Crazy Eric Schmidt, His Yacht Prices Are Insaaane! 179
theodp writes "After languishing on the market, the price of Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt's Lone Ranger expedition yacht was cut from $20,000,000 to a mere $14,000,000 (sales brochure). Still no takers for the vessel, so the former pride of the Schmidt Ocean Institute — which can travel an amazing 31,000 miles at 12 knots thanks to a fuel capacity of 1.3 million liters — will be auctioned "as is" on April 20th at the Antibes Yacht Show, with bid estimates ranging from EUR 3 million to EUR 10 million (auction brochure). 'Lone Ranger and her truly astonishing story will appeal to a new generation of luxury yacht owner,' the sales brochure notes. 'The yacht epitomizes low key luxury, but most importantly offers the ideal platform for anyone wanting to explore the farthest flung corners of the world with their family.' And you can buy it just in time for Earth Day gift giving!"
Probably Bought with Laundered Tax Free Income (Score:4, Interesting)
Taxes are such a bitch, aren't they Eric?
Re:Probably Bought with Laundered Tax Free Income (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Probably Bought with Laundered Tax Free Income (Score:5, Interesting)
Boeing does the same thing – It sells all of its aircraft while flying in international waters – that way customers don’t have to pay sales tax. (Not exactly the same thing as registration fees, but in the same area.)
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Re:Probably Bought with Laundered Tax Free Income (Score:5, Funny)
I don't think Boing sells their aircraft flying in international waters, over internal waters or in international airspace maybe.
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Boing? :P
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Are you saying that when a Boeing aircraft is actually sold, the buyers and the sales team get onboard, they take off, fly out over the nearest ocean, and sign the bill of sale while IN FLIGHT? That's crazy amusing.
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I wonder could you do the same with a piece of software? Risky business having it be the only version on earth mind you...
Re:Probably Bought with Laundered Tax Free Income (Score:5, Informative)
Are you saying that when a Boeing aircraft is actually sold, the buyers and the sales team get onboard, they take off, fly out over the nearest ocean, and sign the bill of sale while IN FLIGHT? That's crazy amusing.
That is absolutely correct, at least for USA based airline customers. The actual transfer of ownership occurs inflight in international airspace and as an added bonus the first point of landing is in Oregon to avoid state sales taxes---or at least it was a few years ago when I was aboard one such flight.
(I am a commercial airline pilot for a major US airline and thus the AC.)
Myth (Score:2, Informative)
Boeing does the same thing – It sells all of its aircraft while flying in international waters – that way customers don’t have to pay sales tax.
This is a myth. Large companies like Boeing (and Airbus with its new plant under construction in Mobile, AL) get sales tax abatements from local governments in exchange for and agreeing to continue to build aircraft in the area.
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One AC is calling it a myth. The other AC has said they were actually on board such a flight. Can someone actually comment on this with some weight?
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One AC is calling it a myth. The other AC has said they were actually on board such a flight. Can someone actually comment on this with some weight?
Are you implying that the other posters did so from a weightless environment? I don't know how many people aboard the ISS troll slashdot, but i suppose the other option would be they are onboard a (boeing?) flight that is in freefall...
Just so there is no confusion, I have weight and mass, as I am in a stationary position on/near the surface of Earth.
Re:Myth (Score:4, Informative)
I'm not an AC. Seattle Times had that story a few years ago. Seems to be true, they fly off the coast for some (all?) contract signings.
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I would guess what you were seeing was the purchase order – Where the customer says I want X plans configured with the following trim. It is a contract but no money changes hands (maybe a down payment but that is different). 2 to 3 years later when the plan rolls off of the assembly line – that is when they fly it out over the ocean and exchange ownership for cash.
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Most people, who don't have money to pay for creative accountants, or good lawyers if they get caught?
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Right, and you report everything you buy on Amazon to your state and pay sales tax on it, right? Because a lot of people engage in similar types of 'evasion.'
Ironically, this would actually qualify as "tax evasion", because the buyer is evading paying taxes that he/she owes.
What Boeing (purportedly) does is not tax evasion at all. It is taking steps to not even OWE tax, and so therefore, they can't be evading tax. What Boeing (purportedly) does is similar to driving two towns over to buy a big ticket item because their sales tax is cheaper (or nonexistent) there.
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Another business will arise to capture the customers left by the non-competitive business.
Comment removed (Score:4, Funny)
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Funny; that was the first thing I was thinking the post was going to be about when I read the title.
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Oh look, it says "George Town, Cayman Islands" beneath the name on the ship ... and the brochure says "NOT FOR SALE OR CHARTER TO U.S.
RESIDENTS WHILE IN U.S. WATERS."
Taxes are such a bitch, aren't they Eric?
