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Jeff Bezos’ New Yacht Is Finally Ready to Set Sail

Amazon’s founder has been spotted on Koru, a massive schooner with a design that evokes the golden age of sailing in the early 20th century.

By Kevin Koenig

Just in time for the high season of yachting in the Mediterranean, when multimillion-dollar megayachts descend on ports like Monte Carlo and St. Tropez, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, has been photographed with his partner Lauren Sánchez on his new boat, Koru, off the coast of Spain.

Mr. Bezos’ vessel is a sailing yacht, a departure from the diesel-powered, floating palaces popular with other billionaires. But it is still massive. At 417 feet, Koru is the world’s largest sailing yacht, according to Boat International , and it cost an estimated $500 million to build, Bloomberg reported . (Parsifal III, the boat featured on Bravo’s reality series “Below Deck Sailing Yacht,” is 177 feet long — less than half the length of Koru — and cost $18 million , according to the website SuperYachtFan.)

A spokesperson for Mr. Bezos did not comment for this article; neither did Oceanco, Koru’s builder. Here is what to know about the boat.

For traditionalists, Koru is refreshing. At a time when yacht design skews outrageous — see the lizardlike, 262-foot Artefact or the otherworldly 463-foot Yas — Koru stands out as a schooner, a sailing vessel with two or more masts. Photos reveal a large sailboat with three masts, an on-deck pool and a voluptuous mermaid on the bow, that bears a resemblance to Ms. Sánchez. But otherwise, the sleek, classic lines suggest the patrician age of yachting in the early 20th century, said Robert B. MacKay, author of “The Golden Age of Newport Yachting: Between the Wars.”

“With the clipper bow and the dark hull and the masts,” Mr. MacKay said, referring to Koru’s concave, pointy forward section, “it reminds me of a boat built in 1930 for J.P. Morgan Jr., Corsair IV. It is almost like a reincarnation. It’s certainly at odds with the stuff the oligarchs are building — those look like bloated Clorox bottles.”

Compared with the world’s very largest motor yachts — built for sheer size and the accompanying bragging rights — Koru could almost be considered quaint. Azzam, one of the world’s largest motor yachts, is nearly 200 feet longer.

The Experience

Koru will be propelled primarily by the wind. “Sailboats are usually greener than most powerboats,” said Don Anderson, a former captain of M5 , the world’s largest single-masted sailboat, at 256 feet. “I’d like to think that Koru will be one of the most ecological yachts out there, with its sails and also with the technology that will be aboard.”

“When you’re on a sailboat, you’re more in touch with the wind and the waves than on a powerboat,” he continued. “You’re more susceptible to the elements, too. But you can leave California, and once you get past the Catalinas you can basically surf downwind all the way to Hawaii. All you need to do is run with the waves.”

Mr. Bezos has been a guest on similar boats, according to Bloomberg: In 2019, he was spotted on Eos , a 305-foot sailing yacht owned by Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg.

Bill Tripp, a Connecticut-based naval architect, said the appeal of this type of boat is clear: “When you are on a powerboat, you ask, ‘Are we there yet?’ and on a sailboat, you’re enjoying the ride and the ocean so much that you don’t ask that question.”

Koru will be trailed by Abeona, a 246-foot support vessel. Superyachts often have support vessels following along behind them. These “shadows,” as they are colloquially known, are for the “toys” — the ATVs, supercars, seaplanes, motorcycles, smaller boats, scuba gear, personal submarines and even helicopters that pleasure boaters might bring on a trip. According to its builder, this model of boat can carry these gadgets along with dozens of crew members. (Ms. Sanchez flies helicopters, and the couple was recently photographed taking a helicopter to board Abeona and then Koru.)

Abeona, a motor yacht, will have enough range to follow Koru from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean — a common course for yachts — on a single tank of gas.

The Kerfuffle

Koru set off a controversy last year — before it was even completed — in a face-off with the Dutch city of Rotterdam. The boat was built at Oceanco’s facility in Alblasserdam, the Netherlands, and needed to pass the historic Koningshaven Bridge, known as “De Hef,” in Rotterdam, to undergo testing in the North Sea.

When the city announced it would dismantle the bridge to allow the boat and its mainmast — an estimated 230 feet tall — to pass through unscathed, locals were angry. They planned a protest to throw eggs at the yacht as it cruised by. In the end, the bridge was not taken apart, and the yacht was towed to a different location to have its masts attached.

Koru is Maori for “coil” or “loop” and refers to the unfurling of a fern frond. The koru design is common in traditional Maori art, where it symbolizes new life, growth and peace. Mr. Bezos included a photo of a koru frond in an Instagram post on Jan. 1, 2022.

Brad Stone, who was the first to report on Koru, in his 2021 book “Amazon Unbound: Jeff Bezos and the Invention of a Global Empire,” said the name was “consistent with where we see him today.”

“He is no longer this single-minded tech guy,” Mr. Stone said. “He’s in media and Hollywood and has a new relationship.”

