billionaire black yacht

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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Has the World Finally Had a Glimpse of Jeff Bezos’s $500 Million Mega-Yacht?

By Shivani Vora

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is appears to be getting closer to welcoming the superyacht he reportedly commissioned in 2018: a fancy toy fitting for the world’s second-richest person, given that it costs a reported $500 million and breaks one world record after another.

Called Y721, this vessel of all vessels is being custom designed by Dutch builder Oceanco and was spotted at a shipyard last week in Zwijndrecht, a town in the western Netherlands. It’s reportedly heading to another Netherlands town, Alblasserdam, for a final fitting. With a length of 417 feet, Y721 is the biggest sailing yacht in the world and the longest vessel to be built in the Netherlands. Features include a black hull, classic shape, three large decks, and three masts.

Superyacht Bravo Eugenia , belonging to the U.S. billionaire Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, was built by Oceanco, which is also rumored to be behind Bezos’s new massive vessel.

Y721 is going to totally change the world of yachting with its design and innovation, says Fernando Nicholson, a luxury yacht sales broker with the yachting company Camper & Nicholsons. “It’s a boat with the latest technology and bells and whistles that have never been seen,” he says. “This will be the standard for all superyachts to follow, but in years to come, when its features become more affordable. Right now, only someone with Bezos’s wealth can swing the cost.”

The superyacht is said to be modeled after Oceanco’s famous yacht, the Black Pearl , which the company site says , “is one of the largest and most ecological sailing yachts in the world. She can cross the Atlantic without burning even a liter of fossil fuel.” Y721 will go through sea trails following its fitting-out in Alblasserdam and is expected to be ready sometime next year.

The Flying Fox , allegedly owned by Bezos.

However, it’s only one of two new boats for Bezos: He has also commissioned a shadow vessel called YS 7512 from builder Damen Yachts. This support ship measures 246 feet in length and accommodates 45 additional crew and guests. It will also feature a helipad and meeting space and have a vast amount of storage for Bezos’s endless number of water toys, with diving and snorkeling gear, jet and water skis, waterslides, and surfboards among the bunch. Shadow vessels are a growing phenomenon in the superyacht industry and one more extra toy that their owners want to have at the ready, says Nicholson. “You see them more and more now as an add-on to a superyacht purchase,” he says. “They’ve almost become a must.”

There’s no doubt that Bezos will be sailing the high seas in full panache and style come 2022. But really, is there any other way when you have more money than almost anyone else in the world and attract an endless amount of attention too?

By Karalyn Hoover

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A sleek, black yacht that just launched is now the world's largest superyacht. Take a look at the 600-foot vessel that's owned by a Norwegian billionaire.

At 600 feet, or 182.9 meters, long, the rev ocean is the world's largest superyacht..

It dethroned the 590-foot Azzam , which held the record for more than six years.

After 18 months of construction, the vessel was lowered into the water at the VARD Tulcea shipyard in Romania on August 24.

The REV Ocean was commissioned by Norwegian billionaire businessman Kjell Inge Røkke.

Røkke is worth an estimated $3.3 billion.

He owns almost 67% of Aker , a publicly traded shipping and offshore drilling conglomerate.

Røkke also started and funds a non-profit foundation, also called REV Ocean, that's dedicated to safeguarding and preserving the oceans.

The Norwegian businessman is one of more than 200 wealthy individuals who have signed the Giving Pledge , promising to give away at least half of their fortune to charity.

The REV Ocean was built "over an extensive and complicated build period" of 18 months.

The yacht was designed by Espen Oeino , who has designed some of the world's most famous yachts , including that of the late Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen , the 414-foot "Octopus."

The yacht was designed by Espen Oeino , who has designed some of the world's most famous yachts , including that of the late Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen , the 414-foot Octopus.

The REV Ocean was built to be a scientific vessel in addition to a cruising yacht. REV stands for "Research Expedition Vessel."

According to the REV Ocean foundation, the superyacht will be used by scientists for research relating to the impact of CO2 emissions on the ocean, plastic pollution, and unsustainable fishing.

"REV Ocean will strive to fill critical knowledge gaps, develop innovative solutions, and bridge science, business and policy sectors to achieve positive change," reads a statement from the foundation.

REV Ocean will strive to fill critical knowledge gaps, develop innovative solutions, and bridge science, business and policy sectors to achieve positive change, reads a statement from the foundation.

The REV Ocean will be able to hold 55 scientists and 35 crew members.

The vessel's onboard equipment will include scientific trawls , sonar systems, laboratories, auditorium and classrooms, moonpool, AUV and submarine, an ROV with 6,000 meters depth capacity, and advanced communication equipment.

The superyacht will also be available for charter to help fund its scientific missions.

The vessel's billionaire owner, Røkke, will also use the yacht personally, but he'll pay to rent it like any other customer, according to REV Ocean's communication manager, Lawrence Hislop.

"The primary focus, branding and emphasis, however, is on science," Hislop told Business Insider.

The primary focus, branding and emphasis, however, is on science, Hislop told Business Insider.

As a charter vessel, the REV Ocean will have the capacity to carry 28 guests and 54 crew.

According to its website, the superyacht will be available for charter "to private individuals, companies, and institutions seeking to improve their awareness of the ocean."

The price of chartering the yacht is not yet finalized, but REV Ocean is in the process of negotiating a contract with a yacht chartering company, Hislop told Business Insider.

According to its website, the superyacht will be available for charter to private individuals, companies, and institutions seeking to improve their awareness of the ocean.

Next, the ship will go to Norway to be fully outfitted.

