Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez spent a lot of time aboard his $500 million yacht Koru this summer. MEGA/GC Images
Jeff Bezos’ new $500 million mega-yacht Koru set sail this summer.
At 127 meters long, she is the largest sailing yacht in the world and even features a sculpture that resembles his fiancée, Lauren Sanchez.
Here’s everything we know about Bezos’ yacht.
Jeff Bezos’ new yacht set sail this summer. The founder and former CEO of Amazon and his fiancée Lauren Sanchez crossed Europe to show off the mega-yacht.
At just over 127 meters long, the ship is the largest sailing yacht in the world and cost an estimated $500 million. The yacht is named Koru, which means “loop” or “twist” in the Māori language and often symbolizes a new beginning.
Koru joins a large class of ostentatious billionaire yachts. Among them is the approximately 93 meter long Eos, which belongs to billionaire Barry Diller and fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg. Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison owns an 88-meter yacht named Musashi.
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The yacht, which has a pool and mermaid statue, took years to build
Jeff Bezos hired Dutch custom yacht builder Oceanco to build the massive boat, which took years to construct. In February, the yacht completed its first sea trials and a series of tests normally carried out in the final stages of construction. In April the “Koru” undertook her maiden voyage, which took her from the Netherlands to Gibraltar.
The ship has a pool on deck. On the bow is a mermaid sculpture that bears a striking resemblance to his fiancée, Lauren Sanchez. A second “support yacht”, which has a helipad on deck, accompanies the Koru on her journeys.
Sanchez explained that the sculpture displayed on Bezos’ yacht is not her. “I’m very flattered, but she’s not,” she told Vogue. The sculpture appears to depict the Norse goddess Freyja, one of Bezos’ favorite mythological characters.
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The superyacht was already causing a stir
Bezos and Sanchez were first seen aboard the yacht off the Spanish coast in May. Shortly afterwards it was announced that the couple got engaged. The couple spent the rest of the summer on board, traveling to various destinations. It stopped at the Cannes Film Festival, sailed down the Italian Riviera and made its way to Croatia. In August, the yacht hosted an engagement party for Bezos and Sanchez, reportedly attended by Bill Gates, Whitney Wolfe Herd, Ari Emanuel and Leonardo DiCaprio, among others.
Although the yachting season was apparently pleasant for the couple, controversy only arose after the ship caused a stir: the Koru’s masts were so high that a historic bridge in the Netherlands almost had to be demolished to allow the yacht to pass .
Residents planned to throw eggs at Jeff Bezos’ superyacht if the bridge was demolished. After public outcry, Oceanco withdrew its request for the city to dismantle the bridge.
Despite this massive purchase, Bezos’ net worth is still well over $100 billion.
The text was translated from English by Muriel Dittmar. You can find the original here.
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