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The best pictures of Koru

In 2022, the 125.8-metre sailing yacht Koru made history when she hit the water at Oceanco ’s Alblasserdam facilities. Now successfully delivered, she is the flagship of the Oceanco fleet and the largest Dutch-built yacht in the world. 

BOAT rounds up the best pictures of the three-masted sailing yacht owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos...

Koru unable to dock in Florida

Koru arrived at Port Everglades, Florida in November 2023 following a months-long Mediterranean cruise that included stopovers in Dubrovnik, Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer and Calabria (according to BOATPro ). The sailing yacht was too large to anchor in the nearby marina, which has a maximum capacity of 121.9 metres. She was photographed instead docking next to a 297-metre cruise ship named Rhapsody of the Seas .

Koru's helicopter landing

Last summer, Koru was spotted in the French Riveria alongside her 75-metre support vessel Abeona . Delivered by Damen Yachting two months before the mothership, Abeona is equipped with a helipad and hangar for a D14 value helicopter– which is clearly being put to good use. Accommodation is for up to 45 people onboard Bezos' support vessel, including crew, guests and other specialist staff.

Koru in Portofino

Koru and Abeona also travelled to Portofino in the summer of 2023, with both Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez sighted enjoying lunch and taking photographs while on board. 

Koru's figurehead

Throughout construction, it was difficult to get a glimpse of the details on board Koru ; but once handed over, all of her traditional features could be admired up close. As well as the intricate gold paintwork and scarlet bootstripe, the yacht also features an elaborate figurehead made of polished wood. The woman is wearing a necklace with a symbol in the pendant, which some have speculated could be the Māori symbol meaning "koru".

Koru in front of Palma Cathedral

After delivery, the schooner spent some time enjoying the waters of Mallorca. The Balearic hotspot is a magnet for superyachts during the Mediterranean season, but Koru had the quiet anchorage largely to herself after leaving the Oceanco shipyard. Her classic lines could be appreciated in all of their glory against the backdrop of Palma Cathedral. 

Koru delivered to Mallorca

In April 2023. Koru was delivered and undertook her maiden voyage from the Netherlands to Gibraltar. She then headed onwards to Palma, giving the world a first glimpse of her cascading aft decks, mighty masts and elaborate aft deck pool arrangement. She was flying solo in Mallorca, but was later joined by support vessel Abeona .

Koru in Gibraltar

Following her successful sea trials in Rotterdam, Koru embarked on journey to Palma, Mallorca that involved an overnight anchorage in Gibraltar. The sailing yacht was sighted passing through the Strait of Gibraltar a second time on her cross-continental journey from the Mediterranean to the USA in November 2023.

Koru on sea trials

Koru was spotted departing from Rotterdam in the early morning light of February 13 to begin sea trials. The 125.8-metre Oceanco set sail across the North Sea to put her performance to the test after hitting the water for the first time in August 2022. The traditional three-masted schooner yacht has a midnight blue hull, traditional canoe stern and the unique addition of a chair at the very tip of the bowsprit. Her name represents the idea of life’s perpetual movement and is a Māori word closely related to that of an unfurling leaf.

Koru with her masts stepped

The yacht was seen for the first time in her final form on the dock in the Port of Rotterdam. Her trio of masts was stepped here to avoid having to dismantle any bridges to allow the Oceanco giant yacht to pass under. The maximum height of the bridge is 70 metres; the masts on Koru are thought to measure between 65 and 85 metres. The first images of Koru indicate the yacht will have plenty of features for her owner to enjoy, including an aft deck pool and a large, uncluttered sundeck.

Koru launched

The 125.8-metre yacht was moved from Oceanco’s primary facilities at the crack of dawn to enter the final stages of construction. The hull was transported via Dordrecht and Spijkenisse (Oude Maas), and her masts were transported separately via the slightly shorter Rotterdam Centre (Nieuwe Maas).

Koru moves through the Dutch canals

Before she hit the water, the hull of Koru was loaded onto a transport vessel and she made the journey through the Dutch canals for further construction work. The yacht was captured against the backdrop of the quaint Dutch countryside, revealing her classic-looking lines and long rows of windows.

Koru from a bird's eye view

As she was wheeled out of the shed into the light of day, yacht-spotters were able to get their first proper aerial shot of the yacht, without her masts. 

Koru rolls out of the shed

When Oceanco completed the work on the hull, the yacht was rolled out of the shed to reveal a crisp navy hull and white superstructure. Koru ’s exterior design immediately drew a comparison to Lürssen’s 93-metre sailing yacht Eos , which was designed by US-based Langan Design . This was the world’s first sighting of the already iconic superyacht.

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Where do Washington State's billionaires live?

From Jeff Bezos to Howard Schultz

Those tracking the area’s growing income inequality won’t be surprised that Washington State is home to the two richest men in the world: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Microsoft founder Bill Gates. The pair teeter around the tops of richest-people lists depending on how Amazon and Microsoft shares are doing. But lately, Bezos has kept his iron grip on the top spot, and doesn’t show many signs of dropping back to second, although $111.1 billion and $107 billion are both unfathomable amounts of money.

