Ex-Google CEO May Ditch Bid For Superyacht Linked to Russian Oligarch
SINKING FAST
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt may ditch his $67.5 million bid for a Russian oligarch’s suspected superyacht, according to the government of the small Caribbean nation where the boat is currently docked. Schmidt won a bidding war for the 267-foot-long Alfa Nero in June, after it was abandoned in Antigua and Barbuda following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (The United States claims the boat is the property of Russian billionaire Andrey Guryev, though he has denied this.) Guryev’s daughter contested the sale in court that month, claiming the boat was rightfully hers. On Friday, a spokesperson for the government of Antigua and Barbuda said they would not be able to grant Schmidt free title, or a guarantee that no one else could claim ownership of the boat—an issue the spokesperson said could cause Schmidt to abandon his bid. If that is the case, the boat will go to the next highest bidder, who pledged $66 million for the superyacht. Either way, it will be a relief to the government of Antigua and Barbuda, which is reportedly paying $28,000 a week just to keep it afloat.