steve jobs new yacht

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Steve Jobs-designed yacht launched in the Netherlands

October 30, 2012 / 11:31 PM EDT / AP

THE HAGUE, Netherlands The sleek, white superyacht glistens under a gray autumnal sky, a posthumous testament to the design aesthetic of Steve Jobs.

Just over a year after the Apple founder died, the luxury motor yacht he commissioned and helped French product designer Philippe Starck make has finally slipped into an anonymous Dutch backwater.

Looking like a floating Apple store, it bears all the hallmarks of a new Jobs-inspired creation - crisp white lines, polished metal, glass. And secrecy.

Late Tuesday, shipbuilder Feadship announced it had launched the "78.2-meter (256-foot) all-aluminum, full custom motoryacht Venus" at its yard in Aalsmeer, just south of Amsterdam, two days earlier.

Starck said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press that he is "proud of Venus as he feels it reflects Steve Jobs expectation and vision."

The superyacht has a long white hull with a row of circular portholes just above the water line and two glass-walled cabins on the top deck, one on top of the other.

Starck said Jobs asked him to design a boat in 2007 and approved his design at only their second meeting to discuss the project.

"The project never changed during the process of five years dedicated to a rigorous work on details, driven by the famous eye and genius of Steve Jobs," the statement issued by Starck's design house said. "This work was directly done between Steve Jobs and Philippe Starck."

Walter Isaacson described plans and models of the yacht in his biography of Jobs, who died, aged 56, on Oct. 5 last year.

"As expected, the planned yacht was sleek and minimalist. The teak decks were perfectly flat and unblemished by any accoutrements. Like an Apple store, the cabin windows were large panes, almost floor to ceiling, and the main living area was designed to have walls of glass that were 40 feet long and 10 feet high,"Jobs' biographer wrote. "He had gotten the chief engineer of the Apple stores to design a special glass that was able to provide structural support."

Isaacson wrote that Jobs, who long battled pancreatic cancer, was conscious of the fact that he may never see the finished yacht, but wanted it completed anyway.

"I know that it's possible I will die and leave Laurene with a half built boat," he said, referring to his wife. "But I have to keep going on it. If I don't, it's an admission that I'm about to die."

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Steve Jobs’ $250 million superyacht, Venus, finally sets sail

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Venus is 80 meters long — over 250 feet — and has living quarters to accommodate 12 people. Its equipment and living space, according to SWNS.com, can be controlled from seven 27-inch iMacs. The ship has a very unusual design, with a very straight bow and gently sloping stern, and a profile dominated by the horizontal lines of its waterline, windows, deck, and cabin roof.

Above: Steve Jobs’ yacht at sea off Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Philippe Starck created the yacht with complete carte blanche  from the founder and CEO of Apple, as he recently told Super Yacht Times . That was extremely unusual for Jobs, who was notoriously detail-oriented, but this demonstrates the respect he had for the legendary European designer.

Of course, that was simply for the major, exterior design. For the interior, Jobs had more to say. As SYT recounts, Starck and Jobs spent considerable time over those details:

“We spent just one day every six weeks, for five years, on refinements. Millimeter by millimeter. Detail by detail.”

As the photos show, the result of the collaboration between Starck and Jobs is extreme simplicity.

Starck said that “there is not a single useless item inside. … Not a single useless pillow, or a useless object. In that sense, it is the opposite of other boats. Other boats try to show off more and more. Venus is revolutionary. It is the extreme opposite.”

The sad reality, of course, is that Jobs never got to sail in the boat that he built.

Top image credit: Super Yacht Times

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Steve Jobs’ Venus superyacht docked in Cairns, Australia after completing an 11-day, 4,200-mile journey across the Pacific. The $120 million vessel instantly became the center of attention as it dwarfed every other boat in the harbor.

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Feadship Launch Steve Jobs' Yacht Project 'Venus'

By Ben Roberts

The highly secretive superyacht project 684 Venus was reportedly launched this weekend by the revered Feadship yard in Holland. Understandably the shipyard is unable to comment, however, reports across the world highlight that the commissioning client and designer of this incredible 78m Top 100 motor yacht is believed to be the late Steve Jobs – a true icon in the world of design and technology.