The pair are neighbors not just in net worth, but physical location, both with sprawling estates in the wealthy enclave on Evergreen Point Road in Medina. Bezos owns additional homes from coast to coast, with a massive $23 million home in Washington, DC and a set of ritzy Upper West Side apartments .

Most of the state’s billionaires choose to hang their hats outside Seattle, even if their homes are just outside. The only state billionaires to openly live in Seattle proper are Starbucks founder and short-lived presidential candidate Howard Schultz, in a ritzy gated community in Madison Park, and Nordstrom shareholder and heiress Anne Gittinger, who’s part of an exclusive condo community in Belltown.

While Gates, Bezos, and Schultz are perhaps the most famous on the list, many impossibly rich people—tech billionaires, telecom billionaires, even a sunglasses billionaire—all live, or at least own property, within a few hours of Seattle. While they all don't spend their time living in Washington State exclusively, all of these billionaires own large swaths of property within. And yes, one of them owns an entire island.

Net worths are based on Forbes ’s real-time billionaires list as of October 8, 2019.

Note: Some addresses included in the map are used for proximity and not actual addresses. We make no guarantees as to

Jeff Bezos: Net worth $111.1 billion

Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos maintains his home in the ultra-rich community of Medina , which he’s had since the late 1990s. The Washington State Bezos property is a 29,000-square-foot estate , complete with both a main house and a boathouse, along 200 yards of shoreline. It’s estimated to be worth around $70 million. He’s registered to vote in a comparably modest midcentury farther south in Medina with an estate and trust lawyer as the listed owner

Bezos also owns property in Beverly Hills, which he expanded in 2017 by buying the lot next door for a cool $12.9 million , and in DC, the former home of a textile museum . In 2019, he added a chunk of New York real estate to his collection of abodes , buying three condos, including a penthouse, in a ritzy Fifth Avenue building.

• Open in Google Maps

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jeff Bezos (@jeffbezos) on Jul 30, 2018 at 10:33am PDT

Bill Gates: Net worth $107 billion

Bill Gates’s house, dubbed “Xanadu 2.0,” is the stuff of legend around here: It’s located down the street from Bezos in Medina, and when it was built it had 24 bathrooms , seven bedrooms, and a trampoline room with 20-foot ceilings. The pool, at least at the time of its construction, spanned both indoors and outdoors, separated by a glass wall that swimmers can dive underneath. Predating modern smarthomes, Gates’s home has had room-control touchpads and music that can follow visitors from room to room since 1995.

The whole thing took seven years to complete, and the King County Assessor’s office values the home at more than $130 million . A tour alone went for $35,000 at auction.

Not only are Bezos and Gates close in net worth—their properties are located on the same road in Medina. Do billionaires ever have to borrow a cup of sugar?

Steve Ballmer: Net worth $53.5 billion

Microsoft employee number 30 Steve Ballmer bought this four-bedroom Hunts Point home on two acres in 1987 for $1.33 million. Since then, it’s increased in appraised value to more than $15 million .

Howard Schultz: Net worth $4.1 billion

After a legal issue with former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s driveway and nearby Viretta Park, he moved to the exclusive 12-home gated community the Reed Estate in Madison Park . One waterfront parcel in the estate with Schultz’s executive assistant listed as a contact was appraised higher than any of its neighbors: nearly $30 million .

Yes, he stops by his neighborhood Starbucks on occasion.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Howard Schultz (@howard.schultz) on Oct 18, 2018 at 2:58pm PDT

Ken Fisher: Net worth $4.1 billion

Ken Fisher’ s money management firm Fisher Investments has operated out of Camas, located in Southwest Washington, north of Vancouver, since 2015 . Last year, he and his family purchased a $10 million, 53-acre parcel of land adjacent, and he spends a lot of time in the southwest Washington town —and apparently settled in, since he’s registered to vote there.

While he’s a recent newcomer to Washington’s slate of billionaires, Fisher has thrown himself head-first into Washington State residency, pouring more than $1.25 million into state politics since 2015, according to Washington State Public Disclosure Commission records. That includes more than $100,000 to Tim Eyman-backed tax-limiting initiatives.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ken Fisher (@kenfisher_fisherinvestments) on Dec 28, 2017 at 12:56pm PST

Gabe Newell: Net worth $3.5 billion

Valve founder and Seattle-native Gabe Newell bought his vacation home in Ocean Park, north of Long Beach, Washington, more than a decade ago after falling in love with the grassy dunes in the surrounding environment. The house was completed by Replinger-Hossner Architects in 2001.

Location is for Ocean Park, not Newell’s home.

Charles Simonyi: Net worth $3.6 billion

Charles Simonyi, Microsoft’s 40th employee, lives in "Villa Simonyi" a.k.a. "The Windows 2000 House." The modern estate, designed by architect Wendell Lovett, was inspired by painter Victor Vasarely, whose work Simonyi collects.

One unnamed architect described the home to The Independent as a “James Bond modern” in 1996: “It has a bed that rotates, and a place by the pool for rock bands to come and play, and he collects the work of a Hungarian abstract painter. There's a whole phone and entertainment console in the toilet. You could spend your day there."

