The former head of Google buys a yacht left by the Russian oligarch

Billionaire and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt won the auction for the 267-foot (81-meter) Alfa Nero on Friday. He paid $ 67.6 million for the luxury yacht, which was “abandoned” by the accredited Russian oligarch in the Gulf of Antigua.

The Antigua and Barbuda Port Authority announced the sale in a statement detailing, among other things International boats mentioned.

Antigua’s ambassador to the United States, Sir Ronald Sanders, said the buyer was Schmidt, Bloomberg reported.

The yacht was linked to Andrei Guryev, who made his money in the fertilizer business and was sanctioned by the US Treasury Department last year after Russia invaded Ukraine. Gurev is believed to have close relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to Bloomberg, Guryev’s daughter tried to stop the auction claiming the yacht was hers.

This happened despite opposition from the legal representative by Guryev in March bloomberg He stated that the yacht was not in his possession.

Mr. Gurev does not own or control the Alfa Nero and has only used the vessel on a commercial charter from time to time since 2014. his representative told the magazine.

IKE Dieffenbach/Reuters

The Antigua authorities were keen to sell the yacht because it was costing more than $110,000 a month to maintain and service it while it was in Falmouth.

Schmidt served as CEO of Google from 2001 to 2011 and stepped down as chairman of Google’s parent company Alphabet in 2018. Bloomberg lists him at number 60 on its billionaire index with a net worth of about $25 billion.

Among other things, his new yacht has a swimming pool that can be converted into a helipad. Boat International stated that a portion of the proceeds will be used to pay the Alfa Nero’s captain, crew and suppliers.

Schmidt’s representatives did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request, which was submitted outside of normal business hours.