Details are scarce at the moment, however the Dutch technology blog One More Thing has introduced a few dedicated images to the world media as well as a video of the sleek and characteristic superyacht which holds all of the expert design elements of an Apple product.

The yacht, aptly coined as ' a floating stack of Apple products' by the Guardian, is widely believed to be created in collaboration between the former Apple CEO Steve Jobs and the French designer Philippe Stark.

Venus is ranked as number 88 in the Superyachts.com Top 100 Largest Yachts in the World roster.

More news About…

Companies linked to this story, more news from ..., new launches.

Here’s the First Look Inside Steve Jobs’ Crazy Last Project

S teve Jobs’ luxury yacht, Venus, was photographed recently, providing a glimpse of the interior for the first time.

Photos of 100 million euro yacht were taken by people at Woods Hole Inn in Cape Cod, Mass., Gizmodo reported Monday. The French-designed yacht debuted in 2012, one year after Jobs died, but until now there have been photos of only the exterior.

Have a look:

View this post on Instagram A post shared by woodsholeinn (@woodsholeinn)

See How Tech CEOs Spend Their Money

[ Gizmodo ]

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Your Insider’s Look at Steve Jobs’ Yacht Venus

The Venus Yacht was built for Steve Jobs, or it almost was. Though Jobs commissioned the yacht, it was launched in 2012, a year after Jobs passed away. He never got to see the finished product. It’s been said that he actually spent the last several years before his death helping to custom design the Venus as his intent was to use it to sail the world with his family.

Venus was designed by a company called Ubik, owned by designer Phillipe Starck. Starck  handled both the interior design and the exterior design. The build was undertaken by renowned shipyard Feadship out of the Netherlands.

The yacht is a little lighter than some of her size thanks to the fact she doesn’t have a steel hull like many superyachts do. Instead, she features both an aluminum hull and an aluminum superstructure. She also features teak decks.

The exterior design features many straight lines and right angles. The stern is squared and it features an axe bow. There’s also very little to see on deck even from above. Unlike most yachts , there is no visible radar arch or satellite equipment because it’s obscured within a box structure to maintain that simple design look. 

Who Owns the Venus Yacht?

As a result of the death of Steve Jobs the yacht became part of his estate which belongs to his widow Laurene Powell Jobs. She has maintained ownership of the yacht since it was finished in 2012. There was a brief time when the yacht was impounded after its construction. This was caused by a dispute over payment. Phillipe Starck claimed that the fee for his work was never paid in full. He was said to have designed the yacht for about $9 million and $3 million was still owing. After 10 days, Jobs’ estate settled the account and the yacht was delivered.

How Big is the Yacht Venus?

The Venus measures in at a respectable 257 feet in length. So clearly she qualifies as a superyacht, even if she doesn’t quite measure up to Jeff Bezos’ 417-foot megayacht Koru . The Venus also has a beam of about 38 feet and her volume comes in at 1,876 GT which is actually a little on the light side for such a large yacht, in part due to the aluminum construction.

How Much Did the Venus Yacht Cost?

Steve Jobs commissioned the yacht for an impressive $120 million. Yachts like the Eclipse are alleged to be upwards of $1.5 billion and even the massive Azzam has been confirmed at around $600 million so obviously the Venus is not the most expensive vessel, but it’s nothing to sniff at, either.

We know from what we mentioned above that $9 million of that alone went to the designer of the yacht. Like many yachts of this size there is also a considerable cost related to the yearly operations of the vessel. Things like crew salaries, taxes and fuel costs are considerable. In light of that, it’s been estimated that it costs between $10 million and $20 million just to keep the boat on the water for a year. That may seem steep but it’s definitely normal for most yachts.

Is the Venus Yacht Available for Charter?

Jobs was a notoriously private man in many ways and his family remains the same, at least insofar as this yacht is concerned. It’s never been made available for charter and, in fact, very little is known about it.

How Fast is the Venus Yacht and What Engines Does It Use?

The Venus makes use of a pair of twin diesel MTU (16V 4000 M73) 16-cylinder engines. Together they produce  3,433 horsepower. This allows her to cruise at speeds of 16 knots. She can also reach a maximum speed of 22 knots which is fairly substantial for a yacht of her size.