King County appraised the home at $8.2 million.

The Windows 2000 house. The CVP of Windows 2000 had this house built with literally 2,000 Windows. pic.twitter.com/iHzqBOgQwE — Christina Wheeler (@cwheeler76) August 17, 2016

James Jannard: Net worth $2.9 billion

While Forbes offhandly mentions a Seattle residence in its billionaire rankings, Oakley sunglasses mogul Jannard is best-known as owning the entirety of 500-acre Spieden Island in the San Juans, which he purchased in 1997 for $22 million. San Juan County property records show no recent sales, although the property is owned by an LLC , a common masking tactic for high-profile property buyers (this one is called “Under the Radar,” which is appropriate).

According the county, though, Jannard has not masked the several plots land he owns on Crane Island—a small island off the southwest coast of Orcas Island—or his $2 million property along Orcas’s West Sound.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by ~Reggie (@doctorfate77) on Nov 17, 2018 at 10:47am PST

Craig McCaw: net worth $1.9 billion

Craig McCaw, founder of what used to be McCaw Cellular, bought his Hunts Point property, just a stone’s throw from Ballmer’s, from saxophonist Kenny G (yes, Kenny G) in 1995 for an undisclosed amount . The Seattle Times described it at the time as a “12,000-square-foot English-style manor.”

Property records show that as of 2013, the home now belongs to his brother, fellow cable magnate Bruce McCaw—but it wouldn’t be the first time the two owned property together. While it’s currently held in trust, both brothers are associated with a vacant mansion in the Denny-Blaine neighborhood of Seattle. Regardless, the property is still in the McCaw family. King County recently appraised the home at more than $30 million .

Other properties associated with the McCaw family, public records show, include a luxury condo in Kirkland ,

Anne Gittinger: Net worth $1.1 billion

Anne Gittinger, a member of the Nordstrom family and, along with her brother, one of the department store’s major shareholders, has been associated with this condo in Market Place Tower since at least the early 1990s—and is still registered to vote here. The unit is one of just seven in the building, which is primarily an office tower. It’s currently partially held in trust .

View this post on Instagram A post shared by @whatatimetovibe on Feb 3, 2016 at 4:43pm PST

Bruce Nordstrom: Net worth $1.1 billion

Public records show Bruce Nordstrom purchased a house in the Mercer Island waterfront neighborhood surrounding Groveland Park in the late 1980s—although he’s registered to vote at Market Place Tower where his sister Anne Gittinger lives. Along with Gittinger, Nordstrom is one of the biggest individual shareholders in the Nordstrom department store chain.

Location is approximate.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Erin Ryan (@sadbumble) on Aug 10, 2016 at 11:29pm PDT

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Bezos leaving behind a massive seattle real estate portfolio as he and lauren sanchez plan their move to miami.

Amazon.com Inc. Founder Jeff Bezos's recent announcement that he will move to Miami with his fiancée Lauren Sanchez caused a stir as he will leave behind the Seattle area , which is synonymous with the company's success.

Amazon staff is reportedly searching for extensive office space locations in Miami .

Parents And Space Launches

"As exciting as the move is, it's an emotional decision for me," Bezos wrote in a November Instagram post.

Bezos expressed several reasons for the move, including a desire to move closer to his parents, Sanchez's love of South Florida and his wanting proximity to Blue Origin , his space exploration company that launches from Cape Canaveral. Amazon and Microsoft Corp. 's growth both contributed to Seattle's tech-hub position and the area's ability to attract top tech talent.

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After completing the move, Bezos will leave behind a Seattle real estate empire with an estimated value of $190 million. In 2019, following his much-publicized divorce from novelist MacKenzie Scott, Bezos embarked on a $45 million homebuying spree, acquiring four properties in the exclusive Hunts Point neighborhood. Business Insider discovered these properties by cross-referencing property tax records with addresses linked to Bezos’s business ventures and known properties.

In 2019, Bezos acquired three comparatively modest homes ranging from $1.8 million to $3.3 million within a mile of his waterfront estate. One of the properties, a four-bedroom house, is listed for sale at $4.4 million.

One of the crown jewels in his portfolio is a waterfront estate in Hunts Point, purchased in 2019 for $37.5 million through a trust. This residence, boasting 300 feet of coastline, a rooftop deck with a fireplace and a glass bridge to a two-story guesthouse, serves as Bezos’s residence when he is in town.

In addition to his personal portfolio, Bezos is also investing in real estate company Arrived. Arrived offers a fractional real estate investing platform with almost half a million retail investors. Through this platform, investors can acquire shares of single-family rental properties with a minimum investment of $100. It recently launched the Arrived Single Family Residential Fund , which streamlines capital allocation by enabling users to invest larger amounts at their convenience without waiting for individual property launches.

$1.5 Million Per Hour Enables Lavish Spending

Bezos’s departure from Seattle does not diminish his influence on the real estate landscape. In addition to his Seattle holdings, he remains a formidable landowner with diverse properties across the United States. His portfolio includes a ranch in Texas, Manhattan apartments, the largest home in Washington, D.C., an estate in Los Angeles and a $78 million home in Hawaii.

