Jeff Bezos, the former CEO of Amazon, is spending his billionaire fortune on only the biggest and most grandeur. After stepping down from his role in the service industry, the American business mogul has instead decided to focus on his love for sailing.
Jeff Bezos may love strapping himself to his rocket ship from time to time, but unsurprisingly, the billionaire behind Amazon is now aiming to cruise the seas in style. Recently, Bezos’ latest bid to infiltrate gentlemen’s lives worldwide was to build the most prominent sailing boat – a three-masted megayacht called Y721 that is estimated to be as long as a football field.
But this isn’t your typical sailboat. Bezos’ megayacht is the largest sailing boat ever made. After forking out over $500 million for the 417-foot yacht, construction began in the Netherlands. Although there have been few photographs of what the finished vessel looks like inside, we can expect big things from this floating palace from what we have seen from the exterior.
The main vessel features three decks, including one with a swimming pool and can sleep up to 18 people and bed a 40-member crew to ensure everything runs smoothly. Regarding the fun amenities, a fully functional tender or mega-side kick has joined the storage holder of toys and a helicopter landing pad on another superyacht for his current Lauren Sanchez, the founder of Black Ops Aviation.
The yacht is reported to feature three gigantic Masses powered primarily by kinetic energy under the sails, harnessing the power of Mother Nature to propel – reaching speeds of 20 knots. However, the catch to all this glorified luxury does come at a cost.
If Bezos feels like taking his new baby out for a spin, this will cost around $25 million a year to run.
The Y721 was first spotted in October 2021, emerging from Oceanco, a custom Dutch yacht building company exclusively for the wealthy. But when she was finally shined for the last time, Jeff Bezos fell into a bit of trouble when the 131 ft tall newborn didn’t fit under Rotterdams Chauvin Bridge.
The solution? Dismantle the connecting centre piece of the decade’s old bridge, of course – naturally, the locals disapproved. Instead, a group of nearly 5000 people signed a petition to throw eggs at the passing megayacht back in February.
The deconstruction is controversial because the steel bridge is a national monument. Early this month, Oceanco tried to keep the launch and transport under wraps with an alternative direction – taking the masts down. We will see Jeff Bezos sipping champagne on the open sea soon.