Given the way that various large economies have been starting to lean on dinky tax havens about the details of what they do lately, I'm a little surprised that the Coast Guard hasn't been flirting with a "Oh, no support contract? I hope you like either per-incident support fees or very long distance swims..." policy for ships registered in places with that flavor.
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User pays is not typically associated with liberals, they're the ones on the "ability to pay" side of that divide.
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Does it come with a full tank of gas?
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ugly (Score:3)
Re:ugly (Score:5, Insightful)
A dump truck would actually offer a lot of room to work with...
Ugly, sure; but you'd have a passenger compartment larger than some New York apartments to add ostentatious touches to.
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That;s a lovely boat. It's a work boat, not a pagoda on a glass brick like some other luxury yachts we've dissected. It might even weather a real storm in a real ocean as opposed to sinking at the dock as soon as the tide turned.
He should donate to a real oceanography group, Scripps, Texas A&M, hell, NOAA could probably use it.
Or, if he will simply transfer the title to me, I'll pay for the moorage and start buying lottery tickets to put fuel in the thing. Maybe a kickstarter project....
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"beer taste on champagne budget".
Still, that probably beats having it the other way 'round.
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You can work with Champagne taste on a beer budget, but you can't work with a beer taste on champagne budget. Though it pays more, it ends up a FUGLY mess.
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"beer taste on champagne budget"
Forgive me, I'm from Denver, but I don't understand this phrase... Is this to infer that champagne is actually more expensive than beer?
Huh... go figure.
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That;s a lovely boat. It's a work boat, not a pagoda on a glass brick like some other luxury yachts we've dissected. It might even weather a real storm in a real ocean as opposed to sinking at the dock as soon as the tide turned.
He should donate to a real oceanography group, Scripps, Texas A&M, hell, NOAA could probably use it.
Or, if he will simply transfer the title to me, I'll pay for the moorage and start buying lottery tickets to put fuel in the thing. Maybe a kickstarter project....
Given that it was used in oceanographic research cruises in the Antarctic, I think it's probably already weathered some real storms and been through some pretty crazy seas before. The specs on the thing make it look like it'd be a nice working vessel.
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If I was rich enough to have to worry about getting a yacht, this is exactly the type I'd want to get
Well, being a tug, it can only make 19 knots, but it can also pull half a supertanker behind it. You never know when that might come in handy.
I actually like it. Looks like a proper boat. Ship.
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I don't think that's a yacht, it's a research boat.
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Ugly and non creative. For what he spent on that he could have had a luxury submarine [ussubmarines.com]
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Wrong link. Meant to use this one [ussubmarines.com]
Yacht? (Score:5, Funny)
That's a yacht? Looks like a commercial fishing vessel or a coast guard cutter.
I suppose if you need to intercept drug smugglers or rescue someone it might be the thing... but most yacht buyers are looking for a nice place to drape their naked women.
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I still can't believe someone actually made that...
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I still can't believe someone actually made that...
I still can't believe no one's actually scuttled it...
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It still look a lot better then the iYacht [scmp.com].
Zombie steve's iYacht only makes it to number 5 on google's ugliest yacht list. [google.com]
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It's more of a research vessel with amenities for the pampered. I've been on Falkor [schmidtocean.org] (also mentioned in the article) which is their current SOI vessel. It's far nicer than a typical work boat, but certainly not up to the class and sophistication of the actual super and mega yachts I've been on. I never had an opportunity to visit Lone Ranger, but I imagine it's quite similar to Falkor with possibly nicer owner spaces.
I guess you could think of these ships more as SUVs than luxury autos, to belabor the car an
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It's likely that Lone Ranger could fill a similar role. But it would need to be renamed ;)
Just name the other vessels Ltwo Ranger, LthreeRanger, etc. Then Lone Ranger won't be out of place.
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Some people like women who respond positively to "hey baby, wanna take a cruise to Antarctica?"
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this is the perfect boat for them
Sounds useful to future serial killer sailor who is finally fed up with the increasing % of fat chicks.
"Hey baby... wanna go out to sea?"
Jealousy issue? (Score:2, Informative)
People like to gripe about what "rich people" buy with their cash. But why not spen it on toys if you can afford it? Unless the current Group Think is that Rich People should give away all their money a la Bill Gates?
Jealousy issue?
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We should encourage the rich to buy expensive things, because it employs skilled workers.
Welders, fitters, electronics tech, subcontractors, engine and drive manufacturers, radar and nav system makers, and many others made money off that fancy boat.
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I just want them to pay tax on them, just like I pay tax on the toys that I can afford.
So you don't take advantage of any tax rules - er, "loopholes" - that apply to YOUR taxes, because you're just such a stong supported of paying your fair share, and, well, the Government can always use a little more?
Or are you saying that tax breaks - "loopholes" if you will - are only for middle-class peeps? Once you become "rich" it's OK for the government to rape your cash store?