These expenditures are not likely to dent Bezos' net worth significantly, as he makes approximately $1.5 million per hour and is worth $169.2 billion, according to the Forbes' Real-Time Billionaires List as of Dec. 7.

In Miami, Bezos continues his trend of acquiring neighboring properties, investing in two adjacent estates on Indian Creek, a man-made island off the coast. The guarded island, known as billionaire bunker, is home to ultrarich people, including former NFL quarterback Tom Brady, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump and billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin.

Bezos’s opulent lifestyle faced an unexpected challenge in Miami, where his $500 million yacht, Koru , reportedly struggles to find suitable docking space because of its immense size. The yacht’s presence among oil tankers in a Florida port adds an intriguing twist to Bezos’s ongoing pursuit of luxury.

Collecting passive income from real estate just got a whole lot simpler. A new real estate fund backed by Jeff Bezos gives you instant access to a diversified portfolio of rental properties, and you only need $100 to get started.

Passive income investments are one of the most trusted methods for riding out a recession, so it's no surprise that people are turning to high-yield real estate notes that pay a fixed 7.5% to 9%.

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This article Bezos Leaving Behind A Massive Seattle Real Estate Portfolio As He And Lauren Sanchez Plan Their Move To Miami originally appeared on Benzinga.com

© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Jeff Bezos' 3 private jets are worth $140 million and include 2 Gulfstream G650ERs alongside a hangar in Seattle

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Jeff Bezos owns three private jets, worth around $140 million in total.

They include two Gulfstream G650ERs and a Pilatus PC-24.

Records seen by BI show he also bought a hangar at Seattle's Boeing Field in 2015.

Like most billionaires, Jeff Bezos often flies around the world, and having his own planes lets him save time and improve his security.

The world's second-richest person owns three private jets , according to public records seen by Business Insider and data from JetSpy.

Two of them are Gulfstream G650ER s, which cost around $65 million each. The G650ER is a popular choice for the world's richest people — Elon Musk and Bill Gates also own one — thanks to its long range and high speed.

From Bezos' home in Miami , the G650ER can fly as far as Cape Town, Dubai, and Beijing, according to Gulfstream's website. Only Australia and southeast Asia would necessitate a fuelling stop.

The range is slightly reduced if it's traveling at its top speed of Mach 0.90, equivalent to 690 miles per hour. But the 22-seater can still fly for an impressive 7,365 miles. There aren't many other private jets on the market that allow for a more than 10-hour flight.

Bezos also owns a Piltaus PC-24 with the tail-number N194PJ, according to data from JetSpy. The light business jet with 10 seats was manufactured in 2020 and usually costs about $9 million. But with a maximum range of 2,200 miles, it would need a fuel stop to travel between Bezos' Miami home and Amazon's Seattle HQ.

How Bezos' jets are kept private

Proving Bezos' ownership of the jets isn't simple. JetSpy's data lists Bezos as the operator of the PC-24, although it's registered with the Federal Aviation Administration under a company called TVPX Aircraft Solutions.

TVPX's website says it provides trust services for US business aviation, either due to rules on citizenship or for "privacy enhancement."

The two Gulfstreams are registered to a holding company called Poplar Glen LLC, per the FAA registry.

BI found Washington state records from the firm's creation in 2004 which say it is owned by Bezos. The manager was listed as Zeffram LLC , another of Bezos' holding companies. In the most recent records, Poplar Glen's governor is listed as Paul Dauber, one of Bezos' attorneys.

Bezos bought a Dassault Falcon 900EX the same year as Poplar Glen's creation. According to the manufacturer's website, a pre-owned one costs around $10 million.

Taylor Swift also used to own a Falcon 900 until she sold it in January. According to FlightAware, Bezos sold his in 2015.

The same year, Poplar Glen paid $5.5 million for a hangar at Boeing Field in Seattle, according to property deeds seen by BI. The Puget Sound Business Journal first reported the sale.

Those documents show it was owned by Costco, and measures nearly 18,600 square feet. A sales brochure for the space, Hangar H-1, is still visible online.

Bezos then bought his first Gulfstream G650ER in 2016. It's registered as N271DV — the number previously used by his Falcon 900EX.

The Amazon founder's second Gulfstream jet was purchased in 2019, and registered as N758PB. It has newer Rolls Royce engines than his other jet, providing a couple hundred extra pounds of thrust, per FlightAware.

If you try to look up these jets on Flightradar24, you'll see that they can't be tracked. That's because the site uses some data from the FAA, which lets jet owners protect their privacy by signing up for the "Limiting Aircraft Data Displayed" program.

However, these planes can still be tracked via sites like ADS-B Exchange, built on a network of plane enthusiasts and institutions with receivers that detect aircraft signals. ADS-B Exchange's data is used by Jack Sweeney, the college student who was named on Forbes 30 Under 30 after tracking Musk's jet .