In the coming weeks, the REV Ocean will be towed down the Danube River and into the Black Sea. It will then pass through the Bosporus Strait in Istanbul, cross the Mediterranean, traverse the Strait of Gibraltar, and eventually end up at the VARD shipyard in Brattvag, Norway.

The journey is expected to take between 30 and 35 days.

The vessel will be fully complete sometime in 2020.

Source: REV Ocean

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Revealed: Russia-linked superyachts ‘going dark’ to avoid sanctions threat

Vessels with ties to Russian oligarchs hit by sanctions are no longer reporting their position to an automatic global locator

I n the sparkling azure waters of Antigua, the gleaming £95m superyacht Alfa Nero could be seen at anchor last week by sightseers enjoying the Caribbean coastline. But few of the tourists who spotted its sleek black hull would have appreciated that it was quite a find.

Since the invasion of Ukraine, the superyacht, which is linked to the Russian billionaire Andrey Guryev, has vanished off the global tracking maps used to locate marine traffic.

An investigation by the Observer this weekend reveals it is one of at least six superyachts linked to UK-sanctioned oligarchs which have “gone dark” on ocean tracking systems. The owners of these yachts will almost certainly realise they are at risk of being targeted in a global hunt for the assets of Russia’s super-rich.

At least 13 such vessels with a total value of nearly £2bn have already been impounded since the invasion of Ukraine, from southern France to Fiji. In the latter case, the superyacht Amadea, allegedly linked to the gold billionaire Suleiman Kerimov, was seized on behalf of the US .

Analysts report an increase in Russian-linked yachts which are turning off the automatic identification system (AIS) equipment used for tracking large vessels. The system can be turned off for legitimate reasons, but experts believe some vessels want to avoid detection.

An analysis by the Observer of AIS data compiled by the maritime and aviation market intelligence firm VesselsValue reveals other superyachts which have “gone dark” for more than a month include:

The 72-metre (238ft) superyacht Clio, linked to industrialist Oleg Deripaska, which sailed from the Indian Ocean to Turkey after the invasion. Its last transmitted location was on 18 April in the Black Sea, within range of the Russian ports of Sochi and Novorossiysk.

The 70-metre Galactica Super Nova, linked to the oligarch Vagit Alekperov, the sanctioned former president of Lukoil. The last transmitted location of the vessel was on 2 March off the Croatian coast.

The 140-metre Ocean Victory, linked to the sanctioned oligarch Viktor Rashnikov, which last transmitted its location at anchor in the Maldives on 1 March.

One member of crew on a superyacht linked to a Russian oligarch sanctioned by the UK told the Observer last week: “We were told to turn off the AIS. We removed the screws on the power plug and pulled it out.”

There are about 9,300 superyachts on the seas, worth more than £50bn, according to industry data. An estimated 10% of that fleet is owned by Russians.

One of the first superyachts to be impounded was the 86-metre Amore Vero, linked to the oil tycoon Igor Sechin , which was seized by customs officers at a shipyard at La Ciotat, near Marseille, on 2 March.

Italian authorities also impounded the 143-metre Sailing Yacht A on 12 March in Trieste. It is believed to be owned by the billionaire entrepreneur Andrey Melnichenko. He was sanctioned by the UK on 15 March.

Melnichenko’s other superyacht, the futuristic £240m Motor Yacht A, has disappeared from global tracking system. Its last confirmed location was on 10 March in the Maldives.

The last recorded location of the Alfa Nero on AIS was in the Caribbean on 3 March, when it was anchored at Philipsburg in Sint Maarten. The yacht is operating on a skeleton crew and has put its tender, the Alfa Fish, into storage.

Guryev, 62, a Russian who made his fortune with the Russian fertiliser giant PhosAgro, is reported by maritime sources to be the owner of the vessel. He was revealed to have bought London’s largest private residence, the 25-bedroom mansion Witanhurst, for £50m in 2008.

He has regularly enjoyed sailing on the Alfa Nero. The vessel is also used by his family, including his son (also Andrey) and his son’s wife, Valeria, who studied at the London College of Fashion and once reportedly stated on Instagram that she was “too pretty for work”. Like many yachts, it is owned via an opaque offshore structure, and Guryev has denied being the owner.

Other yachts which have not been tracked by AIS for more than a month include the Galactica Super Nova, which has a glass-bottomed swimming pool with a waterfall. It left Tivat in Montenegro on 2 March and promptly disappeared off the system.

The Clio, linked to Deripaska, sailed more than 3,000 miles after the invasion, from the Maldives, through the Suez Canal, across the Mediterranean and into the Bosphorus, gateway to the Black Sea and its Russian ports. In the Clio’s case, one reason it may have gone dark could be the perilous situation in the Black Sea arising from the war.

Other yachts which have not transmitted a confirmed location via AIS for at least a month include the My Sky, linked to the cigarette tycoon Igor Kesaev, which last reported its location in the Maldives on 30 March. The Maldives has no extradition treaty with the US, and at least five yachts linked to Russian owners have headed for its waters since the invasion. Other vessels, including two owned by Roman Abramovich, have headed to Turkey.

Under maritime rules, AIS should always be in operation when ships are under way or at anchor. All vessels of 300 gross tonnage and upwards must be fitted with it. A cruising vessel will typically transmit its location frequently, but it can turn the system off when in port. The data is relayed by radio receivers and satellites.

Sam Tucker at VesselsValue said: “There are some vessels where we would be previously getting a signal every few minutes from transponders and we are now seeing gaps of months. It’s very likely that some have flicked off the switch and gone into stealth mode.”

None of the sanctioned oligarchs linked to the six superyachts suspected of turning off their AIS responded to a request for comment.

