are some of the big names who have boarded Koru.

Jeff Bezos' megayacht has only been sailing on the open seas for a little more than a year, but the $500 million spectacle has already wracked up an impressive guest log of A-list visitors.

The Amazon founder has hosted fellow billionaires , reality TV stars, and Academy-award winners on his 417-foot vessel.

Here are some of the big names who have enjoyed Koru alongside Bezos.

Bezos did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Leonardo DiCaprio

Hollywood hotshot Leonardo DiCaprio is a repeat sailor on Koru.

Bezos hosted an August 2023 party aboard the yacht to celebrate his engagement to Lauren Sánchez, and DiCaprio was in attendance, Page Six reported at the time.

DiCaprio was back on the big boat earlier this month, but this time, he was joined by his 26-year-old girlfriend, Vittoria Ceretti, according to the tabloid .

Representatives for DiCaprio did not respond to BI's request for comment.

Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom

Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom enjoyed an Italian summer while sailing on Koru earlier this month.

The singer-actor couple were both in attendance at Sánchez's 50th birthday party in 2019, according to Page Six.

Perry and Bloom also joined Bezos and Sánchez in Croatia last year , as did Usher.

The "Woman's World" singer and her "The Lord of the Rings" partner were back on Koru with Bezos, Sánchez, DiCaprio, and Ceretti this month, Page Six reported.

Representatives for Perry and Bloom did not respond to BI's request for comment.

Microsoft founder and billionaire Bill Gates enjoyed Koru's amenities when he attended Bezos and Sánchez's August 2023 engagement party.

Gates was accompanied by his girlfriend, Paula Hurd. The couple was spotted in paparazzi photos lounging on the yacht's deck.

Representatives for Gates did not respond to BI's request for comment.

Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner

Multiple members of the famous reality TV family have hitched a ride aboard Koru.

Kim Kardashian spent time on the megayacht with Bezos and Sánchez earlier this summer as Koru traversed the Aegean Sea near Greece, People reported.

The SKIMS founder's mother, Kris Jenner, and her boyfriend, Cory Gamble, were also on board earlier this month, according to the outlet.

Jenner also attended Bezos and Sánchez's August 2023 engagement party on Koru. The Kardashian matriarch posted a photo of herself sitting next to Sánchez celebrating the engagement.

Representatives for Kardashian and Jenner did not respond to a request for comment from BI.

Wendi Murdoch

Entrepreneur and investor Wendi Murdoch snagged an invite to Bezos and Sánchez's 2023 engagement party aboard Koru, Page Six reported at the time.

Rupert Murdoch's ex-wife was photographed on the yacht in conversation with Gates.

BI reached out to Murdoch for comment.

Whitney Wolfe Herd

Bumble co-founder and billionaire Whitney Wolfe Herd was among Sánchez's female friends who helped celebrate her engagement on Koru last year, BI previously reported.

Herd appeared in photos on Sánchez's Instagram from August 2023.

BI reached out to Herd on Instagram for comment.

Ari Emanuel and Sarah Staudinger

Fashion designer Sarah Staudinger and her husband, Ari Emanuel , CEO of entertainment agency Endeavor, also attended the star-studded engagement party last year.

Staudinger appeared in photos on Sánchez's Instagram presumably taken on Koru from around that time.

Emanuel did not immediately respond to a request for comment. BI was unable to reach Staudinger for comment.

Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield

The two Spiderman actors reportedly attended Bezos and Sánchez's engagement party on Koru last August, Page Six reported at the time.

Representatives for Maguire and Garfield did not respond to BI's request for comment.

Rania Al Abdullah (The Queen of Jordan)

Queen Rania of Jordan was also a reported guest at Bezos and Sánchez's 2023 engagement party, according to Page Six.

BI reached out to Queen Rania's foundation for comment.

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Laurene powell jobs’ $120m super-yacht in minor crash with boat owned by mexican billionaire.

Talk about yacht rock!

Billionaire Laurene Powell Jobs ’ super-yacht, the Venus , was in a minor crash with another mega-vessel, the Lady Moura, owned by Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego , we hear.

The accident between the big ol’ boats — both reportedly worth upwards of $120 million each — happened on July 22nd in Italy.

A source familiar with the situation told Page Six that both yachts were actually anchored when the incident occurred.

Said our seaworthy source: “The Venus came into contact with the Lady Moura — which was also anchored,” adding that on Jobs’ boat, “No family was on board, only crew.”

The insider said the accident happened when, “The wind changed very suddenly, picking up from a breeze to 55 knots over the course of a few minutes.”

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Katia Damborsky (@theyachtwriter)

The source said, “Neither boat ‘dragged anchor,’” but alleged that the Lady Moura was, “on a chain double the length [to be] expected in the depth of water they were in… Both captains were in discussion immediately following the incident about minor repairs needed.”

According to the site Boat International, Pliego’s side recorded the incident, and there’s video of the nautical fender-bender on Instagram.

The outlet reported that the billionaire could be heard saying in Spanish, “I would like to know what the captain and crew were doing that they didn’t see a yacht the size of mine in front of me. Good thing nothing but a scratch happened, but it’s a big scratch that’s going to [cost] a lot to fix.”

The 256-foot Venus was custom created for Steve Jobs, and designed by Philippe Starck. But the late Apple founder never got a chance to use the boat before his 2011 death and it went to his widow.

At 344 feet, the Lady Moura was previously owned by a Saudi businessman and cost $200 million before it was reportedly bought for $125 million by Pliego, the third richest person in Mexico.

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Pliego is a billionaire businessman who runs banking, telecommunications and retail companies.

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Billionaire showdown: Inside the superyachts owned by Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg & more

Amazon ceo jeff owns the tallest sailing yacht in the world.

