Jeff Bezos' 417-foot superyacht Koru arrives in US
![It seems all the money in the world can't guarantee you a parking space. Koru, the astounding 417-foot sailing yacht built for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, 59, has finally arrived in the United States. But the world's third-richest man will have to keep his $550 million goliath moored in a busy seaport because it's too big to fit alongside the other superyachts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/29/11/78345103-0-image-a-32_1701257357551.jpg)
It seems all the money in the world can't guarantee you a parking space. Koru, the astounding 417-foot sailing yacht built for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, 59, has finally arrived in the United States. But the world's third-richest man will have to keep his $550 million goliath moored in a busy seaport because it's too big to fit alongside the other superyachts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
![Exclusive DailyMail.com images show the opulent three-masted schooner docked at Port Everglades, nestling between gigantic oil tankers and the vast Liberty of the Seas cruise ship. The multi-billionaire will be charged $16,500 for each week it is there but that's mere chump change compared to the estimated $25 million a year it will cost to staff and operate Koru, the world's tallest sailboat with masts measuring 230 feet. Its dedicated support vessel, the Abeona – a 246-foot floating garage for the tycoon's helicopter, jet skis and luxury cars – is currently docked four miles away at a shipyard in Dania Beach.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/29/11/78335931-0-image-a-34_1701257392792.jpg)
Exclusive DailyMail.com images show the opulent three-masted schooner docked at Port Everglades, nestling between gigantic oil tankers and the vast Liberty of the Seas cruise ship. The multi-billionaire will be charged $16,500 for each week it is there but that's mere chump change compared to the estimated $25 million a year it will cost to staff and operate Koru, the world's tallest sailboat with masts measuring 230 feet. Its dedicated support vessel, the Abeona – a 246-foot floating garage for the tycoon's helicopter, jet skis and luxury cars – is currently docked four miles away at a shipyard in Dania Beach.
![Koru, named after the Maori word for 'new beginnings', arrived in Florida late last Wednesday evening after departing from Gibraltar two weeks earlier. But since then it's been parked up in Port Everglades – a major gateway for cruise ships and international trade - because south Florida's swish yachting marinas typically can't accommodate any boat longer than 400 feet. One nearby marina said it 'might be doable' but cautioned that Koru's 55-foot beam (width) and 14-foot draft (the depth it protrudes beneath the water's surface) would make it a huge challenge. DailyMail.com understands that Bezos – worth about $170 billion – is not currently on board but will likely use Koru over the holidays.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/29/11/78335891-0-image-a-35_1701257437640.jpg)
Koru, named after the Maori word for 'new beginnings', arrived in Florida late last Wednesday evening after departing from Gibraltar two weeks earlier. But since then it's been parked up in Port Everglades – a major gateway for cruise ships and international trade - because south Florida's swish yachting marinas typically can't accommodate any boat longer than 400 feet. One nearby marina said it 'might be doable' but cautioned that Koru's 55-foot beam (width) and 14-foot draft (the depth it protrudes beneath the water's surface) would make it a huge challenge. DailyMail.com understands that Bezos – worth about $170 billion – is not currently on board but will likely use Koru over the holidays.
![Bezos announced earlier this month that he and his glamorous fiancée Lauren Sanchez (pictured left), 53, were leaving Seattle, his base for the past 29 years, to move back to Miami, his childhood home. He's splashed out on two neighboring mansions on Indian Creek Island, the so-called 'Billionaire's bunker' that is home to Ivanka Trump, Tom Brady and Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman. The combined $147million purchase gives Bezos 4.6 acres of waterfront land and around 400 feet of bay frontage on Florida's Intercoastal Waterway but mooring Koru there won't be plain sailing either. 'A boat that size, that's way beyond my scope of knowledge,' a local official told DailyMail.com. 'I would probably say that it's impossible. From what I understand the intercoastal is not that deep.'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/29/11/78343611-0-image-a-36_1701257446538.jpg)
Bezos announced earlier this month that he and his glamorous fiancée Lauren Sanchez (pictured left), 53, were leaving Seattle, his base for the past 29 years, to move back to Miami, his childhood home. He's splashed out on two neighboring mansions on Indian Creek Island, the so-called 'Billionaire's bunker' that is home to Ivanka Trump, Tom Brady and Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman. The combined $147million purchase gives Bezos 4.6 acres of waterfront land and around 400 feet of bay frontage on Florida's Intercoastal Waterway but mooring Koru there won't be plain sailing either. 'A boat that size, that's way beyond my scope of knowledge,' a local official told DailyMail.com. 'I would probably say that it's impossible. From what I understand the intercoastal is not that deep.'
![Inspired by Black Pearl, the fictional ship in Pirates of the Caribbean, Koru took three years to build in the historic port of Zwijndrecht, close to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, by sailboat specialists Oceanco. At nearly twice the length of an Airbus A380, it's the second largest sailing ship in the world, surpassed only by the Philippe Starcke designed Sailing Yacht A, owned by Russian fertilizer billionaire Andrey Melnichenko. Before Koru had even been launched, the vast size of her masts sparked an international controversy when Rotterdam announced that part of the 100-year-old Koningshaven Bridge would be dismantled so the superyacht could pass underneath.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/29/11/78335869-0-image-a-37_1701257467632.jpg)
Inspired by Black Pearl, the fictional ship in Pirates of the Caribbean, Koru took three years to build in the historic port of Zwijndrecht, close to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, by sailboat specialists Oceanco. At nearly twice the length of an Airbus A380, it's the second largest sailing ship in the world, surpassed only by the Philippe Starcke designed Sailing Yacht A, owned by Russian fertilizer billionaire Andrey Melnichenko. Before Koru had even been launched, the vast size of her masts sparked an international controversy when Rotterdam announced that part of the 100-year-old Koningshaven Bridge would be dismantled so the superyacht could pass underneath.