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Most viewed

The luxury boats owned by some of the wealthiest people in tech, from a yacht so big it has its own support boat to superyachts with swimming pools and basketball courts

• Many billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson enjoy spending their time on luxurious yachts.
• The boats are decked out with amenities that many Americans can only dream of.
• Here are some of the billionaires in tech who own private yachts.

A regular Jane celebrating a personal renaissance after a long-term relationship might commemorate the new era with an ankle tattoo of a spiritual saying. When you're a billionaire, you could do it instead with a $500 million megayacht . 

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos made waves in May riding around the roughly 127-meter "Koru," a Māori term that may signify a fresh start, with his reported fiancée Lauren Sanchez. (In 2019, Bezos finalized his divorce from MacKenzie Scott, whom he was married to for 25 years).

Beyond the private planes occupying the hangars of billionaires, yachts have come to symbolize the highly private sites of leisure and networking reserved for the ultra-wealthy .   

Tech billionaires like Bezos, Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, and Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page have all purchased their own mini vacation hubs at sea, decking their boats with amenities like gyms, spas, pools, nightclubs, and movie theaters.

For those wishing to experience life aboard these multi-million-dollar yachts, some are available to rent out for a few nights or weeks at a time. Late Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen's yacht can be booked for $2.2 million per week or more, according Bloomberg .

Chartering yachts owned by billionaires like Alphabet cofounder Sergey Brin has previously cost customers anywhere from $773,000 a week to $1.2 million .

It remains to be seen how these vessels will fare against the apparent Orca uprising.  

Take a look at some of the yachts that have been owned by tech billionaires.

A mystery buyer bought a 414-foot superyacht that was once owned by late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen for $278 million. Allen had the boat, which was named "Octopus," built in 2003 for $200 million. Since the tech billionaire's death in 2018, the boat had been listed for as much as $325 million.

Source:  SuperYacht Times

The wealthy can book the yacht for a weekly rate of $2.2 million or more, through the luxury company Camper & Nicholsons, Bloomberg reported last year.

Sources: Bloomberg; Insider . 

Amazon founder Bezos' $500 million megayacht, the roughly 127-meter "Koru," sparked attention in May for its artistic decor. A sculpture of a woman on the boat appeared to observers to be the likeness of Bezos' reported fiancée Sanchez, who was also seen that month on the yacht sporting a large ring.

Sources: Insider ; People .

Even before its completion, "Koru" drew the ire of Dutch people vowing to hurl eggs at the boat if it would require a historic bridge in Rotterdam to be taken apart to let it through. An egg crisis was averted however, as the company making the ship found a less-irksome alternative.

Source: Insider . 

Bezos has long been interested in yachts. In 2019, he was spotted aboard entertainment mogul David Geffen's superyacht.

Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison owns a 288-foot yacht named Musashi that he acquired in 2013. The yacht has several amenities, including an elevator, swimming pool, movie theater, and both an indoor and outdoor gym.

Source: Yacht Bible

Ellison has owned several superyachts over the years, including the Katana, the Ronin, and the Rising Sun.

Source: Forbes .

The Oracle cofounder also has a knack for competitive yacht racing, and helped to found and back a racing team, called Oracle Team USA, in 2000. The team has found success and won several prestigious titles over the years.

Source: Telegraph

Ellison previously owned a bigger, 454-foot yacht called Rising Sun, which was designed specifically for the CEO in 2005. That yacht reportedly has 82 rooms, a movie theater, a wine cellar, and a basketball court. However, Ellison sold off the Rising Sun to Geffen for a reported $300 million.

Source: Forbes , Boat International

Ellison's boat, Musashi, is a sister ship to the yacht of another billionaire, former Sears CEO Eddie Lampert. However, the yacht, named Fountainhead, is often mistaken for belonging to billionaire investor Mark Cuban. "The guy who owns the boat tells everyone that it's mine," Cuban told Page Six in 2016. "It's so crazy ... I don't even own a boat."

Source: Page Six

Ellison's yacht reportedly influenced the decision of late Apple CEO Steve Jobs to get a boat himself. However, Jobs never set foot on the boat — the yacht was commissioned in 2008, but wasn't completed until 2012, a year after his death.

Source: Business Insider

When Jobs died in 2011, his yacht — along with his $14.1 billion fortune — was inherited by his wife, Laurene Powell Jobs, founder and president of a social-impact nonprofit called the Emerson Collective. The 256-foot yacht is named Venus, and is worth $130 million.

Google's billionaire cofounders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, are known to splurge. An Insider feature in December documented some of the trappings of their luxury, including planes and yachts.

Source: Insider .

Page owned a yacht named Senses, a $45 million, 194-foot boat that he bought in 2011 from a New Zealand businessman. He's since sold the yacht, Insider reported in 2021, a vessel that had a private beach club with a Jacuzzi and sun beds, both indoor and outdoor dining areas, and a helicopter pad. It's unclear what other sea vessels he owns, though Insider has previously reported he might have another yacht.

Sources: Boat International; Insider . 

Brin meanwhile owns a number of yachts and vessels including the 73-meter Dragonfly, and the 40-meter Butterfly, Insider reported in January.

Dragonfly, the $80 million boat that has a movie-theater, shares a name with Google's once-secret project to launch a censored search engine in China. Google said in 2019 it had officially terminated the project.

Source: Insider , Forbes .

The former Google CEO picked up the Alfa Nero yacht for nearly $68 million in an auction in June, according to a Bloomberg report. The yacht had apparently been left amid Russia's war in Ukraine, according to the report.

Source: Bloomberg .

For Skype cofounder Niklas Zennstrom, his interest in yachts skews toward racing and competitive sailing. Zennstrom has gone through a succession of boats all named Ran.