From swanky holiday homes decked out with mind-boggling gadgets, to flash cars and sparkling jewellery collections, it's fair to say that the mega rich certainly know how to splash their cash…

In recent years, an increasing number of billionaires have pushed the boat out, opting to amplify their eye-watering fortunes with a travel-themed toy. Enter the superyacht - those elusive sea-faring beasts so often seen in Bond movies.

Tech giants Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates are among those making a splash in the world of luxurious boats. Keep scrolling for the ultimate billionaire showdown…

Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos is the proud owner of Koru - a 417-ft Oceanco sailing yacht. It's thought to be the world's largest sailing yacht and features a three-masted schooner, gold paintwork, and a sculpture of his fiancee, Lauren Sanchez. 

His yacht also boasts a large pool, a seating area on the bowsprit, a cinema, multiple lounges and business areas. It's tailed by a smaller support vessel which is rumoured to carry a submarine, a luxury car, a helicopter and more. 

• Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook billionaire Mark Zuckerberg recently purchased a £237 million mega yacht. His luxurious 118-m boat boasts its very own aircraft hangar, and a support vessel dubbed the Wingman which is thought to be worth a whopping £24 million.

His main yacht - which can accommodate 26 guests and 50 crew members - features a beach club area, a beauty centre, and a cinema room.

Roman Abramovich

Former Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich snapped up Eclipse for £623 million. Built by Blohm+Voss of Hamburg, the vessel is a behemoth of a boat complete with two swimming pools, a mini submarine and two helicopter pads. 

Beyond this, it has 18 suites, a 77m gym, a beauty salon, a beach club - complete with a pizza oven and barbecue -  and a cinema.

Bernard Arnault

CEO of LVMH, Bernard Arnault, owns a midnight blue yacht called Symphony which reportedly cost $150 million to construct. 

The main vessel boasts a 6-metre glass-bottom swimming pool, an outdoor cinema, a jacuzzi and eight guest cabins. Other amenities include a piano, a steam room and a beach club.

James Packer

Australian billionaire James Packer has bagged himself a 354-ft superyacht which goes by the name of IJE. 

The $200 million luxury cruiser accommodates 22 people and features a cinema, a luxurious beauty room, a sauna, a swimming pool and a gym.

Evan Spiegel

Snap inc. founder Evan Spiegel owns a $200 million superyacht named Bliss. The 327-ft long vessel boasts three swimming pools, a spa, a beach club and a gym. It can accommodate up to 18 guests in nine suites.

The Sultan of Oman

The former Sultan of Oman, Qaboos bin Said al Said, was the proud owner of palatial yacht, Al Said. It was constructed in 2006 and is thought to be one of the world's largest superyachts, accommodating 70 guests and 174 crew members. 

The ultra-luxurious vessel includes conference facilities, a cinema, and a jacuzzi. It was sold to the royal family of Qatar for roughly $600 million after 16 years of ownership. 

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10 of the most impressive superyachts owned by billionaires

From a sailing yacht owned by a russian billionaire industrialist to the luxury launch of the patek philippe ceo, here are the best billionaire-owned boats on the water….

Words: Jonathan Wells

There’s something about billionaires and big boats . Whether they’re superyachts or megayachts, men with money love to splash out on these sizeable sea-going giants. And that all began in 1954 — with the big dreams of Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis.

Onassis, keen to keep his luxury lifestyle afloat when at sea, bought Canadian anti-submarine frigate HMCS Stormont after World War II. He spent millions turning it into an opulent super yacht, named it after his daughter — and the Christina O kicked off a trend among tycoons. To this day, the world’s richest men remain locked in an arms race to build the biggest, fastest, most impressive superyacht of all. Here are 10 of our favourites…

Eclipse, owned by Roman Abramovich

Built by: Blohm+Voss of Hamburg, with interiors and exteriors designed by Terence Disdale. Launched in 2009, it cost $500 million (the equivalent of £623 million today).

Owned by: Russian businessman Roman Abramovich, the owner of private investment company Millhouse LLC and owner of Chelsea Football Club. His current net worth is $17.4 billion.

Key features: 162.5 metres in length / 9 decks / Top speed of 22 knots / Two swimming pools / Disco hall / Mini submarine / 2 helicopter pads / 24 guest cabins

Sailing Yacht A, owned by Andrey Melnichenko

Built by: Nobiskrug, a shipyard on the Eider River in Germany. The original idea came from Jacques Garcia, with interiors designed by Philippe Starck and a reported price tag of over $400 million.

Owned by: Russian billionaire industrialist Andrey Melnichenko, the main beneficiary of both the fertiliser producing EuroChem Group and the coal energy company SUEK. Though his current net worth is $18.7 billion, Sailing Yacht A was seized in Trieste on 12 March 2022 due to the EU’s sanctions on Russian businessmen.

Key features: 119 metres in length / 8 decks / Top speed of 21 knots / Freestanding carbon-fibre rotating masts / Underwater observation pod / 14 guests

Symphony, owned by Bernard Arnault

Built by: Feadship, the fabled shipyard headquartered in Haarlem in The Netherlands. With an exterior designed by Tim Heywood, it reportedly cost around $150 million to construct.

Owned by: French billionaire businessman and art collector Bernard Arnault. Chairman and chief executive of LVMH, the world’s largest luxury goods company, his current net worth is $145.8 billion.

Key features: 101.5 metres in length / 6 decks / Top speed of 22 knots / 6-metre glass-bottom swimming pool / Outdoor cinema / Sundeck Jacuzzi / 8 guest cabins

Faith, owned by Michael Latifi

Built by: Similarly to Symphony above, also Feadship. With exteriors designed by Beaulieu-based RWD, and interiors by Chahan Design, it cost a reported $200 million to construct in 2017.

