Two of the world’s most famous luxury yachts owned by a pair of the richest people in the world collided in a fender-bender accident while anchored off the coast of Naples, Italy this week.
Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego’s luxury yacht, Lady Moura, on July 5, 2023 .
dia images via Getty Images
Key Takeaways
- Mexican retail and broadcasting billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego took to Instagram Wednesday to share a video of a sleek boat drifting toward his mega yacht Lady Moura as crew members blast the horn, scream and shout in a bid to get the crew’s attention.
- The oncoming vessel, Salinas said, was the Venus luxury yacht famously built for Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and now owned by his widow, Laurene Powell Jobs.
- The video shows Venus bounce off the side of the Lady Moura without breaching the ship’s hull before it drifts away backwards.
- Salinas posted there was no major damage but that his ship was left with “a big scratch that’s going to be a lot to fix.”
- He then told his followers to buy Apple products through his Group Elektra retail chain to help Powell Jobs pay for the damage.
- Neither billionaire owner was on board the ship at the time of the crash, according to Dagens news of Media Group Denmark.
Crucial Quote
“I would like to know what the captain and crew were doing that they didn’t see a yacht the size of mine,” Salinas said on Instagram. “You see that there are no shortage of idiots in the world.”
Key Background
Construction began on Venus, Jobs’ $120 million yacht, in 2009 and was completed three years later. The boat was designed by French industrial designer and architect Philippe Starck and was created to look like an Apple product with sleek lines and 15 tons of glass walls. Jobs himself never boarded the 78.2-meter vessel—he died before it was completed. Lady Moura has been renowned as one of the world’s most lavish yachts since it was launched in 1990. The vessel is almost 105 meters long and can accommodate 27 guests and 72 crew members.
Forbes Valuation
Powell Jobs was ranked as the 126th richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $14.4 billion as of Thursday. She inherited much of her fortune from her late husband, Jobs, who died in 2011.
She is the founder of two philanthropy organizations, the Emerson Collective and the Waverley Street Foundation, and has committed to giving billions of dollars to charitable organizations. Salinas is the heir to the publicly-traded Grupo Elektra, which was founded by his grandfather in the 1950s.
He now runs the financial and retail corporation and TV Azteca, the No. 2 Mexican TV broadcaster. As of Thursday, he was ranked as the 221st richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $10 billion.
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