What’s the Interior of the Venus Yacht Like?

As you can tell from the unique hull design, there is a minimalist aesthetic to the yacht. It does resemble some Apple products from the time period in its way. Towards the after of the vessel on the starboard side there’s a launch bay for tenders that can be deployed by crane and apparently the design included a wheelhouse powered by seven 27″ iMacs.

The aft of the vessel opens to a large beach club for guests to enjoy the ocean and the sun, features a swim platform and lounge area.

The yacht has the capacity to accommodate 12 guests across 6 cabins. There is also room for a crew of 22 to maintain the vessel. The design is simple and clean all over. Glass, silver and white with everything polished is what you see all over the vessel.

Features and Amenities

The features of the Venus are actually totally unknown to this day. Jobs has never invited photographers on board to get a glimpse of what the cabins or living spaces may look like so there’s no word on how it all came together. Likewise, the designer has not shared any of the blueprints or ideas that went into making the yacht. This is common among designers of superyachts, however, and many have to sign non-disclosure agreements so they couldn’t share details even if they wanted to. 

Until such time as Laurene Jobs opts to either open the yacht to the public or sell it, the interior details are going to remain a mystery beyond what observers are able to glimpse from afar.

The Bottom Line

The Venus was a yacht partially designed and commissioned by Steve Jobs before his death in 2011. The yacht was finished in 2012 so he never got to see the final product on the water. Jobs once admitted he knew he might die before the yacht was finished but didn’t want to stop his work because he felt like it was an admission that he was going to die and didn’t want to quit like that.

The yacht is very uniquely designed in a minimalist style which reminds many of how Apple products in general are designed. The yacht cost Jobs about $120 million. It measures in at 257 feet in length.

Laurene Jobs is the current owner of the yacht and she has maintained her privacy with the vessel. As such, not only is it not available for charter but no one has seen images of the inside either.

My grandfather first took me fishing when I was too young to actually hold up a rod on my own. As an avid camper, hiker, and nature enthusiast I'm always looking for a new adventure.

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Follow in the wake of Venus: 9 destinations visited by Steve Jobs' yacht

The late Steve Jobs’ superyacht Venus has been making her way around Turkey and the Greek islands over the past two weeks. The 78 metre Feadship Venus is now owned by Steve Jobs’ widow, Laurene Powell Jobs, and is not available for charter . Luxury yacht Venus was commissioned by the late founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, in 2008 and continues to turn heads wherever she docks.

Here are nine of the destinations Venus has visited while cruising along Turkey’s Turquoise Coast and the Greek Islands.

After cruising across from Majorca, the late Steve Job’s luxury yacht Venus ’ first stop in Turkey was at Fethiye, a common starting point for a private vacation or luxury yacht charters in Turkey .

Fethiye is located on the site of the ancient city of Telmessos and in 1958 an earthquake destroyed almost all of the town. More than 50 years later the city has now recovered and it a bustling centre of the Western Mediterranean.

The huge bay offers good protection from prevailing winds if you want to anchor out. Alternatively, Ece Marina can accommodate yachts up to 60 metres.

From Fethyiye Venus then cruised the 11 nautical miles to Göcek. The heart of yacht tourism in the area Göcek is starting to regularly attract some of the world’s largest yachts .

The area boasts plenty of coves and beaches, which are great for watersports. There are also a host of ancient cities within an hour’s drive of Göcek.

Göcek has three marinas that can accommodate yachts up to 70 metres. If you are looking for high-end luxury D-Marin Göcek can now accommodate yachts up to 75 metres. It has a white sand beach and is situated next to luxury resort hotel D-Resort. For a central location Skopea marina is within walking distance of the town’s facilities and also has a semi-Olympic sized swimming pool. Alternatively for a quieter setting, Club Marina is only a five-minute walk away from Göcek and offers beautiful natural scenery.

Picture courtesy of Lukash Dmitry/Shutterstock.com

Bozburun peninsula

Venus went on to spend three days exploring Marmaris and the Bozburun peninsula. Marmaris is a tourist hotspot with a waterfront offering host of restaurants. Heading down the coast from Marmaris you are treated to a taste of real turkey. Even during the peak summer period the area remains relatively quiet and offers you the chance to step back in time.