Owned by: Until recently, Canadian billionaire and part-owner of the Aston Martin Formula 1 Team , Lawrence Stroll. Recently sold to Michael Latifi, father of F1 star Nicholas , a fellow Canadian businessman with a net worth of just under $2 billion.

Key features: 97 metres in length / 9 guest cabins / Glass-bottom swimming pool — with bar / Bell 429 helicopter

Amevi, owned by Lakshmi Mittal

Built by: The Oceanco shipyard, also in The Netherlands. With exterior design by Nuvolari & Lenard and interior design by Alberto Pinto, it launched in 2007 (and cost around $125 million to construct).

Owned by: Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, chairman and CEO of Arcelor Mittal, the world’s largest steelmaking company. He owns 20% of Queen Park Rangers, and has a net worth of $18 billion.

Key features: 80 metres in length / 6 decks / Top speed of 18.5 knots / On-deck Jacuzzi / Helipad / Swimming Pool / Tender Garage / 8 guest cabins

Odessa II, owned by Len Blavatnik

Built by: Nobiskrug, the same German shipyard that built Sailing Yacht A . Both interior and exterior were created by Focus Yacht Design, and the yacht was launched in 2013 with a cost of $80 million.

Owned by: British businessman Sir Leonard Blavatnik. Founder of Access Industries — a multinational industrial group with current holdings in Warner Music Group, Spotify and the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat — he is worth $39.9 billion.

Key features: 74 metres in length / 6 guest cabins / Top speed of 18 knots / Intimate beach club / Baby grand piano / Private master cabhin terrace / Outdoor cinema

Nautilus, owned by Thierry Stern

Built by: Italian shipyard Perini Navi in 2014. With interiors by Rémi Tessier and exterior design by Philippe Briand, Nautilus was estimated to cost around $90 million to construct.

Owned by: Patek Philippe CEO Thierry Stern. Alongside his Gulstream G650 private jet, Nautilus — named for the famous sports watch — is his most costly mode of transport. His current net worth is $3 billion.

Key features: 73 metres in length / 7 guest cabins / Top speed of 16.5 knots / Dedicated wellness deck / 3.5 metre resistance pool / Underfloor heating / Jet Skis

Silver Angel, owned by Richard Caring

Built by: Luxury Italian boatbuilder Benetti. Launched in 2009, the yacht’s interior has been designed by Argent Design and her exterior styling is by Stefano Natucci.

Owned by: Richard Caring, British businessman and multi-millionaire (his wealth peaked at £1.05 billion, so he still makes the cut). Chairman of Caprice Holdings, he owns The Ivy restaurants.

Key features: 64.5 metres in length / Cruising speed of 15 knots / 7 guest cabins / Lalique decor / 5 decks / Oval Jacuzzi pool / Sun deck bar / Aft deck dining table

Lady Beatrice, owned by Frederick Barclay

Built by: Feadship and Royal Van Lent in 1993. Exteriors were created by De Voogt Naval Architects, with interiors by Bannenberg Designs. She cost the equivalent of £63 million to build.

Owned by: Sir David Barclay and his late brother Sir Frederick. The ‘Barclay Brothers’ had joint business pursuits including The Spectator , The Telegraph and delivery company Yodel. Current net worth: £7 billion.

Key features: 60 metres in length / 18 knots maximum speed / Monaco home port / Named for the brothers’ mother, Beatrice Cecelia Taylor / 8 guest cabins

Space, owned by Laurence Graff

Built by: Space was the first in Feadship’s F45 Vantage series , styled by Sinot Exclusive Yacht Design and launched in 2007. She cost a reported $25 million to construct.

Owned by: Laurence Graff, English jeweller and billionaire businessman. As the founder of Graff Diamonds, he has a global business presence and a current net worth of $6.26 billion.

Key features: 45 metres in length / Top speed of 16 knots / Al fresco dining area / Sun deck Jacuzzi / Breakfast bar / Swimming platform / Steam room

Want more yachts? Here’s the handcradfted, homegrown history of Princess…

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The 5 most suspicious things about tech billionaire Mike Lynch’s capsized yacht

Bankers on board, fraud accusations, and unsinkable ships make the bayesian one of the most peculiar stories of the year..

On August 19, tech billionaire Mike Lynch died when his yacht capsized off the coast of Sicily after encountering a violent storm.

That same day, miles away in an English village near Cambridge, Stephen Chamberlain, Lynch’s business partner, was hit by a car while jogging and later died.

Lynch and Chamberlain were cleared of fraud charges in the same trial just a month earlier, stemming from the 2011 sale of Autonomy, Lynch’s machine learning data analysis company, to Hewlett-Packard.

The mysterious circumstances surrounding their deaths, combined with the sheer status of those on board the yacht, have sparked worldwide controversy and suspicion.

Taking a deeper dive into some of the popular points of intrigue, here are the most peculiar points about the curious story of Lynch’s death.

The unsinkable ship

The story almost writes itself: Like the Titanic , the unsinkable ship … sinks.

Lynch’s 56-meter luxury yacht, named Bayesian , was built by Italian company Perini Navi, a subsidiary of the Italian Sea Group.

The Italian Sea Group has declared the sailing ships to be “unsinkable bodies.”

'We didn’t see it coming.'

However, the claims of the group’s CEO, Giovanni Costantino, go much farther than that. Costantino went so far as to say that the incident “sounds like an unbelievable story, both technically and as a fact.”

"Being the manufacturer of Perini [boats], I know very well how the boats have always been designed and built," he continued, per Sky News . "And as Perini is a sailing ship ... sailing ships are renowned to be the safest ever."

This sounds exactly what a boat manufacturer would say about his product, but to sink that fast, most have surmised, including Costantino, the vessel likely would have had to have taken on water at an alarming rate in order to sink.

