'Megayacht' Built for Steve Jobs Crashes into Luxury Ship in Horrifying Moment
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
For a brief moment last month, it may have seemed like a battle of billionaires had broken out as a “megayacht” built for the late tech mogul Steve Jobs apparently bumped into another luxury vessel in the Mediterranean Sea.
The 78-meter Venus, which now belongs to Jobs’ widow, Laurene Powell Jobs, collided with the 105-meter Lady Moura on July 22 near Naples, Italy, Business Insider reported.
There were no billionaires aboard at the time of the mishap, and no injuries were reported among crew members.
“Both boats were anchored when a sudden change of wind led to the collision,” the financial news outlet said.
Video of the collision was widely shared on social media the first week of August.
🚨 WATCH: STEVE JOBS’ YACHT SMASHES INTO MEXICAN BILLIONAIRE’S BOAT
The 78.2m superyacht Venus, formerly owned by Steve Jobs, collided with the 104.6m Lady Moura, owned by prominent Mexican businessman Ricardo Salinas, off the coast of Naples.
Needless to say, the wealthiest… pic.twitter.com/bqnWJ05ZCk
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) August 7, 2024
There was no major damage done, Forbes reported, but Ricardo Salinas Pliego, owner of the Lady Moura, was extremely unhappy about the incident, which left a big scratch on his luxury vessel.
“That’s going to be a lot to fix,” he said in a social media post.
“I would like to know what the captain and crew were doing that they didn’t see a yacht the size of mine,” Salinas wrote on Instagram.
“You see that there is no shortage of idiots in the world .”
View this post on Instagram
The heir to a Mexican electronics and broadcasting fortune, Salinas advised followers “to buy Apple products through his Group Elektra retail chain to help Powell Jobs pay for the damage.”
Jobs commissioned the Venus, which came with a $120 million price tag, in 2009. However, the vessel was not completed until after his death in 2011, according to Forbes.
It was designed by Philippe Starck, a French designer and architect. Jobs requested that it look “like an Apple product with sleek lines and 15 tons of glass walls,” the report said.
“Powell Jobs was ranked as the 126th richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $14.4 billion as of Thursday,” while Salinas “was ranked as the 221st richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $10 billion,” Forbes reported.
Superyacht Times reported that the megayacht fender-bender was apparently caused, at least in part, by “a sudden shift in wind conditions.”
There were no crew members on Venus’ bridge at the time, according to the report.
“Although the crew on Lady Moura noticed the wind change, started her engines, blew the whistle and attempted to contact Venus, there was insufficient time to maneuver and avoid the collision.”
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