It is one of the leading super yachts of the world and its owner is one of the most wealthiest. On Sunday the sailing yacht, Koru, dropped anchor in the Bay of Palma. She last visited Palma two years ago on her maiden voyage and her owner, Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos and his girlfriend, Lauren Sanchez, went aboard.
They arrived in Palma by private jet, then took a helicopter to the Koru's support ship and then a fast launch to the mega-yacht. They spent a few days cruising in Mallorcan waters before heading to the South of France where the couple got engaged. It is unclear whether Bezos or Sanchez are on board on this occasion.
The Koru was built in the Netherlands by Oceanco starting in 2021, and delivered in April 2023. It is a three-masted sailing yacht 127 meters long and reported to have cost $500 million or more. When commissioned, the yacht was the second-largest sailing yacht in the world.
In 2022, Rotterdam announced that the city's historic De Hef bridge would be temporarily partially dismantled to allow the yacht to pass through. This move was controversial because the bridge is a Dutch national monument owing to its history. Eventually the dismantling plan of the 'De Hef' bridge proved to be unnecessary. The masts were stepped when the vessel was moored downstream of the bridge in the Rotterdam Harbour.
Geoff Bezos is the second wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth of US$230 billion as of November 13, 2024, according to Forbes and Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He was the wealthiest person from 2017 to 2021, according to both the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and Forbes.