Bad weather or bad captain?

“The Bayesian was a model for many other vessels because of its stability and exceptionally high performance,” Costantino told the BBC . “There was absolutely no problem with it.”

That is, of course, unless something went horribly wrong.

Costantino’s remarks seemed to place the onus on the ship’s captain, James Cutfield of New Zealand.

The manufacturer said that before approaching the storm, the captain should have closed every opening, lifted anchor, turned on the engine, and pointed into the wind.

This would have stabilized the vessel, and the ship would have cruised through the storm in “comfort,” he added.

But Costantino said that there must have been a hatch or side entrance left open for water to have surged inside.

Spotlights have since been focused on Cutfield, who survived the ordeal along with his crew and certain passengers. While the six most notable passengers all died, survivors include Charlotte Golunski, a co-founder with Lynch of the venture capital firm Invoke Capital, funded by the proceeds from Autonomy’s sale, and Golunski’s 1-month-old daughter.

“We didn’t see it coming,” Cutfield told the media. It was an interesting statement, since others definitely saw the storm coming.

The storm in question was described by local authorities first as a waterspout, or mini-tornado, but later changed to a downburst, a weather phenomenon that includes powerful downdrafts during a thunderstorm. The downburst results in damaging winds that spread in every direction.

Costantino noted that there was another sailing vessel just 492 feet from the Bayesian that suffered no damage.

The Sir Robert Baden Powell , a Dutch ship built in 1957, somehow weathered the same storm that Lynch’s modern yacht couldn’t.

“A ship from those years cannot have the technology of the Bayesian ,” Costantino said. “Yet that ship did not suffer damage. Its crew had prepared it well to face the storm. They even managed to provide assistance to the Bayesian .”

Costantino then pointed to local fishermen, implying that others were more cautious of the weather that day than Lynch’s crew was.

One of those fishermen, Matteo Cannia, told the BBC he saw flashes of lightning and heard thunder and wind and thus decided to go home.

Another fisherman, Fabio Cefalu, had also planned to go out that morning but decided against it due to the weather conditions. He actually went out to sea in a rescue attempt when the Bayesian shot up a flare.

While prosecutors said they believed one person was on watch in the Bayesian’s cockpit that night, a ship surveyor told the BBC that two crew members should have been taking turns on watch due to the storm warnings.

These mysterious events resulted in state prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio telling reporters that there were many possible culpabilities, but it could “just be the captain,” or it “could be the whole crew.”

The banker on board

Among the deceased was Morgan Stanley Chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife, Judith.

According to Sky News , the 70-year-old and his wife were on the boat to celebrate Lynch's aforementioned court victory.

The trial was regarding Lynch’s software company Autonomy, which was sold to Hewlett-Packard in 2011 for $11 billion. Though it took less than a year for HP to write down over $8 billion of Autonomy’s value, fraud scandals from the sale took years to surface, culminating in Autonomy’s CFO Sushovan Hussain being found guilty of fraud in 2018.

Lynch and Chamberlain, Autonomy’s VP of finance, faced more than a dozen charges in the trial but were acquitted in the summer of 2024. Read more on Autonomy here .

Bloomer was a defense witness in that trial, the Independent wrote , adding that he was also the chairman of Autonomy’s audit committee during its sale to HP.

Lynch’s lawyer Christopher Morvillo and his wife, Neda, also died on the yacht.

Chamberlain died the same day

In a shocking coincidence, Lynch’s colleague Chamberlain was struck by a car and hospitalized while jogging in Cambridgeshire, England.

The incident occurred around 10 a.m. the same day as the boating wreck, which happened just hours earlier.

The 52-year-old was running when he was hit by a Vauxhall Corsa driven by a 49-year-old woman, in an area where the speed limit is 60 miles per hour.

The coroner stated that a vehicle was “presented with a runner crossing the road” between two parts of a bridleway, the Telegraph reported. The car caused “significant injuries” to Chamberlain, who later died in hospital from a “traumatic head injury” after being placed on life support.

Police appealed for witnesses, but none came forward. The woman driving the car reportedly remained at the scene and was allegedly giving assistance to Chamberlain.

Chamberlain was also using a fitness app that tracked his movements. Police were able to pinpoint that he had been running for about six miles before he was hit and that his route was plotted out in advance.

Chamberlain was also reportedly still on “administrative leave” due to his trial from company Darktrace, of which he was the CEO.

Darktrace’s intelligence ties

After Autonomy’s controversial sale to HP, Lynch started a venture capital firm, Invoke Capital. His first big investment was in cyber intelligence firm Darktrace.

“Darktrace wasn’t just an investment; team members from Invoke Capital who have intelligence ties, along with other unnamed intelligence professionals, were heavily involved,” Return’s James Poulos said.

According to the Daily Mail , Chamberlain and other Darktrace executives had deep ties to both U.S. and U.K. intelligence.

'A combination of maths from Cambridge with the credibility of GCHQ and MI5 is unmatched.'

Co-founder Stephen Huxter was a senior member of MI5’s cyber defense team. Huxter also installed Andrew France as chief executive at Darktrace, a former U.K. Government Communications Headquarters operative.

Also, two high-ranking intelligence executives from opposite sides of the pond were reportedly on Darktrace’s board: ex-MI5 Director General Jonathan Evans and the NSA’s Jim Penrose, who rose to the rank of defense intelligence senior level.

Penrose was also Darktrace’s executive vice president of cyber intelligence.

Darktrace wasn’t exactly hiding these connections and even boasted of its intelligence ties in a 2015 Wired interview.

"A combination of maths from Cambridge with the credibility of GCHQ and MI5 is unmatched," said Nicole Eagan, who was the Darktrace CEO after France.