Source: CNN

The Ran VII yacht is among the most advanced of Zennstrom's boats. The racing yacht uses electrical power, which Zennstrom has said makes it "lighter, less drag, quieter, and most importantly it is environmentally friendly."

The 40-foot yacht has been meant to compete in regattas through the racing team owned by Zennstrom and his wife, Catherine. The Ran racing team launched in 2008, and has won some prestigious regattas.

Barry Diller, chairman of digital media company IAC, co-owns a $70 million yacht with his wife, fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg.

The sailing yacht, named Eos, is 350 feet long with six bedrooms. The power couple has hosted many celebrities over the years — a few that have been spotted aboard Eos include model Karlie Kloss, actor Bradley Cooper, journalist Anderson Cooper, and singer Harry Styles.

Source: W Magazine

For Jim Clark, the cofounder of Netscape, one yacht hasn't been enough. Clark has owned boats for more than 30 years, and in 2012, he put up two of his sailing yachts for sale.

Clark listed the boats for a combined $113 million: the 136-foot Hanuman for $18 million, and the 295-foot Athena for $95 million. However, Clark has yet to offload Athena. Clark also previously owned a 155-foot yacht named Hyperion, and currently also owns a sloop called Hanuman.

Source: Boat International , Forbes

Charles Simonyi worked at Microsoft until 2002, and oversaw the creation of Microsoft Office software. A few years before he left, Simonyi decided to purchase a yacht. He told the designer that wanted his yacht to be "home away from [his] home in Seattle."

Source: Boat International

The product of that conversation in 1999 is Simonyi's yacht named Skat, meaning "treasure" in Danish. The yacht measures 233 feet long, and is unique with its nontraditional design and gray color. Skat features a matching gray helicopter, a gym, and motorcycles.

Source: Yacht Charter Fleet

Opulent British billionaire Richard Branson owned a yacht until he sold it in September 2018. The 105-foot catamaran sold for $3 million, significantly lower than the $9.6 million price Branson listed the boat for in 2014.

Branson, the founder of Virgin Group, bought the boat in 2009. He named it Necker Belle, a nod to his private Caribbean island, Necker Island.

Additional reporting by Paige Leskin.

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The Luxury Boats Owned By Some of the Wealthiest People in Tech, from a Yacht So Big It Has Its Own Support Boat to Superyachts with Swimming Pools and Basketball Courts Tech billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, and Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page have all purchased mini vacation hubs at sea.

By Grace Kay and Sindhu Sundar • Jul 3, 2023

Key Takeaways

• Many billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson enjoy spending their time on luxurious yachts.
• The boats are decked out with amenities that many Americans can only dream of.
• Here are some of the billionaires in tech who own private yachts.

This article originally appeared on Business Insider .

A regular Jane celebrating a personal renaissance after a long-term relationship might commemorate the new era with an ankle tattoo of a spiritual saying. When you're a billionaire, you could do it instead with a $500 million megayacht .

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos made waves in May riding around the roughly 127-meter "Koru," a Māori term that may signify a fresh start, with his reported fiancée Lauren Sanchez. (In 2019, Bezos finalized his divorce from MacKenzie Scott, whom he was married to for 25 years).

Beyond the private planes occupying the hangars of billionaires, yachts have come to symbolize the highly private sites of leisure and networking reserved for the ultra-wealthy .

Tech billionaires like Bezos, Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, and Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page have all purchased their own mini vacation hubs at sea, decking their boats with amenities like gyms, spas, pools, nightclubs, and movie theaters.

For those wishing to experience life aboard these multi-million-dollar yachts, some are available to rent out for a few nights or weeks at a time. Late Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen's yacht can be booked for $2.2 million per week or more, according Bloomberg .

Chartering yachts owned by billionaires like Alphabet cofounder Sergey Brin has previously cost customers anywhere from $773,000 a week to $1.2 million .

It remains to be seen how these vessels will fare against the apparent Orca uprising.

Take a look at some of the yachts that have been owned by tech billionaires.

A mystery buyer bought a 414-foot superyacht that was once owned by late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen for $278 million. Allen had the boat, which was named "Octopus," built in 2003 for $200 million. Since the tech billionaire's death in 2018, the boat had been listed for as much as $325 million.

Octopus in Canary Wharf, London, in 2012. Ki Price/Reuters Source: SuperYacht Times

The wealthy can book the yacht for a weekly rate of $2.2 million or more, through the luxury company Camper & Nicholsons, Bloomberg reported last year.

414ft luxury yacht 'Octopus' owned by Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen, is moored to fuel up at Ege Ports in Kusadasi district of Aydin, Turkey on April 27, 2015. Ibrahim Uzun/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Sources: Bloomberg; Insider .

Amazon founder Bezos' $500 million megayacht, the roughly 127-meter "Koru," sparked attention in May for its artistic decor. A sculpture of a woman on the boat appeared to observers to be the likeness of Bezos' reported fiancée Sanchez, who was also seen that month on the yacht sporting a large ring.

Jeff Bezos was spotted aboard his megayacht "Koru" in May. Lift Aircraft.

Even before its completion, "Koru" drew the ire of Dutch people vowing to hurl eggs at the boat if it would require a historic bridge in Rotterdam to be taken apart to let it through. An egg crisis was averted however, as the company making the ship found a less-irksome alternative.

View of the Koningshaven Bridge, known as De Hef in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Peter Dejong/AP

Bezos has long been interested in yachts. In 2019, he was spotted aboard entertainment mogul David Geffen's superyacht.

David Geffen's superyacht Flickr via BI

Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison owns a 288-foot yacht named Musashi that he acquired in 2013. The yacht has several amenities, including an elevator, swimming pool, movie theater, and both an indoor and outdoor gym.

rulenumberone2/Flickr, Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Source: Yacht Bible

Ellison has owned several superyachts over the years, including the Katana, the Ronin, and the Rising Sun.