Bezos has also taken the extra step of reserving 36 other N-Numbers which aren't in use, per the FAA registry . Some of these, like 271EV and 271DX, resemble his Gulfstreams' N-Number, so they could help maintain his security.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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• A sculpture on Jeff Bezos' new $500 million megayacht has tongues wagging: Is it his girlfriend?
• Bezos and his girlfriend, Lauren Sanchez, were recently spotted on the yacht for the first time.
• The watercraft is named Koru, which is Māori for loop or coil and signifies new beginnings.

A sculpture on Jeff Bezos' new megayacht has people wondering whether it's his girlfriend, Lauren Sanchez .

The figurehead on the prow of the 417-foot watercraft shows a woman with long hair in a flowing dress, as seen in photos first published by the Daily Mail . She appears to be wearing a necklace that may feature the symbol for koru, which is the name of the ship. Koru means "loop" or "coil" in the Māori language and often signifies new beginnings.

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Bezos and Sanchez, who went public with their relationship in 2019, were first spotted on the new $500 million superyacht earlier this week off the coast of Spain.

The vessel, believed to be the largest sailing yacht in the world, had a rocky road to completion. It caused an uproar when its Dutch shipmaker, Oceanco, requested that a historic bridge in Rotterdam in the Netherlands be dismantled for the yacht to pass because its masts were too tall to pass through underneath.

The 100-year-old Koningshaven Bridge, nicknamed "De Hef" by locals, had been renovated in 2017; after that, the city had vowed not to take it apart again, according to Dutch broadcaster Rijnmond .

Residents grew outraged and even threatened to egg the yacht if the bridge was dismantled, prompting Oceanco to withdraw its request and quietly tow away the yacht to another shipyard without its masts, which were installed later to avoid the clearance issue.

Koru was seen  doing sea trials , which are comprised of several tests and usually mark one of the last phases of construction, in February. The yacht made its maiden voyage in April when it left Oceanco's facilities to travel to Gibraltar on the way to Bezos.

Check out the photos of the yacht's figurehead on the Daily Mail .

Watch: Jeff Bezos reportedly just spent $165 million on a Beverly Hills estate — here are all the ways the world's richest man makes and spends his money

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Extent of Jeff Bezos' palatial Lake Washington property is revealed in exclusive pictures

• New pictures reveal the extent of Bezos' massive Seattle estate on an exclusive peninsula
• The estate sits on Medina, an affluent suburb of Seattle, Washington accessible by the world's longest land bridge 
• The world's third richest man has been diligently expanding his real estate empire, while also spending the summer on his new $500million superyacht 

By Sophie Mann For Dailymail.Com

Published: 17:20 EDT, 23 August 2023 | Updated: 09:40 EDT, 24 August 2023

View comments

The full extent of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos ' Seattle, Washington lake front property has been revealed in exclusive new photos. 

The world's third-richest man reportedly purchased two properties in the affluent Seattle suburb of Medina in 1998 and 2005, for which he paid a combined $60million.

Following a massive mid-2000s renovation of the lots, the primary residence is now a 25,000 -square-foot Tudor-style mansion with six bedrooms and nine bathrooms.

It also includes an indoor and outdoor pool, a large guest house, and waterfront access to Lake Washington.

The second property has an elaborately landscaped garden, and another sizable house that Bezos reportedly used as his office.

The properties have significant waterfront access to Lake Washington, including two large jetties, a boat shed, and a small waterslide. The main house boasts both an indoor and an outdoor pool. 

The massive waterfront property in the wealthy Seattle suburb of Medina was purchased for some $60million by Bezos decades ago, and has since undergone a significant renovation

The property boasts hundreds of feet of waterfront access to Lake Washington, including two large jetties, a boat shed, and a waterslide

Significant renovations made to the property in 2010 are estimated to have cost $28 million, for a total of $88 million spent on the estate - $118 million, adjusting for inflation. 

Medina Peninsula is accessible from Seattle via the longest floating bridge in the world, which spans 7,710 feet across Lake Washington. The tony peninsula is also famously home to Bill Gates, where he lived for many years with his now-ex-wife Melinda.

The extensive property reveal comes just weeks after Bezos  bought a waterfront mansion in Indian Creek Village in Miami's Biscayne Bay. The purchase occurred off-market in June - Bezos, 59, kept his identity a secret at the time.

The three-bedroom property on the man-made barrier Island sits on 2.8 acres and was built in 1965.

It was previously owned by a company with ties to Panama called MTM Star International, which obtained it for $1.4 million in 1982.

The Amazon founder, who has been living the good life with fiancé Lauren Sanchez since his retirement from the company, is looking to buy other properties in the area, an anonymous source told  Bloomberg . 

Significant renovations made to the property in 2010 are estimated to have cost $28, for a total of $88 million spent on the estate - $118 million, adjusting for inflation

Medina Peninsula is accessible from Seattle via the longest floating bridge in the world, which spans 7,710 feet across Lake Washington

A close up shot of the mansion's waterslide - a small feature compared to the elaborate build of the rest of the property

The three-bedroom property on the man-made barrier Island sits on 2.8 acres and was built in 1965

A map showing the famous residents, including Carl Icahn, Tom Brady, that currently have homes on Indian Creek Island

Jeff Bezos has become the latest resident of south Florida's 'Billionaire Bunker.' The Amazon founder, who has been living the good life with fiancé Lauren Sanchez since he retirement from Amazon, is looking to buy other properties in the area 

As Bezos expands his impressive real-estate portfolio, which also includes homes in Beverly Hills, Manhattan, Texas, and Washington, DC, he also recently completed construction of the world's largest yacht, which cost a cool $500million.