As questions arose about Darktrace, the company was eventually accused of manipulating sales numbers, misrepresenting revenue, and mismanaging expenses. The accusations mirrored those against Autonomy during its sale to HP.

Darktrace’s shares subsequently plunged by more than 17%.

Venture capital firm Quintessential Capital Management even issued a 70-page report that concluded with a statement about being "deeply skeptical" about the "validity of Darktrace's financial statements."

Darktrace replied by saying the company had "rigorous controls in place."

After years of up-and-down stock prices, Darktrace soared 24% thanks to its artificial intelligence-backed products. In April 2024, the cyber industry-focused private equity firm Thoma Bravo, which is the largest stockholder in the NASDAQ stock exchange, purchased the company for $5.3 billion, a deal that will go through notwithstanding the controversy and fallout surrounding the Lynch saga.

From the onset of his career, Lynch has been suspected of having ties to national security agencies. His first company, called Cambridge Neurodynamics, specialized in computer-based fingerprint recognition.

Lynch revealed to Wired in 2002 that he had done work with British intelligence through Cambridge Neurodynamics, stating that "they have the most interesting problems.”

Since Lynch's death, HP has decided to move forward with legal proceedings against his estate. As Reuters reported, HP has filed the lawsuit against Lynch and the aforementioned CFO Hussain.

HP is seeking more than $4 billion in damages.

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Mike Lynch yacht sinking: This is how tech billionaire may have died

M ike Lynch, British tech tycoon reportedly died of suffocation after his yacht sank off Sicily's coast last month. Lynch and his daughter Hannah (18) were among the bunch of people who were onboard when the British-flagged superyacht Bayesian sank during a severe and sudden weather event off the port of Porticello, near Palermo

Citing an investigative source, news agency Reuters said that initial examinations were carried out over the weekend after his body was recovered and they suggest that he died after running out of oxygen.

Initial results on Hannah Lynch's body were inconclusive, only ruling out any traumas or wounds as the cause of death. This leaves the possibilities that she either ran out of oxygen or drowned, the report added.

How other guests died on yacht

Last week, Reuters cited judicial sources as saying that preliminary results from autopsies on four other victims – Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judith, lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda – indicated suffocation as the likely cause of death.

The bodies, except for the cook, were found in cabins on the left-hand side of the 56-metre vessel, the head of Palermo's Fire Brigade said last month. The initial examinations of the onboard chef indicated he died by drowning.

Fifteen people survived, including Lynch's wife.

Captain, crew under probe

Ship captain James Cutfield and two crew members have been placed under investigation by the Italian authorities for potential manslaughter and shipwreck. It does not not imply guilt and does not mean formal charges will follow.

One of the crew members reportedly claimed that crew members did everything they could to save guests on board the Bayesian.

Naval experts said a vessel like the Bayesian, built by Perini – a high-end yacht manufacturer owned by The Italian Sea Group – should have withstood the storm and should not have sunk as quickly as it did.

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$250M superyacht Liva O draws 'big' attention on Seattle's Lake Union

The superyacht LIVA O, owned by billionaire Stephen Orenstein, has made a notable appearance on Seattle's Lake Union. (AJ Janavel)

SEATTLE - The superyacht LIVA O, owned by billionaire Stephen Orenstein , has made a notable appearance on Seattle's Lake Union . 

Measuring 387 feet, LIVA O is the largest superyacht ever built by the esteemed German shipbuilder Abeking & Rasmussen . For comparison, a Washington state Olympic Class ferry measures 362 feet.

Launched as the shipyard's latest masterpiece, LIVA O represents a significant achievement for Abeking & Rasmussen, which has been in operation for over 115 years. "We have once again succeeded in building an exceptional yacht," said Matthias Hellmann, CEO at Abeking & Rasmussen. "By upholding our values of innovation, quality, and client satisfaction, we have created a yacht that sets new industry standards."

Designed by Joseph Dirand Architecture in Paris, the yacht features a sleek black hull and offers luxurious amenities, including a Neptune Lounge with an underwater view, a swimming pool, a helicopter pad and a crow’s nest. The vessel also employs a diesel-electric propulsion system for quiet navigation and maneuvering. 

So how much does a yacht of this size cost? According to Superyacht Fan , Orenstein bought the yacht in 2023 for $250 million and estimates its annual running cost to be $15 to $25 million. 

The superyacht LIVA O, owned by billionaire Stephen Orenstein, has made a notable appearance on Seattle's Lake Union. ( AJ Janavel )

Who is Stephen Orenstein?

According to Forbes , Stephen Orenstein is a German-American business executive with extensive commercial real estate holdings in Germany, Italy, the U.K. and the U.S., and holds a stake in the German soccer team Eintracht Frankfurt. 

Formerly owning 75% of Supreme Group, a logistics firm that supplied food and water to the U.S. Army in Afghanistan, Orenstein took over the company in 1985 after his father's death. 

Forbes estimates his net worth at $2 billion. 

The yacht's presence in Lake Union is drawing attention from locals and yacht enthusiasts alike, marking a significant milestone in Seattle's maritime scene.

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YACHT HORROR: How did billionaire's 'unsinkable' boat end up on sea bottom? Back to video

Billionaire tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch’s cage was gilded to be sure but a cage nonetheless.

And when he was cleared, Lynch took pals for a Mediterranean cruise on his super yacht, the Bayesian, which he was mulling selling. That will never happen.

On Monday morning, the Bayesian sank off the coast of Sicily killing Lynch, his daughter Hannah, 18, two couples and the yacht’s Canadian chef.

Now, investigators are trying to determine how — and why — the “unsinkable” 184-foot yacht sank 160 feet to the bottom of the sea. The yacht’s captain may be the only person who has the answers.