Courtesy of Lurssen Source: Forbes .

The Oracle cofounder also has a knack for competitive yacht racing, and helped to found and back a racing team, called Oracle Team USA, in 2000. The team has found success and won several prestigious titles over the years.

Xaume Olleros/Getty Images Sport Source: Telegraph

Ellison previously owned a bigger, 454-foot yacht called Rising Sun, which was designed specifically for the CEO in 2005. That yacht reportedly has 82 rooms, a movie theater, a wine cellar, and a basketball court. However, Ellison sold off the Rising Sun to Geffen for a reported $300 million.

Kimberly White/Getty Images Source: Forbes , Boat International

Ellison's boat, Musashi, is a sister ship to the yacht of another billionaire, former Sears CEO Eddie Lampert. However, the yacht, named Fountainhead, is often mistaken for belonging to billionaire investor Mark Cuban. "The guy who owns the boat tells everyone that it's mine," Cuban told Page Six in 2016. "It's so crazy ... I don't even own a boat."

Mark Cuban. Steve Marcus/Reuters

Source: Page Six

Ellison's yacht reportedly influenced the decision of late Apple CEO Steve Jobs to get a boat himself. However, Jobs never set foot on the boat — the yacht was commissioned in 2008, but wasn't completed until 2012, a year after his death.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Source: Business Insider

When Jobs died in 2011, his yacht — along with his $14.1 billion fortune — was inherited by his wife, Laurene Powell Jobs, founder and president of a social-impact nonprofit called the Emerson Collective. The 256-foot yacht is named Venus, and is worth $130 million.

AP Photo/Peter Dejong Source: Business Insider

Google's billionaire cofounders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, are known to splurge. An Insider feature in December documented some of the trappings of their luxury, including planes and yachts.

Sergey Brin (left) and Larry Page. Getty / Michael Nagle

Source: Insider .

Page owned a yacht named Senses, a $45 million, 194-foot boat that he bought in 2011 from a New Zealand businessman. He's since sold the yacht, Insider reported in 2021, a vessel that had a private beach club with a Jacuzzi and sun beds, both indoor and outdoor dining areas, and a helicopter pad. It's unclear what other sea vessels he owns, though Insider has previously reported he might have another yacht.

Ari Helminen/Flickr, Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Sources: Boat International; Insider .

Brin meanwhile owns a number of yachts and vessels including the 73-meter Dragonfly, and the 40-meter Butterfly, Insider reported in January.

Abell Point Marina/YouTube Source: Insider .

Dragonfly, the $80 million boat that has a movie-theater, shares a name with Google's once-secret project to launch a censored search engine in China. Google said in 2019 it had officially terminated the project.

Eric Risberg/Associated Press Source: Insider , Forbes .

The former Google CEO picked up the Alfa Nero yacht for nearly $68 million in an auction in June, according to a Bloomberg report. The yacht had apparently been left amid Russia's war in Ukraine, according to the report.

Eric Schmidt REUTERS/Brian Snyder Source: Bloomberg .

For Skype cofounder Niklas Zennstrom, his interest in yachts skews toward racing and competitive sailing. Zennstrom has gone through a succession of boats all named Ran.

Co-Founder and CEO of Skype Technologies, United Kingdom Niklas Zennstroem listens during a plenary entitled 'Digital 2.0:Powering a Creative Economy' at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, AP Photo/Michel Euler

Source: CNN

The Ran VII yacht is among the most advanced of Zennstrom's boats. The racing yacht uses electrical power, which Zennstrom has said makes it "lighter, less drag, quieter, and most importantly it is environmentally friendly."

Carkeek Design Partners/YouTube Source: CNN

The 40-foot yacht has been meant to compete in regattas through the racing team owned by Zennstrom and his wife, Catherine. The Ran racing team launched in 2008, and has won some prestigious regattas.

The Ran racing team. Carkeek Design Partners/YouTube Source: CNN

Barry Diller, chairman of digital media company IAC, co-owns a $70 million yacht with his wife, fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg.

Diane von Furstenberg, left, and Barry Diller. Scott Olson/Getty Images Source: Business Insider

The sailing yacht, named Eos, is 350 feet long with six bedrooms. The power couple has hosted many celebrities over the years — a few that have been spotted aboard Eos include model Karlie Kloss, actor Bradley Cooper, journalist Anderson Cooper, and singer Harry Styles.

snowwahine/YouTube Source: W Magazine

For Jim Clark, the cofounder of Netscape, one yacht hasn't been enough. Clark has owned boats for more than 30 years, and in 2012, he put up two of his sailing yachts for sale.

Jim Clark, right. Cameron Spencer/Getty Images Source: Business Insider

Clark listed the boats for a combined $113 million: the 136-foot Hanuman for $18 million, and the 295-foot Athena for $95 million. However, Clark has yet to offload Athena. Clark also previously owned a 155-foot yacht named Hyperion, and currently also owns a sloop called Hanuman.

The yacht Athena. Fosnez / Wikimedia Commons Source: Boat International , Forbes

Charles Simonyi worked at Microsoft until 2002, and oversaw the creation of Microsoft Office software. A few years before he left, Simonyi decided to purchase a yacht. He told the designer that wanted his yacht to be "home away from [his] home in Seattle."

Reuters/Sergei Remezov Source: Boat International

The product of that conversation in 1999 is Simonyi's yacht named Skat, meaning "treasure" in Danish. The yacht measures 233 feet long, and is unique with its nontraditional design and gray color. Skat features a matching gray helicopter, a gym, and motorcycles.

