Jeff Bezos will unload a bridge to let his yacht pass

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos wanted to prove that with enough money, you can actually move mountains — or at least, in this case, bridges. That is according to local reports cited by Dutch News and Boat International.

Specifically, the city of Rotterdam will temporarily disable its historic Koningshaven bridge so a luxury superyacht believed to be owned by Bezos can set sail.

The main problem here is that the boat is too big. Developed by Dutch custom yacht builder Oceanco, the vessel is approximately 127 meters long. When completed, it will become the largest sailing yacht in the world, according to Boat international . Oceanco is said to have approached the city of Rotterdam and demanded that the bridge be dismantled because its 40-meter height was not enough for the yacht’s three giant masts to move through. Oceanco and Bezos are said to have offered to fully fund the dismantling.

Meanwhile, the giant bridge is a national monument first built in 1927, known locally as “De Hef”. De Hef is believed to have been severely damaged in the bombing of Rotterdam during World War II and has since undergone several renovations, most recently in 2017. The most recent dismantling is believed to have been made. marks the last time the bridge was disabled. But the city council seems to have made an exception for this once-richest man in the world.

Needless to say, not everyone in Rotterdam is excited about the idea of ​​manipulating a nearly century-old landmark at the behest of a billionaire, despite claims from some that the project could generate more temporary employment.

“Work is important, but there are limits to what you can and should do with our heritage,” said Ton Wesselink, a member of the Rotterdam Historical Society.

Rumors about the Amazon founder’s connection to the aforementioned boat began with Brad Stone’s 2021 book Amazon Unbound. In the book, the author also said that in addition to the giant 127-meter ship, Jeff Bezos also commissioned a smaller “support yacht”, which is said to have a separate helipad for helicopters. In related mindless spending efforts, the former Amazon CEO also invested $42 million in a 150-meter-tall mechanical watch capable of running for 10,000 years.

But Bezos isn’t the only billionaire splurging on luxury yachts. As global economies slowly bounce back from a year of shutdown and millions of Americans still struggle to cash in on government relief efforts, yacht sales are booming. explode. According to a report from marine data company VesselsValue, there were 887 yachts sold worldwide in 2021. That marks a 77% increase in sales compared to a year ago, and more than doubled Double number of yachts sold in 2019.

According to the same report, unprecedented wealth gains during the pandemic among the world’s richest people and renewed demand for isolated sales were part of the reason for the surge in yacht sales. . Lonely billionaires seem to need something to spend their newly raised money on.

Now, however, it seems that all demand for yachts has exceeded supply. Recent supply chain disruptions, coupled with the long build-up times of luxury yachts, mean that their steep capital costs could still rise even higher.

Refer to Gizmodo