Here is the latest:

— Lynch’s daughter Hannah, 18, is still missing after five bodies were found in the wreck;

— His wife revealed she was awoken by a “tilt” as the yacht went down;

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— Experts believe the yacht’s “tallest mast in the world” may have contributed to the tragedy after a freak “Black Swan” weather event;

— Frantic text messages from survivors who piled into a tiny raft revealed the chaos.

For two hours following the disaster, police questioned Kiwi captain James Cutfield, 51.

One major question is why the Bayesian sank so quickly.

“Every time a vessel sinks, there is never just one reason,” shipwreck researcher Bertrand Scibo told The UK Sun . “It could be that the keel was also inside or outside, because they can remove the keel [sic].”

He added: [There would be] no reason to remove the keel because they do that only when they go into harbour. Only the captain will be able to answer this special question.”

So far, five bodies — including Lynch’s — have been recovered with six being confirmed dead. There were 15 survivors.

Scibo was also concerned regarding the slow trickle of information and answers being released by officials. He said “all the information seems to be a bit secret.”

The CEO of the company that manufactured the yacht, Giovanni Costantino, claimed his boats are “unsinkable” and the “safest ever.” Instead, he told Italian TV that “human error” was to blame.

As the horror unfolded in Porticello Harbour on Monday morning, witnesses in a smaller boat claimed the mast was hammered by a waterspout causing the boat to capsize — and then vanish beneath the waves.

A British lawyer specializing in maritime law told the Daily Mail that officials will likely target the crew for answers.

“They will want to find out if the captain was at fault over anything,” lawyer Stephen Askins said. “If I was looking at this I’d be very interested in the weather report, what the captain was briefing the crew and what the captain was briefing the owner.”

He added: “It’s a case of looking at what happened and then asking yourself whether in all the circumstances what he did was reasonable.”

Shipwreck researcher Scibo said open windows and portholes could also be a recipe for disaster with the water flooding in “very quickly,” expediting the yacht’s demise.

“If you’ve got a combination of all these reasons, the keel, the mast, the portal, the windows and this very big tornado,” he said. “You find the reason of the sinking.”

The child of Irish immigrants, Lynch won a scholarship to a posh private school and then attended Cambridge.

Only two months ago he won a shocking landmark victory in the U.S. courts. Tech giant Hewlett Packard claimed Lynch artificially inflated the value of his software firm, Autonomy.

He had sold Autonomy to HP for a whopping $11.7 billion in 2011.

Prosecutors had accused Lynch, along with Autonomy’s finance executive Stephen Chamberlain — who died in a tragic car crash Saturday — padded Autonomy’s bottom line.

After being cleared, Lynch told The Times of London that he had feared dying in prison.

″If this had gone the wrong way, it would have been the end of my life as I have known it in any sense,” Lynch told the newspaper. “It’s bizarre, but now you have a second life — the question is, what do you want to do with it?”

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Las Vegas billionaire has 2 megayachts docked in Maine at once

by Troy R. Bennett, Bangor Daily News

PORTLAND, Maine ( BDN ) -- The billionaire owner of a megayacht visiting the Portland Harbor this week is so rich he brought along a second megayacht just to house all his expensive toys.

The second vessel, the 217-foot Hodor, was purposely designed to trail the 285-foot Lonian. The Hodor is likely hauling a crew of 20, five smaller boats, an array of jet skis, and a set of four-wheelers for use on land, according to the website Superyacht Fan. The Hodor can reportedly also accommodate a 6-ton helicopter, though none was spotted Wednesday morning.

• Also read: Gigayacht spotted in Portland Harbor attracts attention

Both boats, now at Fore Points Marina, are owned by Las Vegas casino tycoon and former Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Lorenzo Fertitta.

A private, motor-driven pleasure boat longer than 24 meters — or about 80 feet — is usually called a superyacht. But larger vessels over 60 meters — or 196 feet, like Fertitta’s boats — are known as megayachts

Superyacht Fan estimates the Hodor cost $30 million when it was new in 2019 and now costs between $3 million and $5 million to operate and maintain every year. But that astronomical price is a bargain compared to its mothership, the Lonian. The website reckons it was purchased for $160 million in 2018 and costs upwards of $15 million annually.

Fertitta’s pair of ultra-expensive vessels aren’t the only megayachts in town.

Parked at the next slip over is the Cayman Islands-flagged, 242-foot M&EM, which can accommodate 12 guests in six cabins, along with a crew of 19, according to Amels Yachts, the Dutch company which built it in 2022. The M&EM can cruise at 16.5 knots and has a range of about 5,000 nautical miles.

• Also read: Poisoned trees gave a wealthy couple in Maine a killer ocean view

It isn’t clear who owns the M&EM, but according to Vesselfinder, it arrived in Portland on Sept. 1 after being spotted in Portugal on Aug 25.

Also at Fore Points is the relatively small, 166-foot superyacht Sapphire, built in 2009. According to big-boat broker Denison Yachting, the Sapphire had an extensive retrofit in 2019 and can sleep up to 20 guests in seven staterooms. It’s for sale with an asking price of $15 million.

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Boat of the Week: Inside ‘Secret,’ the Lavish 271-Foot Superyacht Owned by Walmart Heiress Nancy Walton Laurie

Walmart heiress nancy walton laurie's 271-footer has an eclectic interior of black and gold, along with splashes of red, as well as other, well, secrets., julia zaltzman, julia zaltzman's most recent stories.

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It would take the sale of approximately 5.75 million HP ink cartridges to fund the $92 million purchase of superyacht Secret , currently listed for sale with Burgess. The ink cartridges were one of Walmart’s top-selling products in 2021, and might well have contributed to a successful year of yachting for Secret ’s owner, Walmart heiress and philanthropist Nancy Walton Laurie.