He and his now fiancé Lauren Sanchez , 53, have been sailing the ship - called the Koru, which means new beginnings - around the coast of Europe since the start of summer, on a prolonged engagement cruise.

They've hosted a long list of famous guests including Oprah Winfrey, Kris Jenner and Medina neighbor Bill Gates. 

The lovebirds have been spotted in a slew of luxury spots, including Portofino, Saint-Tropez, and Cannes.

The 230ft tall yacht, which Bezos commissioned in 2018, currently holds the record for being the world's tallest superyacht.

It notably has a wooden sculpture that resembles Bezos' soon-to-be second wife on the prow.

The couple held the secret engagement party aboard Bezos' yacht off Italy's Amalfi Coast, two months after the couple got engaged in May.

At 230ft tall, Koru (pictured) currently holds the record for being the world's tallest superyacht

After just a few weeks home, the newly-engaged couple were back to life on the high seas 

The couple held their engagement party aboard Bezos' $500m yacht mega-yacht -off Italy's Amalfi Coast - the celebration was attended by bigwigs such as Bill Gates. 

Bezos is also reportedly in the middle of renovating his record-breaking $165million Beverly Hills compound.

Construction will include reconfiguring the floor plan and altering the square footage. 

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Jeff Bezos to dismantle Dutch bridge for $450 million yacht

Jeff Bezos' superyacht in the Oceanco shipyard. The $485 million vessel will have a height over 130 feet.

Jeff Bezos will pay for Rotterdam to partially dismantle a nearly 145-year-old bridge so he can sail his $485 million super yacht out after finishing construction on the vessel. 

The Oceanco shipyard in Alblasserdam near Rotterdam has nearly completed the construction of Y721, the former Amazon CEO’s yacht, but the vessel is too big to sail out with the bridge as it is. The builders asked the local council to remove the bridge’s central section so the yacht can pass. 

"It's the only route to the sea," a spokesman for the mayor of Rotterdam told AFP, adding that billionaire Bezos, 57, would pay for the operation. The super yacht, which will be the largest boat built in Oceanco and one of the largest ever built, requires a 130-foot clearance, at least, to pass through. 

The Koningshaven Bridge, known to locals as De Hef, dates from 1878 but was rebuilt after the Nazis bombed it in 1940 during World War II. The local council replaced the original swing bridge design after several traffic jams and collisions, changing it to a lifting bridge. 

A look at the career of Jeff Bezos, world's richest man

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, Blue Origin and owner of the Washington Post, is thought to be the richest person in the world.

The local council completed a major repair on the bridge in 2017 and promised not to dismantle the bridge again. 

The shipbuilders dismissed suggestions that they sail a partially-finished vessel down the river and finish it elsewhere. Marcel Walravens, who managed the renovation, said it would prove impractical. 

"If you carry out a big job somewhere, you want all your tools in that place," Walravens told Rijnmond. "Otherwise you have to go back and forth constantly."

Walravens noted that the municipality considers the project "very important." 

"Rotterdam has also been declared the maritime capital of Europe," he explained. "Shipbuilding and activity within that sector are therefore an important pillar for the municipality."

Get updates on this story at FOXBusiness.com.

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Rotterdam will not dismantle bridge to allow Bezos’ superyacht through

Jeff Bezos will not be able to sail a new, more than 400-foot-long superyacht through the waters of the Dutch city of Rotterdam anytime soon.

The port city faced an uproar months ago as it considered dismantling a section of a 95-year-old bridge to allow the Amazon founder’s yacht to pass. But now the boat’s builder, the Dutch company Oceanco, has decided to refrain from applying for a permit, according to a Rotterdam City Council member.

It was unclear how Bezos’ yacht would leave the area or whether Oceanco would finish the boat. The company did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday and Thursday. An Amazon spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.

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The yacht was supposed to sail through the Koningshaven Bridge, known locally as “De Hef,” over the summer and was on track to become the largest sailing yacht in the world at 417 feet, according to the superyacht industry publication Boat International. The bridge does not have enough clearance for the yacht, which was being built in a nearby town.

Because Oceanco is no longer seeking an application, the middle part of the bridge will not be removed for now, according to a public letter from the council member, Vincent Karremans. The dismantling process takes about a day, as does putting it back together, according to Peter van Druten, a spokesperson for the city of Rotterdam.

De Hef opened in 1927 and was the first vertical lift bridge in the Netherlands, but it is no longer in use. It has been dismantled before — most recently in 2017 for a renovation, van Druten said. The bridge is “an icon for the city,” he said.

The full cost of the dismantling would have been covered by Oceanco, the city said, and the bridge would have immediately been restored afterward.

