One of the world's largest super yachts sails into Mallorca
The Rising Sun, the world’s sixth largest super yacht at a length of 453 feet (138 metres) has arrived in Mallorca. This 150 million pound private yacht has 82 rooms over five levels and has a total living area of 8000 square meters. Bizarrely, this translates into accommodation for only 16 guests – and 45 crew to ensure that the guests are fully pampered whilst on board!
Last year Cherie and Tony Blair holidayed aboard the yacht whilst it cruised round Sardinia. This year it is said that Hollywood couple Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones went aboard last Friday night for dinner. The couple are currently staying at Douglas’s sea front estate in Valldemossa.
The Rising Sun is a motor yacht that was designed by the late Jon Bannenberg, and built by Germany’s Lürssen in 2004. It is said that it was built with the sole purpose of exceeding the size of rival Paul Allen’s (Microsoft) yacht, Octopus. The yacht has a large indoor swimming pool, gymnasium & spa, an extensive wine cellar, a private cinema, 3300 m² of teak decking and to top it all off, a basketball court on the main deck which also doubles as a helipad. The running costs of the yacht are estimated to be US$13 million. Ouch!
She is co-owned by billionaires Larry Ellison and David Geffen. Geffen is an American record executive and producer and was one of the three founders of DreamWorks SKG in 1994. As of this year, Larry Ellison is the sixth richest person in the world with a personal wealth of US$28 billion. He is CEO of Oracle Corporation and an enthusiastic sailor and patron of yacht racing. Ellison is the second largest financier of BMW Oracle Racing – a sailboat racing syndicate that was initially formed to compete in the America’s Cup in 2003. Earlier this year their investment paid off - they won the America’s Cup in Valencia with their yacht USA 17.