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As the largest yacht on display at last month’s MYBA Charter Show in Barcelona, and one of three yachts reportedly owned by Laurie, the 271-foot beauty built by Abeking & Rasmussen in 2013 provides some insight into the family’s tastes and preferences.

The main salon’s bold color scheme by interior designer Jim Harris mixes pillar-box red sofas and carpets with ornate gold wall art. It’s a brave step change from the neutral beige and gray tones often selected by owners, typically with resale value in mind.

Courtesy Burgess

The designers also moved the formal dining room to the upper deck, leaving a large entertaining space to watch sports and socialize. A monochrome marble bar with a glass backdrop, views to the main deck aft and an onboard mixologist all help to set the tone. When it comes onboard socializing, Secret pulls no punches.

Guests arrive via the lower deck beach club or the main deck side entrance, where luggage can be ushered into the color-coded lower deck guest cabins. There are some unusual perks to being a guest aboard Secret . Heated bathroom floors feature across all guest suites, while guest mattresses are singles that zip together into doubles for greater flexibility.

The upper-deck, full-beam master suite, named Chanel to reflect the black-and-champagne silk color scheme, is highly personalized. Separate his and her en suites have their own amenities: Hers has a full-sized bath, and his has higher countertops to accommodate former basketball player and owner Bill Laurie’s 6’ 4” height. Both have steam showers. The private office is considerably smaller than the VIP office to accommodate the owner’s request for an oversized walk-in wardrobe.

The most surprising area on board is the “Valentina” main deck VIP guest suite, named after the Valentina-inspired white spiked headboard. The master has sea views and a private terrace, but the full-beam VIP, decorated and claimed by Laurie’s adult daughter when her family is on board, is arguably the superior option. It shares the same footprint as the master but enjoys a greater attention to detail. The ensuite, decorated in black-and-white stripes, has two day heads—one with bidet—and a central wet room fitted with a shower and full-sized bathtub.

The monochrome décor is echoed throughout the yacht, from the upper-deck sky lounge to the guest hallways. In the 12-person cinema, red Porsche leather armchairs are mirrored in the leather ceiling panels. The dedicated treatment room enjoys an onboard beautician and masseuse who specializes in hot Swedish massage.

A glass elevator connects the lower deck to the bridge deck, where an indoor glass-fronted gym and outdoor pool are located. For sundown soaks, the sun deck Jacuzzi ticks the box.

The regal salon.  Courtesy Burgess

Last refitted in 2018, the yacht started out life at 256 feet, with an additional 16 feet added to accommodate the owner’s choice of an aft deck dining table. It’s the preferred space to enjoy buffet-style breakfasts, protected from view by high bulwarks. Further al fresco dining for 14 people is available on the lower deck beach club, where a “dining under the stars” themed evening sees guests enjoy meals at the water’s edge beneath a blanket of twinkling LEDs and real constellations above.

For families and guests with a competitive spirit, the beach club, equipped with changing rooms and rain showers, is the center of watersports action. A serious collection of toys, including kneeboards, flyboards, trampolines and towables are matched by an inflatable assault course erected by the crew for “Sports Olympics.” The addition of a female water-sports instructor has proven popular with charter guests.  When the weather’s bad, the karaoke system comes to the rescue.

The main dining area was moved to the upper deck for a view and access to the outdoors.  Courtesy Burgess

It’s no secret that smaller yachts in the 190-foot size range are proving more popular on the global charter market at present, preferred for their ability to access smaller ports and anchor close to shore. But Secret pulls out all the stops for guests looking to enjoy time aboard a yacht maxed out with amenities and personality, provided in a covert setting. All in all, definitely worth the printer cartridges.

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• What Life Might Look Like on the World’s Biggest Yacht

On a Tuesday morning in September, a six-foot-long plastic model of a boat sat on the second floor of the Explorers Club, looking a little like a beached Orca, sleek and out of place in the tweedy boardroom. The tiny yacht had traveled to East 70th Street from Los Angeles and, before that, made stops in Monaco and Zurich, Cannes, and West Palm Beach — a prop to entice buyers who can spend $10 million on a cabin in the world’s biggest yacht. If it gets made. The boat will be called the Ulyssia and it’s the passion project of Frank Binder, a billionaire from the Merck clan with a thing for boats (he once owned a shipyard in Monaco). Lenny Kravitz, his friend, is onboard to help design interiors. (“He’s a genius.”)

Binder has been doing a world tour to find other buyers — who might be hard to meet. Maintenance hovers around 3 percent a year, or $300,000 for that $10 million one-bedroom. It’s a big ask, especially for a boat that, if he does get recruits, won’t launch until 2028. To help, Binder brought on two former executives from the World , the luxury liner that was the first — and only — to prove rich people want to live … at sea, all year. (It launched in 2002, is still sold out, and has yet to snag on an iceberg or go bankrupt.)

Renato Chizzola , a senior vice-president for the Ulyssia who worked as the general manager of the World for five years, spoke to Curbed about the terrors of elephant seals and why he once hired Israeli snipers to come onboard.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. 

What did your job on the World look like?? 

I was in charge of lifestyle, expedition, everything — even the kitchen. You have a captain who’s the master of the vessel, and he ultimately will have the last word on safety, security, where we go, where we can’t go. But then you also need to have somebody who has grown up in a galley carrying luggage. I’m 60 in October. When I was 27, I said, “Okay, how can I see the world without having money?” So in 1993, I was hired on the Queen Elizabeth II , then went to hotels, cruises, and in 46 years I traveled to 186 countries. I was allowed to live onboard and basically extend any service, any dream that a resident had.

What’s the difference between this superyacht and the World ? 

The World is now 23 years old. She was created in the late ’80s. She looks like a cruise ship. And the  Ulyssia is a yacht — the designer says this is his masterpiece.