There are no superyacht marinas on the peninsula but, as Venus did, there are plenty of secluded places in which to anchor overnight.

PIcture courtesy of Nejdet Duzen/Shutterstock.com

From the Bozburun peninsula Venus cruised across into Greek waters. Despite the current economical issues and a VAT increase on luxury yacht charters brokers are keen to impress that is still “business as usual” in the country.

Venus visited Milos, the southwestern most island in the Cyclades, which offers more than 75 beaches with crystal blue waters. Because Milos is volcanic is has spectacular rock formations as well as hot springs and stunning cliffs.

You are best to anchor off the island and then tender in to explore further. Milos can also be used as a stop off destination when returning to Athens after exploring the Cyclades Islands on a superyacht .

Picture courtesy of Leoks/Shutterstock.com

From Milos Venus next went on to anchor off Paros. Located at the heart of the Cyclades islands Paros is a popular tourist destination and has traditional whitewashed villages and stunning cliff paths to hike along. Naoussa on the northeaster side of the island has a fishing harbour and also has a small selection of clubs if you fancy letting your hair down.

There are a variety of different secluded anchorages to choose from around the island.

Picture courtesy of Haris Vythoulkas/Shutterstock.com

Superyacht Venus then travelled on to the Greek Island of Samos, which is famous for its vineyards that produce samiotiko wine. The island was home to ancient philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras, the astronomer Aristarchus and the philosopher Epicurus. When Venus anchored off the coast of Samos she attracted attention from a host of locals and tourist.

If you are looking for a marina on the Southeast side of the island Samos Marina can berth yachts up to 50 metres.

Picture courtesy of  Evantravels/Shutterstock.com

From the Greek islands Venus then cruised back across to Kuşadası on the Turkish coast. The town has Turkey’s busiest cruised port and is the coastal gateway to Ephesus.

Kuşadasi Marina can accommodate yachts up to 70 metres in length and offers top quality facilities. Venus only had a short in Kuşadası before heading up the coast.

Picture courtesy of Worradirek/Shutterstock.com

Superyacht Venus then headed up to the seaside town of Ayvalık. The town has interesting architecture with a host of churches and monasteries. The busiest area of the town is the harbour where fishing boats and sightseeing trips are regularly anchored. Ayvalik Marina has 200 berths and can host superyachts up to 40 metres. The marina also offers extensive repair and maintenance services.

Picture courtesy of  Yulia GursoyShutterstock.com

Venus then made her way up to the cultural melting point of Istanbul. Sitting astride the Bosphorus the city straddles Europe and Asia and is a popular start or finish destination for private cruises or luxury yacht charters in Turkey . The iconic city is home to numerous interesting buildings and tourist attractions and is also one of many James Bond locations to visit on a superyacht .

Kalamis and Fenerbahçe marinas are situated next to each five miles east of the city centre and are a good location from which to explore the city. They can both accommodate yachts up to 60 metres and have restaurants, shops and a swimming pool.

Picture courtesy of  Sj Travel Photo And Video/Shutterstock.com

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Billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg spend six figures a year maintaining their superyachts. Here's how.

• Superyachts  are one of the most expensive assets money can buy.
• The true cost of ownership is even more, adding up to millions a year.
• Here's how much it costs to own a superyacht — and what that money is going toward.

Financial advisors are quick to warn prospective owners that a boat is nothing more than a hole in the water in which to throw money. When it comes to superyachts , you'd better have bags and bags of cash.

As one luxury agent told Business Insider at the Palm Beach International Boat Show: "Buying a boat, it's a huge purchase — and nobody needs a yacht."

A superyacht, generally over 30 meters long, is one of the most expensive assets money can buy, with the largest costing more than a lot of real estate or a private jet. Billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Steve Jobs each spent nine figures on their megayachts.

That doesn't include operating costs. Owners should expect to pay about 10% of a yacht's new-build price each year, experts told Business Insider. That's tens of millions of dollars annually for the most luxurious boats.

"It's a small-to-medium-sized business in its own right," said Jeffrey Beneville, a senior vice president at insurance company NFP, where he specializes in consulting clients about yachts.

