An anonymous buyer has nabbed one of the largest superyachts in the world, which was previously owned by the late co-founder of Microsoft Paul Allen. According to The Guardian, the 126-metre vessel was purchased by a Scandinavian buyer for around $278 million.
A pool, gym, spa, basketball court, cinema, dance floor, private deck for the owner and a garage for two helicopters, two submarines, and a large SUV – it appears it would be easier to say what this superyacht doesn’t have. Allen had an enormous interest in music. It is for this reason he asked designer Espen Øino to install a music studio on board the Octopus.
According to Øino, there "were 54 tonnes of audio and video equipment on board". Equipping the studio was a particular challenge, Øino recollects. It seems the designer aced the task, as stars such as Mick Jagger (Rolling Stones) and Bono (U2) used to work in the studio.
Sam Tucker, head of superyacht research at the London-based VesselsValue, told the outlet that the demand for high-end boats has outstripped the supply, with more and more wealthy individuals wanting to escape the pandemic, not in their villas and mansions, but at sea.
219 superyachts were sold in the first quarter of 2021, Bloomberg writes. That is more than double the number during the same period last year. Despite the cost of owning one being quite expensive (the price stands at around 10 percent of a boat's value), more and more individuals are purchasing the luxury boats.
Together with Bill Gates, Paul Allen co-founded Microsoft in 1975. He left the company in 1983. After selling his stake, he became a billionaire. After leaving Microsoft, Allen focused on investment, working on different projects ranging from aerospace, real estate, and technology, to sports, science, and art. Like his partner and friend Gates, he also donated to charitable organisations. Allen beat cancer twice (Stage 1-A Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1982 and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2009). However, the disease returned in 2018 and ultimately caused his death the same year.