Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos was seen in the French Riviera in his $500million mega yacht at the Cannes Film Festival – which was flagged by his support yacht, which is effectively as a $75million floating garage for his jet skis, luxury cars and his fiancée’s helicopter.
The world’s most extravagant superyachts have been seen jostling for position at Cote d’Azur, with the likes of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos – the third richest man in the world according to Forbes – being seen gliding into the Cannes’ harbour. Bezos has since decided to jet off for northern Italy.
His new yacht the Koru is named after the Maori word for ‘new beginnings’ and measures a whopping 417ft long.
But the impressive vessel does not travel alone – it is accompanied by a ‘support yacht’, the Abeona, which measures 246ft, and carries a slew of gadgets, machines and toys for Bezos and his entourage to enjoy.
These include a selection of supercars, motorbikes, smaller boats, jet skis, and a helicopter and landing pad for his fiancée.
The Koru (background) alone is simply not enough for the ex-Amazon chief, who also arrived in the French Riviera with a support yacht, the Abeona (foreground), which itself measures 246ft and carries a slew of gadgets, as well as a helicopter
Jeff Bezos and his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez are holidaying on his yacht ‘Koru’ (left) with escort yacht ‘Abeona’ (right) in Cannes
A major reason that Bezos bought the shadow yacht was so that his fiancée Lauren Sanchez, who is a trained helicopter pilot, could land her bird when they were at sea
Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos (right) at the beach with his fiancee Lauren Sanchez (left)
The $75million support yacht codenamed YS 6512, which is the largest support vessel ever built, was launched to shadow the Koru in October last year.
Abeona, named after the Roman goddess of outward journeys, was built at a shipyard in Vlissingen, the Netherlands, after a contract was signed with Bezos in 2019, according to Luxurylaunches.
A major reason that Bezos bought the shadow yacht was so that his fiancée Lauren Sanchez, who is a trained helicopter pilot, could land her Airbus ACH-135 when they were at sea – as the bigger Koru does not have its own landing pad, Luxurylaunches reported.
Sanchez, 53, is the founder of Black Ops Aviation, the first female-owned aerial film and production company.
She became famous as an entertainment reporter in America and as a news anchor, and she won an Emmy award for her stint as an anchor for KCOP’s 13 News.
Sanchez was married to businessman Patrick Whitesell from 2005 until their divorce in 2019. She has been with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos since 2019 and they got engaged earlier this month.
Demand for support vessels has risen significantly in the past few years amongst wealthy owners of superyachts.
These yachts are used to assist the main ship by giving space to store equipment (such as a helicopter), and provide accomodation for extra guests.
Abeona has a volume of 1900 tons and has a cruising speed of 16 knots and a top speed of 18 knots. At cruising speed the ships maximum range is 5000 nautical miles.
Alongside all the toys and amenities, the Abeona can accommodate four guests in two staterooms and up to 37 crew members.
It’s big sister Koru is the world’s second largest sailing ship, surpassed only by the somewhat underwhelmingly-named ‘Sailing Yacht A’, owned by Russian fertilizer billionaire Andrey Melnichenko.
The yacht Abeona, auxiliary ship of the sailing yacht Koru, and owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, at anchor in the bay of Palma de Mallorca
A major reason that Bezos bought the shadow yacht was so that his fiancée Lauren Sanchez, who is a trained helicopter pilot, could land her Airbus ACH-135 when they were at sea – as the bigger Koru does not have its own landing pad, Luxurylaunches reported
Jeff Bezos $500 million megayacht is named Koru after the Maori word for ‘new beginnings’
Exclusive DailyMail.com photos show the polished wooden sculpture of a curvaceous woman carved in the style of a Roman goddess, dressed in a flowing gown and with long hair
The staggering vessel wraps the very best of modern maritime technology with the look and feel of sailing ships of old.
The Koru is powered by a pair of extremely powerful MTU Rolls Royce engines, but also comes complete with an array of sails which allow the craft to harness the power of mother nature.
A polished wooden sculpture of a Roman goddess is carved into the ship’s bow, which some have commented looks as though it is styled on Bezos’ glamorous girlfriend Lauren Sanchez.
Not much is known about the interior of Bezos’ superyacht, but with a price tag of $500 million – and estimated running costs of roughly $25 million – it is sure to be dripping with luxury.