![The plan was abandoned and the masts attached downstream after thousands of locals vowed to wreck the boat's maiden voyage by pelting it with rotten eggs. The maritime marvel is painted midnight blue and has gold accents, boasts three decks, a pool and a huge sun terrace where Bezos and Sanchez were spotted sunning themselves on an inaugural cruise to the Spanish island of Mallorca in May. Not long after, DailyMail.com revealed that the sprawling ship was the setting for Bezos to propose to Sanchez after a whirlwind four-year romance. Another eye-catching feature of Koru first revealed by DailyMail.com is the polished wooden figurehead on the boat's prow that depicts a curvaceous Roman goddess in a skimpy, low-cut gown.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/29/11/78335875-0-image-a-38_1701257478333.jpg)
The plan was abandoned and the masts attached downstream after thousands of locals vowed to wreck the boat's maiden voyage by pelting it with rotten eggs. The maritime marvel is painted midnight blue and has gold accents, boasts three decks, a pool and a huge sun terrace where Bezos and Sanchez were spotted sunning themselves on an inaugural cruise to the Spanish island of Mallorca in May. Not long after, DailyMail.com revealed that the sprawling ship was the setting for Bezos to propose to Sanchez after a whirlwind four-year romance. Another eye-catching feature of Koru first revealed by DailyMail.com is the polished wooden figurehead on the boat's prow that depicts a curvaceous Roman goddess in a skimpy, low-cut gown.
![The ornate carving bears a striking resemblance to former news anchor Sanchez but she laughed off the similarities, telling Vogue that it was modeled on Freyja, the Norse Goddess of love, fertility, war and gold. Koru is also proving controversial because of the estimated 7,154 tons of carbon emissions it is likely to generate each year. The boat was lauded as green because of its ability to travel via wind power but researchers from the University of Indiana claim it will pump out greenhouse gases because of its heating, AC, pool, sauna and other luxury amenities.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/29/11/78335947-0-image-a-39_1701257590317.jpg)
The ornate carving bears a striking resemblance to former news anchor Sanchez but she laughed off the similarities, telling Vogue that it was modeled on Freyja, the Norse Goddess of love, fertility, war and gold. Koru is also proving controversial because of the estimated 7,154 tons of carbon emissions it is likely to generate each year. The boat was lauded as green because of its ability to travel via wind power but researchers from the University of Indiana claim it will pump out greenhouse gases because of its heating, AC, pool, sauna and other luxury amenities.
![Their estimate is roughly 447 times the entire annual carbon footprint for an average American. This is despite Bezos pledging to spend $10 billion in 10 years through the Bezos Earth Fund to fight climate change. Bezos' plans for his new home on guard-gated Indian Creek Island are not yet clear and his spokeswoman could not be reached for comment. His first buy was a three-bedroom, 9,300 square foot property he paid $68 million for back in June. Last month he acquired the neighboring home, a larger, seven-bedroom estate set on two acres and boasting a home theater, pool and wine cellar, for $79 million.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/29/11/78335901-0-image-a-40_1701257597120.jpg)
Their estimate is roughly 447 times the entire annual carbon footprint for an average American. This is despite Bezos pledging to spend $10 billion in 10 years through the Bezos Earth Fund to fight climate change. Bezos' plans for his new home on guard-gated Indian Creek Island are not yet clear and his spokeswoman could not be reached for comment. His first buy was a three-bedroom, 9,300 square foot property he paid $68 million for back in June. Last month he acquired the neighboring home, a larger, seven-bedroom estate set on two acres and boasting a home theater, pool and wine cellar, for $79 million.
![Bezos has stated that he wants to live nearer to his mom Jackie and adoptive father Miguel, who are in their late 70s. 'My parents have always been my biggest supporters. They recently moved back to Miami, the place we lived when I was younger,' he said of his move to Florida. 'I want to be close to my parents, and Lauren and I love Miami. Also, Blue Origin's operations are increasingly shifting to Cape Canaveral. For all that, I'm planning to return to Miami, leaving the Pacific Northwest.' Read the full story: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12801335/Jeff-Bezos-superyacht-Koru-arrives-Fort-Lauderdale.html?ito=msngallery](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/29/11/78335915-0-image-a-42_1701257627679.jpg)
Bezos has stated that he wants to live nearer to his mom Jackie and adoptive father Miguel, who are in their late 70s. 'My parents have always been my biggest supporters. They recently moved back to Miami, the place we lived when I was younger,' he said of his move to Florida. 'I want to be close to my parents, and Lauren and I love Miami. Also, Blue Origin's operations are increasingly shifting to Cape Canaveral. For all that, I'm planning to return to Miami, leaving the Pacific Northwest.' Read the full story: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12801335/Jeff-Bezos-superyacht-Koru-arrives-Fort-Lauderdale.html?ito=msngallery
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