City officials told reporters in February that Rotterdam had agreed to briefly dismantle the bridge to allow Bezos’ yacht to go through. But after backlash, they walked back that statement and said a decision had not been made.

A Facebook event at the time invited residents of the city to throw eggs at the boat. “Dismantling De Hef for Jeff Bezos’s latest toy? Come throw eggs … !” the event’s organizer wrote in February.

Then last month, the Dutch newspaper Trouw reported that Oceanco had decided not to apply for the permit out of fear of vandalism and threats.

“That’s worrisome — the ship builder is just doing his job,” said Dieke van Groningen, a Rotterdam council member for VVD, the Dutch liberal party.

Responses so far were mixed. Some people applauded the fact that the city would not have to bend to the will of Bezos. Facebook posts by the Dutch public in response to the news included sentiments like: “Class! Keep your spine straight for such oligarchs,” and “Let him get that thing with his own rocket.”

“We’re happy it’s not happening,” said Marvin Biljoen, a councilman for GroenLinks, the Dutch Green Party. “The bridge is a national monument, which shouldn’t be altered too much. That you could still do that with money anyway bothers us.”

But others believed it would have been a good opportunity for the city.

“I talk to a lot of residents of Rotterdam,” van Groningen, the VVD council member, said. “They’re incredibly proud that these kinds of ships sail through our city.”

Rotterdam is the biggest port in Europe and a main hub for shipbuilding, including superyachts.

“This is the Netherlands at its best,” van Groningen said. “It’s about the image of the port, and you should be proud of that.”

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Billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg spend six figures a year maintaining their superyachts. Here's how.

• Superyachts  are one of the most expensive assets money can buy.
• The true cost of ownership is even more, adding up to millions a year.
• Here's how much it costs to own a superyacht — and what that money is going toward.

Financial advisors are quick to warn prospective owners that a boat is nothing more than a hole in the water in which to throw money. When it comes to superyachts, you'd better have bags and bags of cash.

As one luxury agent told Business Insider at the Palm Beach International Boat Show: "Buying a boat, it's a huge purchase — and nobody needs a yacht."

A superyacht, generally over 30 meters long, is one of the most expensive assets money can buy, with the largest costing more than a lot of real estate or a private jet. Billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Steve Jobs each spent nine figures on their megayachts.

That doesn't include operating costs. Owners should expect to pay about 10% of a yacht's new-build price each year, experts told Business Insider. That's tens of millions of dollars annually for the most luxurious boats.

"It's a small-to-medium-sized business in its own right," said Jeffrey Beneville, a senior vice president at insurance company NFP, where he specializes in consulting clients about yachts.

Unlike many smaller boats, superyachts need staff, not just a captain. Some superyachts have space for dozens of crewmembers , including a chef, engineer, and masseuse for the guests onboard. Each gets an annual salary — the highest-ranking members earn six figures — and benefits. Eric Schmidt's yacht fits a crew of 28 for a ratio of about two crewmembers per guest.

Then there's fuel, dockage fees, routine maintenance, and insurance. The latter hinges on everything from the reputation of a yacht's shipyard to where an owner wants to take it (if a vessel is taking frequent trips to the South China Sea, for example, expect to pay a higher premium). If a superyacht has a support yacht — or a support superyacht, in Bezos ' case — expect to pay another 10% of that boat's price annually.

"The cost to maintain a yacht is so high that they just think that money's getting lit on fire," Matthew Fleissig, the CEO of wealth management firm Pathstone, told BI of his clients who choose to charter rather than own.

One of his firm's clients who does own has a 23-meter yacht valued at $5.2 million. The annual cost to staff, maintain, dock, and insure the boat is $346,297, according to documentation provided to BI. The lion's share is spent on marina fees ($95,970) and maintenance work ($88,408.) While not exactly a Sunfish, that boat is too small to count as a superyacht.

At 106 meters, the Amadea, owned by a sanctioned Russian oligarch , definitely does. The $300 million yacht, which was seized in 2022 and is docked in San Diego, cost $922,000 a month to maintain, a court filing showed: $360,000 for crew salaries, $75,000 for fuel, $144,000 for insurance, $178,000 in dry-docking fees, and $165,000 for maintenance, waste removal, food for the crew, and miscellaneous expenses.

"And that's an inactive yacht that's in the water," NFP's Beneville said.

If it were operational and carrying guests, the costs would be about twice that, or between $20 million and $30 million a year, he added.

Of course, it makes more financial sense for the non-obsessives to charter, and many of Fleissig's clients do. And some owners choose to offer their yachts for charter — the most luxurious cost as much as $1 million a week — to offset the costs.

"If you charter the boat for 50 days a year, it's going to help a lot," Anders Kurtén, the CEO of brokerage firm Fraser Yachts, told BI.

Then again, the running costs don't matter as much at a certain point. "If you're worth $30 billion, it's nothing. And if you're worth $117 billion — and these are the guys we're talking about — they're in it as long as it's still enjoyable for them," Beneville said. "It's not a money thing."

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