Christopher Hunt/Getty Images Source: Yacht Charter Fleet

Opulent British billionaire Richard Branson owned a yacht until he sold it in September 2018. The 105-foot catamaran sold for $3 million, significantly lower than the $9.6 million price Branson listed the boat for in 2014.

Anthony Harvey/Getty Images, Virgin Source: Business Insider

Branson, the founder of Virgin Group, bought the boat in 2009. He named it Necker Belle, a nod to his private Caribbean island, Necker Island.

Necker Island Source: Business Insider

Additional reporting by Paige Leskin.

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• Dec 29, 2021

Russian Oligarch’s 'Black Pearl' at the Center of Huge Legal Dispute Over His Fortune

By: Scott Way

Pirates weren't the type to write a will, but the one written by a Russian billionaire who owned the Black Pearl is now the focus of an epic estate battle. It seems there is no hiding on the seven seas.

The 350-foot long $200 million Black Pearl sailing yacht was commissioned by Russian oligarch Oleg Burlakov, who passed away in June at age 72. Burlakov was a self-made industrial tycoon with the nickname "The Cement King" who had business dealings across the chemical, aerospace, and energy industries. He was also a patriot and served in the Russian Air Force, then under the USSR moniker, through the 70's and 80's with a distinguished record. Upon leaving the military he invested heavily in the oil industry and eventually took control of one of Russia's biggest national companies, Novoroscement. He also later took the helm of oil exploration company Burneftgaz. When he sold Novoroscement in 2007 for $1.5 billion and Burneftegaz in 2014 for $1 billion, his fortune became massive. Oleg and his wife Lyudmila moved to Canada in 1995, and he was laid to rest in July 2021 in North York, a borough of Toronto. He is survived by his wife of 48 years, and two daughters Elena and Veronica.

Aside from his wealth and economic pursuits, Burlakov was also considered an eco-sailing pioneer for his work developing the Black Pearl , which he commissioned in 2010. The unique sailing yacht is widely considered an engineering feat due to both its size and self-sustaining construction. The ship carries three carbon fiber masts with over 31,000 sq ft of sail area, and has a maximum speed of 30 knots (35 mph) under wind power. The sails themselves absorb solar power to run the ship's electronic systems. The ship's builder, Oceanco , claims the Black Pearl can cross the Atlantic unsupported without burning any fossil fuel (although it does have diesel engines as backups).

But despite his wealth and influence Burlakov's death has triggered one of the biggest estate battles in human history. His first will, allegedly written in 2004, gave his entire fortune to his wife and daughters. However, three years ago Burlakov was accused of infidelity and he and his wife Lyudmila were in the midst of divorce proceedings at the time of his death. Now, a mysterious second will has emerged that favours Burlakov's sister and brother-in-law. The second will is apparently a two-page handwritten document written in a notebook that was discovered after Burlakov's death.

The assets in dispute include more than just the Black Pearl . There is also a $100 million mansion in Monaco, a private jet, and an estimated $4 billion in cash. The legal battle is taking place in court in Monaco, Italy, but focuses on a series of meetings between Burlakov and his wife and daughters in London in 2018. There, the family claims, Burlakov began a fraudulent scheme to hide his wealth and put it in the hands of his brother-in-law Nikolai Kazakov. According to Lyudmila and the daughters, Oleg claimed an agreement had always been in place with Kazakov for the bulk of his wealth. The meetings in 2018 didn't come to a resolution, and now with the appearance of a handwritten second will that favours Kazakov, the legal battle is just starting to set sail.

As for the Black Pearl , she is the second largest sailing yacht in the world behind fellow Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko's 469-foot Sailing Yacht A (although they were both set to get bumped down by Jeff Bezos' rumored 500-footer ). She was built by Dutch shipyard Oceanco, who also built Sailing Yacht A and are rumoured to be building the Bezos yacht. The ship is equipped with a unique propulsion system that harnesses solar energy generated while under sail, meaning it rarely needs to use its diesel engines to power its internal systems or provide propulsion. Each of her three carbon fiber masts is a staggering 229 feet high, and her custom-built DynaRig sails can be set in just seven minutes. Below deck there is room for 12 guests, a spa swimming pool, a hot tub, a cinema, and a beach club.

As for the legal proceedings, things are just heating up as Oleg's mistress Sofia Shevtsova has now entered the fray. The 27 year old Russian woman is threating to have Burlakov exhumed for a DNA sample to prove he fathered her child. If that proves true, Shevtsova will also be entering the legal battle for a share of the fortune.

You can get a great inside look at the story of the Black Pearl in the video below:

#news #culture #weirdboats

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Multi-million pound superyacht owned by billionaire takes shelter at Portland

A sleek superyacht has docked at Portland.

The Obsidian arrived in a windy Portland Harbour as Storm Debi swept across the UK.

The 84.2-metre superyacht has a distinctive sleek and elegant design with a silvery hull and bow to stern glazing, and the only thing known of its owner is that they are a billionaire.

Obsidian was built this year in the Netherlands by Feadship and is thought to be the first biofuel-powered superyacht.

A spokesperson for Portland Port said: “Vessels may, from time to time, use the port to shelter whilst awaiting a weather window.”

Pictures by Geoff Moore/Dorset Media Service

One of the key features of the vessel's design is the atrium staircase leading to a lower deck dining saloon where the entire wall opens to a terrace view just above sea level.

There is also a very impressive stern aqua lounge with large windows below water level, as well as fold-out balconies towards at her stern which provide a spacious beach club area that extends to sea level.

The jaw-dropping super-yacht can accommodate up to 14 guests in its seven staterooms and was designed by RWD, in collaboration with MONK Design in Holland.