Unlike many smaller boats, superyachts need staff, not just a captain. Some superyachts have space for dozens of crewmembers , including a chef, engineer, and masseuse for the guests onboard. Each gets an annual salary — the highest-ranking members earn six figures — and benefits. Eric Schmidt's yacht fits a crew of 28 for a ratio of about two crewmembers per guest.

Then there's fuel, dockage fees, routine maintenance, and insurance. The latter hinges on everything from the reputation of a yacht's shipyard to where an owner wants to take it (if a vessel is taking frequent trips to the South China Sea, for example, expect to pay a higher premium). If a superyacht has a support yacht — or a support superyacht, in Bezos ' case — expect to pay another 10% of that boat's price annually.

"The cost to maintain a yacht is so high that they just think that money's getting lit on fire," Matthew Fleissig, the CEO of wealth management firm Pathstone, told BI of his clients who choose to charter rather than own.

One of his firm's clients who does own has a 23-meter yacht valued at $5.2 million. The annual cost to staff, maintain, dock, and insure the boat is $346,297, according to documentation provided to BI. The lion's share is spent on marina fees ($95,970) and maintenance work ($88,408.) While not exactly a Sunfish, that boat is too small to count as a superyacht.

At 106 meters, the Amadea, owned by a sanctioned Russian oligarch , definitely does. The $300 million yacht, which was seized in 2022 and is docked in San Diego, cost $922,000 a month to maintain, a court filing showed: $360,000 for crew salaries, $75,000 for fuel, $144,000 for insurance, $178,000 in dry-docking fees, and $165,000 for maintenance, waste removal, food for the crew, and miscellaneous expenses.

"And that's an inactive yacht that's in the water," NFP's Beneville said.

If it were operational and carrying guests, the costs would be about twice that, or between $20 million and $30 million a year, he added.

Of course, it makes more financial sense for the non-obsessives to charter, and many of Fleissig's clients do. And some owners choose to offer their yachts for charter — the most luxurious cost as much as $1 million a week — to offset the costs.

"If you charter the boat for 50 days a year, it's going to help a lot," Anders Kurtén, the CEO of brokerage firm Fraser Yachts, told BI.

Then again, the running costs don't matter as much at a certain point. "If you're worth $30 billion, it's nothing. And if you're worth $117 billion — and these are the guys we're talking about — they're in it as long as it's still enjoyable for them," Beneville said. "It's not a money thing."

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• Main content

Steve Jobs’ New Yacht And Other Secret Projects Revealed

“ I know that it’s possible I will die and leave Laurene with a half-built boat. But I have to keep going on it. If I don’t, it’s an admission that I’m about to die. “

Steve Jobs on the then-uncompleted yacht in his biography by Walter Isaccson .  

Like Tupac’s hologram at the Coachella music festival, and the CGI generated likeness of Elvis appearing in Coca-Cola commercials, the ghosts of past giants still walk among us. 

Perhaps none more than Steve Jobs, the visionary co-founder of Apple. When Jobs passed away in October 2011 he left a slew of unfinished secret projects that never saw the light of day. Now, a year after his death, one of his most personal visions has been completed.

It’s called the Venus, and it’s a 260-foot yacht, a minimalist design that Jobs conceived and that his biographer Walter Isaacson described as an “obsession” for the Apple co-founder.

True to his singular vision, the Venus is a floating Apple device, with seven 27-inch iMacs on board, sleek like a floating piece of hardware, a vertiable Air Force One for the tech giant, albeit one he never got to play with. 

The vessel is made of lightweight aluminum and a special glass conceived by Apple engineers. The ship was built by a Dutch manufacturer with the interior done by renowned designer Philippe Starck.

As a token of appreciation for the completed project, yesterday Jobs’s widow and three of their children were on hand for the yacht’s formal launch in the Netherlands. As a token of appreciation, Jobs’s family gave custom iPods and wrote personal thank you notes to everyone who worked on the yacht (see what I mean here ). Details about the vessel’s price or what the family plans to do with it are as yet unknown. 