We never had many amenities on the World . Here, we have a deli. We have a library with a card and games room. We have a table-tennis room. We have two paddle-tennis courts all inside, a multipurpose sports deck up there where the helicopters are, two hangers, two submarines to go down to the ocean, seven restaurants.

Then, we have this inflatable marina off the back of the boat. Imagine we’re near Bermuda. It’s a beautiful day. The sea is calm. We stop and we inflate this — it takes an hour — and we have tenders. You can go diving right there off the ship. The sea is yours. This marina is something the World could never ever have done, because there’s no space in the boat to keep that. The World was more elderly, a bit elderly retired. This is way younger. Why? Because we have so many amenities and offer adventure. Here, we are offering fewer apartments with more space. The balconies are huge. Luxury, for them, means space, time and getting whatever they wish, whenever, wherever. Freedom.

Freedom , in a contained location — 

Yes, and in a safe environment, completely protected against any danger. If a resident says, “I want to bring my family there, I want to be safe, I want to have no worries,” safety needs to be core to us. They want the freedom to do what they do at home — to run around with suits, jewelry. And if they are smart enough to say, “I want to go and see real scenarios, not luxury hotels,” they can go places where there’s no luxury and see how the world really works. That’s what this community wants.

Sounds like a security nightmare. 

We will hire ex-Mossad physically, to be on the ship. On the World , we partnered with Marine Guard, one of the world’s best safety and security companies . It provides technical and physical support. And whenever we went to critical places — for example, when we went through the Gulf of Aden, I brought in Israeli snipers to come on the boat. Nobody, no pirate on earth can come in past them. Then on shore excursions, we have every form of security that you can imagine. Satellite images. Images underwater, over water. When we went to Antarctica, to the Northwest Passage — meeting with the Inuits, the Aborigines — you need people who know them. You need people who safeguard you. In the Antarctic, you are only allowed to go with Zodiacs to the beaches. You need people who know that, who know the sea lions, the penguins. We bring them onboard — 20 or 25 people who know everything about every area. And when we do expeditions, we bring on EYOS, one of the greatest expedition leaders in the world, which goes to places like the Titanic .

Is this, like the Titanic , experimental in any way?

No, there are similar yachts. But in four years, when she will hopefully leave port, she will be the greenest yacht of this size ever built. And at that time, we may build for whatever is available in terms of fuel, whether it’s methanol or nuclear. There are vessels already going nuclear, military vessels.

But isn’t this all risky? 

It’s the opposite. You will see more and more environments like this at sea. Why? Because you can escape anything! If there’s an outbreak in New York, a big virus, you just won’t go there. If there’s a war there, you just don’t go there. If there’s a storm, you don’t go there.

So this will be a way for the global elite, basically, to pay to avoid any problem.

Is it going to be a one percent community? Yes, obviously, but they need to do good around the world, otherwise they cannot come to the community.

Imagine the following. We will have a medical center onboard. We have MRI machines. We have a dentistry. Our doctors, when we go to the west coast of Africa, to Senegal, we can have our doctors go out and help. And as we go around the world, we will help to map the ocean floor. We’ll have tools available to measure and send these to oceanic institutions that then take this data. So we are helping to make the world a better place. And that’s the legacy.

How are you going to gauge whether the people who want to live here also want to do good? 

There’s a very tough background check before being allowed to buy. So can it be that a Colombian drug lord or a Russian weapons dealer comes and says, “Oh, I’m going to take ten?” No, that can’t happen. We’re not a community for people from mainland China who don’t speak English and want to spit around. Or aggressive Russians. We are not a community for sheikhs from any Arab countries. And I have nothing against the Chinese and Russians. I love everybody. I’ve been everywhere. But they just don’t fit here, and they won’t come. We want like-minded golf players, tennis players, joggers, bikers, F1 drivers.

We will have roughly 30 to 35 percent Europeans, 30 to 35 percent North Americans, including from Canada, possibly a few from Mexico City, a few from São Paulo. Then we have about 20 percent from Australia, South Africa, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan. Then we expect to have about 10 percent of people from all over, we don’t know where. It could be anywhere.

They’ll need a certain amount of money to get into this boat and I assume, therefore, that you can’t be that picky. 

No, we can’t. But we try to be. It’s a balance. We meet them three, four, five, six times. We invite them, show them something, then they say, “Oh, I trust these people. I believe in them.” It’s a slow process.

Can a buyer get kicked off?

Oh, absolutely.

What’s the justice system?

There’s a board that’s voted in and we have our chairman on the board. Almost all of the members are people who have either been on yachts, have their own yacht, or have led organizations.

If people have their own yachts, why would they sign up for this? 

They might have a beautiful yacht of a hundred meters, but they can’t hire all these education guides, explorers all the time. We have 22 guest suites. Imagine we’re coming to Japan. Blossom season. We bring an ex Japanese prime minister onboard, maybe a three-star Michelin chef. We bring them on, let’s say, three weeks before. And they lecture. We can have experts speak about anything. Volcanoes, health and wellness, food and beverage, politics, archeology.

And they have you, who’s been to 186 countries. 

Exactly. So when I do speak to people who want to buy and invite them for lunch or a coffee, they listen because they know, Oh, this guy has been there. You don’t need to tell them something that you think can happen. You can actually tell them a story. When I went to Antarctica the last time, in 2009, on the way back to the Zodiac, I am walking and these big elephant seals — those are the big guys, like three tons and ten feet long — and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, there’s a big sound like MWUGHOWUGH and a big one came up, out of the sand. I stood there frozen. These are moments when you think, Is this really happening to me? How fortunate, how lucky am I to be able to experience moments like this? And all the wealthy people say the same.

• rich people
• the global elite

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