RWD has designed 42 yachts and designed the interior of 63 yachts; Monk Design has designed two yachts and designed the interior of four yachts.

Her top speed is 17.0 knots and she boasts a maximum range of 5500.0 nautical miles when navigating at cruising speed, with power coming from four Caterpillar diesel electric engines.

Obsidian is currently sailing under the Cayman Islands flag, which is the second most popular flag state for super yachts.

It arrived in the marina on Sunday, November 12 from Amsterdam.

The Black belt billionaire sheikh who manages a trillion dollar fund has converted a Russian research vessel into his personal 410 feet long ultra-luxury superyacht. The $250 million ‘Maryah’ accommodates 54 guests, has a massive night club, business centre and even a sushi bar.

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Why the U.S. put a $1 million bounty on a Russian yacht’s alleged manager

On Sept. 3, 2020, the staff of a $90 million yacht placed an order with a U.S. company for a set of luxury bathrobes that came to $2,624.35.

For roughly two years before that, according to federal prosecutors, the yacht’s management had been falsely claiming it was working for a boat named “Fanta.” But the luxury bathrobes came embroidered with a monogram that, prosecutors said, revealed the yacht’s true identity: “Tango.”

That was a problem, officials say in court papers, because Tango was owned by a Russian billionaire under U.S. sanctions, and doing business on his behalf violated federal law.

Late last month, U.S. authorities unveiled a $1 million reward for information leading to the arrest and or conviction of the man they say was running the yacht staff and orchestrated the deception with the robes — Vladislav Osipov, 52, a Swiss-based businessman from Russia. In a new indictment , federal prosecutors say Osipov misled U.S. banks and companies into doing business with the Tango yacht despite the sanctions on the Russian owner, whom the Justice Department has identified as billionaire Viktor Vekselberg .

Osipov has denied the allegations. Osipov’s attorney has said that the government has failed to demonstrate that Vekselberg owned the yacht, and that its management was therefore not a sanctions violation.

The reward offer for Osipov reflects the latest stage in the evolution of the West’s broader financial war against Russia two years into the war in Ukraine, as the United States and its allies increasingly target intermediaries accused of enabling Russian oligarchs to circumvent sanctions.

Many Russians close to President Vladimir Putin have been under sanctions dating to 2014, when Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine and sent proxy forces into that country’s eastern Donbas region. When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, President Biden vowed to deal a “crushing blow” with a barrage of new sanctions on financial institutions, industries, business executives and others tied to the Kremlin. But roughly two years later, Russia’s economy has proved surprisingly resilient after the nation poured tens of billions of dollars into ramping up its military industry. Moscow has also worked around the sanctions, finding new third parties to supply it with critical military and industrial hardware, as well as countries beyond Europe to buy its oil.

Now, the West is trying to increase the reach of its sanctions by digging deeper into Russian supply chains. Late last month, the Treasury Department announced more than 500 new sanctions targeting Russia , primarily on military and industrial suppliers. The Justice Department also announced charges against two U.S.-based “facilitators” of a Russian state banker who is under sanction, as well as the guilty plea of a dual national based in Atlanta who was accused of laundering $150 million through bank accounts and shell companies on behalf of Russian clients.

Prioritizing criminal charges against — and the arrests of — Western employees of Russia’s elites represents a new escalation of the U.S. financial war against Putin, experts say. One Moscow businessman, speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said many influential Russians are concerned about the arrest of two associates of Andrey Kostin, the head of VTB, Russia’s second-biggest state bank. These associates, Vadim Wolfson and Gannon Bond, were charged with helping Kostin evade sanctions by maintaining a $12 million property in Aspen, Colo., for Kostin’s benefit while concealing his ownership. Kostin has said that the charges of sanctions evasion against him are “unfounded” and that he has not violated any laws . Bond has pleaded not guilty; Wolfson hasn’t made an initial court appearance yet.

Wolfson, also known as Vadim Belyaev, had been a Russian billionaire until the Russian government took over his bank in 2017. Bond, 49, is a U.S. citizen from Edgewater, N.J. For all Russians living abroad and working with people in Russia, the threat of criminal charges is a much more worrying prospect than the sanctions imposed by the Treasury Department last month against hundreds of individuals and entities, the businessman said, in part because sanctions are far easier to dodge than criminal charges.

“What you have seen through today’s public announcements are our efforts at really targeting the facilitators who possess the requisite skill set, access, connections that allow the Russian war machine [and] the Russian elites to continually have access to Western services and Western goods,” David Lim, co-director of the Justice Department’s KleptoCapture task force, which is tasked with enforcing U.S. sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, told reporters last month.

Thad McBride, an international trade partner at the law firm Bass Berry & Sims, said the crackdown on intermediaries reflected the natural evolution of the U.S. sanctions campaign in response to Russian adjustments.

“It seems to me they have gone through a comprehensive list of the oligarchs, and you can debate whether or not it’s had a meaningful impact on the Russian war effort,” McBride said. “Because they’re getting smarter about who’s who, they’re finding other people who play meaningful roles in these transactions, even though they’re not showing up in the headlines.”

The charges against Osipov related to his alleged management of the Tango yacht illustrate the mounting potential consequences for people in Europe and the United States who attempt to do business with Russians targeted by Western allies, as well as the opaque structures allegedly employed by those seeking to evade sanctions.

With a net worth estimated by Forbes in 2021 at $9 billion, Vekselberg, 66, has long drawn scrutiny from the West — and sought to safeguard his wealth. He made his initial fortune in aluminum and oil in Russia’s privatization of the 1990s and then expanded into industrial and financial assets in Europe, the United States and Africa, with Putin’s blessing. In addition to the yacht, federal prosecutors say, Vekselberg acquired $75 million worth of properties, including apartments on New York’s Park Avenue and an estate in the Long Island town of Southampton.

