Nicknamed “De Hef,” the bridge is recognized as a historical monument by the city and locals. Even though the municipal project’s leader, Marcel Walravens, has said they would “put everything back in place” after its anticipated deconstruction, that’s not the point, say Rotterdammers.
On Thursday, more than 14,000 people showed interest in attending an event on Facebook, titled “throwing eggs at Jeff Bezos’ superyacht.”
“Calling all Rotterdammers, take a box of rotten eggs with you and let’s throw them en masse at Jeff’s superyacht when it sails through the Hef,” Pablo Strörmann, the organizer of the Facebook event, wrote on social media.
Strörmann, who said the event began as a joke, discovered that the sentiment actually resonated with other Dutch residents. “Normally it’s the other way around: If your ship doesn’t fit under a bridge, you make it smaller. But when you happen to be the richest person on Earth, you just ask a municipality to dismantle a monument. That’s ridiculous,” Strörmann said.
The yacht, which is 417 feet long, is being built by Oceanco, a company that specializes in the construction of superyachts. Oceanco asked for the middle of the historical monument to be removed, not necessarily Bezos himself, who is commissioning the construction of the yacht. It isn’t clear who would be paying for the deconstruction of the bridge, but those costs are predicted to be paid for by Oceanco in the end - not Dutch taxpayers.
The Koningshaven bridge was first built in 1878 and reconstructed following damage sustained by Nazi bombs during World War II. It was decommissioned in 1994, but locals saved it from demolition after protesting. It has been recognized as a national monument ever since. After a major renovation in 2017, the town council declared it would not touch the bridge again. Now, residents are waiting to see if they will turn their backs on that promise.
The city’s mayor’s office has argued that dismantling the monument will create “several jobs for the community.”
However, that stance hasn’t been warmly welcomed. Local historian Ton Wesselink countered the official’s remarks, underscoring that while employment opportunities are important, “there are limits with what you can do and should do with our industrial heritage.”
The bridge presently offers a 130-foot clearance for ships, but apparently, that’s not enough room to clear Bezos’ superyacht. The boat is meant to be the world’s largest sailing yacht, commissioned by the world’s third richest man.
Bezos currently sits on a net worth of $188 billion, behind Tesla founder Elon Musk and French businessman Bernard Arnalt; however, those standings are constantly changing. Bezos and Musk are typically neck and neck in the race for the title of richest man on Earth.
All that’s left now is the biggest question of all: How hard does one have to throw an egg to hit a superyacht, anyway?