 Here’s a video look at the Venus’s launch via the Dutch blog One More Thing :

Secret Projects

Jobs’s yacht wasn’t the only secret project he was working on. Another project was Apple University , an executive training program to mold employees into thinking like the enigmatic Jobs. In 2008, Jobs accelerated his vision after his second medical leave and hired Joel Podolny, the dean of Yale University’s School of Management who left that post suddenly to lead the push in Cupertino.

The project was closely guarded and said to mirror in structure Jobs’s other company Pixar, which developed a Pixar University training program. 

The basic idea behind Apple U was to impart Jobs’s thinking to Apple’s worker bees so they could keep his vision alive after he was gone.  Jobs even developed university level courses to teach the business principles that helped him lead the tech behemoth.  

It’s unclear where the project is now, but it appears Podolny is still with Apple as of this July and an “ Inside Apple Recruitment” video .

Apple’s Headquarters

Another dream of Jobs was to create a futuristic spaceship like Cupertino facility on the grounds of the old Hewlett-Packard headquarters. Jobs made his last public appearance (against his doctor’s wishes) to pitch this idea to the Cupertino city council.

The plan calls for a giant new Apple complex on the site of HP’s old space where Jobs worked part-time at the age of 13. A 2.8-million-square-foot building that resembled a metallic dome with natural light, the design put 12,000 people in one building, taking the idea of an office park to a whole new level . The Cupertino city council approved the project while trying to strongarm him to open an Apple Store in the city, which Jobs coyly declined. The project is supposed to be completed in 2015. 

 Here is Jobs presenting to the Cupertino city council in June of 2011: 

Photo courtesy of  Bas van der Ploeg 

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The ReadWrite Editorial policy involves closely monitoring the tech industry for major developments, new product launches, AI breakthroughs, video game releases and other newsworthy events. Editors assign relevant stories to staff writers or freelance contributors with expertise in each particular topic area. Before publication, articles go through a rigorous round of editing for accuracy, clarity, and to ensure adherence to ReadWrite's style guidelines.

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Steve Jobs' Ex-Intern Shares Investment Tip With New Graduates: 'It Will Be The Best $50,000 You've Ever Spent'

Chet Kapoor , the CEO of DataStax and former intern at Steve Jobs ‘ NeXT , shared some valuable advice for new graduates.

What Happened : Kapoor, who began his career at NeXT in 1986, emphasized the importance of working with exceptional individuals. He suggested that graduates should prioritize finding mentors and colleagues who can help them grow, rather than focusing solely on prestigious companies, reported CNBC Make It.

“Figure out a way to go hang out with the right people very early on in your career,” Kapoor said. “Titles, money, all that will come because what you will learn from them will help you have impact … The quicker you can draw a line from your work to the impact that you’re having on the company, the more successful you will be.”

He even proposed that graduates should be willing to pay for the opportunity to work with these influential figures. Kapoor believes that this investment will pay off in the long run.

“Here’s what I tell everybody that’s coming out of college, and wants to look for a gig,” Kapoor said. “Find a set of people that you think you can learn from. Don’t worry about the titles. Don’t worry about what company they work for. Convince them that they need you and then pay them $50,000 a year so that you can work for them.”

He added, “It will be the best $50,000 you’ve ever spent in your life. Certainly better than the college education you just funded.”

See Also: Former Trump Ally Anthony Scaramucci Foresees More Pension Funds Investing In Bitcoin: ‘We Are Still Early’

Why It Matters : Kapoor’s advice echoes the sentiments of other tech industry leaders. Elon Musk , the CEO of Tesla Inc , has previously emphasized the importance of hiring the best talent available and building a team of ‘A’ players to achieve success.

Kapoor’s advice also aligns with the philosophy of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who stressed the significance of building a team spirit that focuses on turning good ideas into good products.

Meanwhile, Andy Jassy , the CEO of Amazon.com, has also emphasized the importance of a positive attitude , particularly in one’s 20s, as it significantly impacts success.

Read Next: This Important Evidence Could Determine Donald Trump’s Fate In His Hush-Money Trial

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This article Steve Jobs' Ex-Intern Shares Investment Tip With New Graduates: 'It Will Be The Best $50,000 You've Ever Spent' originally appeared on Benzinga.com .