Vekselberg, who declined to comment for this article, has not been criminally charged by the Justice Department. In a 2019 interview with the Financial Times, he denounced the sanctions as arbitrary and harmful for international business, saying he had been targeted just because he was Russian and rich and knows Putin.

In April 2018, the Treasury Department under the Trump administration sanctioned Vekselberg and six other Russian oligarchs as part of broader financial penalties over the Kremlin’s invasion of Crimea, support for President Bashar al-Assad in Syria and interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Vekselberg was also targeted for his work for the Kremlin as chairman of the Skolkovo Foundation, an attempt to create Russia’s version of the Silicon Valley — evidence that appeared to undermine the Russian businessman’s claims that he operated independently of the Kremlin.

But with Vekselberg’s payments monitored by U.S. banks, according to the federal indictment , Osipov used shell companies and intermediaries to avert the bite of sanctions. Vekselberg kept other major assets out of the reach of U.S. authorities by making use of the Treasury Department’s 50 percent ownership rule, which stipulates that it is illegal to transact with firms only if an owner under sanction controls more than 50 percent of the business.

For example, a month after Treasury imposed sanctions on Vekselberg in April 2018, his Renova Innovation Technologies sold its 48.5 percent stake in Swiss engineering giant Sulzer to Tiwel Holding AG, a group that is nevertheless still “beneficially owned” — meaning, owned in practice — by Vekselberg through Columbus Trust, a Cayman Islands trust, according to Sulzer’s corporate filing. Vekselberg’s longtime right-hand man at Renova, Alexei Moskov, replaced one of Vekselberg’s direct representatives on the board. Moskov told The Washington Post that he stepped down from all his executive positions at Renova Group in 2018 after U.S. sanctions were first imposed and from that moment ceased to be Vekselberg’s employee.

The attempts to circumvent the sanctions appear to have found some success in the U.S. legal system. Columbus Nova, a U.S.-based asset management fund controlling more than $100 million in assets in the U.S. financial and tech industry, is run by Vekselberg’s cousin, Andrew Intrater. The firm battled for more than two years to lift a freeze on Columbus Nova’s assets, imposed by Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control because of the sanctions on Vekselberg, and won, reaching a settlement agreement with the Treasury Department. After renaming itself Sparrow Capital LLC, Columbus Nova successfully argued that Intrater — not Vekselberg — owns the fund. Intrater argued that the company was 100 percent owned by U.S. citizens and that no individual or entity under sanction held any interest in it. Intrater said Columbus Nova had earned fees for managing investment funds owned by Renova. He said he had repeatedly told Treasury he would not distribute any funds to Vekselberg.

Now Osipov, the alleged manager of Vekselberg’s $90 million yacht, is attempting a similar argument as U.S. authorities seek his arrest on charges of bank fraud, money laundering, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and violations of sanctions law.

The federal indictment states that the Tango was owned by a shell corporation registered in the British Virgin Islands that was in turn owned by several other companies. The Virgin Islands shell company, authorities say, was controlled by Osipov, who also served in senior roles for multiple companies controlled by Vekselberg. U.S. officials also say Vekselberg ultimately controlled the other companies that owned the Virgin Islands shell company.

According to the indictment, a Tango official instructed a boat management company in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, to use a false name for the yacht — “Fanta” — to disguise its true identity from U.S. financial institutions and firms, which try to avoid doing business with an entity or person under sanction.

Working at Osipov’s direction, according to the indictment, employees for Tango bought more than $8,000 worth of goods for the yacht that were unwittingly but illegally processed by U.S. firms and U.S. financial institutions, including navigation software, leather basket magazine holders provided by a bespoke silversmith, and web and computing services. The management company running Tango, run by Osipov, also paid invoices worth more than $180,000 to a U.S. internet service provider, federal prosecutors say.

The Tango was seized by the FBI and Spanish authorities in the Mediterranean not long after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and Osipov was first indicted last year. The owner of the Spanish yacht management company hired by Osipov, Richard Masters, 52, of Britain, was criminally charged last year by federal prosecutors with conspiracy to defraud the United States and violating federal sanctions law. A request for comment sent to Masters’ firm was not returned.

But in recent court documents, Osipov’s attorney argues that the yacht was not more than 50 percent owned by Vekselberg, and that the government hasn’t demonstrated it was. Barry J. Pollack, an attorney at Harris, St. Laurent and Wechsler, also says the government never warned Osipov of its novel and “unconstitutional” application of federal sanctions law.

“The government points to no precedent that supports its extraordinary interpretation and cites no authority that allows the traditional rules of statutory construction to be turned on their head,” Pollack wrote in a defense filing. The filing adds: “[Osipov] is not a fugitive because he did not engage in any of the allegedly criminal conduct while in the United States, has never resided in the United States, did not flee from the United States, and has not concealed himself.”

Still, the State Department’s Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program has said it will provide up to $1 million for information leading to Osipov’s arrest, warning that he may visit Herrliberg, Switzerland; Majorca, Spain; or Moscow.

The case demonstrates the extent of the U.S. commitment to tighten the screws on those seen as aiding Russian elites, even if they themselves are not closely tied to the Kremlin.

“When DOJ levels legal action against an individual or entity, they have quite a bit of evidence, especially because the threshold to press charges for money-laundering and sanctions evasion is so high,” said Kim Donovan, director of the Economic Statecraft Initiative within the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center. “We’ve had quite a bit of experience targeting Russia directly, and what you’re starting to see is the U.S. go after the facilitators enabling sanctions evasion. That’s where the U.S. is focusing its efforts right now.”