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I just want them to pay tax on them, just like I pay tax on the toys that I can afford.
If you buy online and don't report Use Tax, then you are doing the exact same thing. No scratch that. You are doing worse. That would be tax evasion. If you go two towns over to where they have cheaper sales tax and buy your luxury items there, then THAT is the exact same thing.
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When you lose 7-40% of your money every time you do something with it, you stop doing stuff with it. It doesn't hurt the people with the money, it hurts the people that could provide a service or good that money used to buy, because the people with the money will protect it. Liberals do not understand this very principle and think it is "greed".
I'll tell you what greed looks like, it looks like people who want other peoples money just for existing. Be it big business or government.
The two best days of boat ownership. (Score:5, Funny)
The day you buy it and the day you sell it.
news for nerds? (Score:2, Insightful)
research vessel (Score:2)
I like it! (Score:2)
Much more serious-looking than the over-styled fiberglass fantasies the super rich seem to typically buy. Probably a better ocean-going vessel, as well. If I had, say, $30M, I'd spend $10M of it on that.
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This is how you end up bankrupt (Score:2)
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That all depends on what your relationship with the typical $14 million is. Sooner or later it's all just Monopoly money.
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There are probably half a billion people in this world that would claim that you could never in your life get $25,000 worth of enjoyment out of a new car.
Millions would say that never in your life would you get $400 worth of enjoyment out of a PC or smart phone.
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There are probably half a billion people in this world that would claim that you could never in your life get $25,000 worth of enjoyment out of a new car. Millions would say that never in your life would you get $400 worth of enjoyment out of a PC or smart phone.
I would say you could get $400 worth of entertainment out of a PC. Out of a smartphone? Probably not. I definitely would be one to say you couldn't get $25,000 worth of enjoyment out of a new car. Unfortunately, you pretty much have to have a car to get around in U.S. society. So there is some utilitarian value in addition to the happiness provided. Also, there is some resale value.
With a boat of this value, and an already deflated price, there is a pretty good chance you could get some enjoyment value ou
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He's worth $6.9B, at a very conservative 4.5% interest that throws off $3.88M per DAY, I think he can get 4 days worth of enjoyment out of his yacht...
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Ooops, calculation error, only $851k per day, still that's only two weeks to pay off that yacht.
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I know how you feel. With three people in it my canoe has about 3 inches of freeboard.
First World Problems (Score:3)
"I've grown bored with my giant yacht. Now no one wants to buy it."
First rule of wealth management: (Score:5, Funny)
If it flies, floats, or fornicates; rent it.
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I hadn't seen his use of the quote. It's actually from Dan Jenkins’ novel, Baja Oklahoma (1981); possibly older. No less true now than then. If it flies or floats, it's probably very expensive to purchase and maintain, and you won't use it nearly as much as you think. The same can be said for a love interest.
The two happiest days in a boat owner's life (Score:5, Insightful)
2) The day he sells it.
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Might make sense for some Russian oil oligarch (Score:3)
This might make sense for some Russian oil oligarch who has to visit oil platforms in the White Sea. For anybody else, it's kind of pointless.
At least it's more seaworthy than that boxy thing Steve Jobs had built. [google.com]
Cheat on your wife and your taxes (Score:3)
Holy Mixed Unit Systems Batman! (Score:5, Insightful)
$20,000,000 to a mere $14,000,000
presumably that's USD. Also all digits and no words (as in 14,000,000 rather than 14 million)
with bid estimates ranging from EUR 3 million to EUR 10 million
and not knowing the exchange rate off the top of my head, I couldn't tell you how far off $14M USD is from 10M EUR. And the numbers are the opposite of above, spelling out 'million' rather than using digits.
And then there's this gem:
which can travel an amazing 31,000 miles at 12 knots thanks to a fuel capacity of 1.3 million liters
so, distance is in miles (imperial), speed is knots (nautical miles rather than miles) and then capacity is liters (metric)
Pick a style, pick a system, and STICK WITH IT.
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the exchange is around 1 EUR = 1.3 USD so they are about 1 million USD apart.
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Are you a human being or a computer?
As you said: "Pick a style, pick a system, and STICK WITH IT."
Regards
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I wouldn't be at all surprised if that distance is in nautical miles. Sailors assume when you say miles and you're talking about over water, it's nautical miles.
The combination makes perfect sense. In metric countries (i.e. almost everywhere) marine units are frequency metric except for distance and speed. Distance is measured in nautical miles because there's a real, navigation-related reason for doing so, and speed is measured in knots because it's a derived measurement dependent on distance.
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Assuming the distances are given in normal miles not nautical miles, and the capacity, this would run though the 1.3 million liter tank in 93 days, giving a fuel consumption of 152.8 gallons per hour. OUCH.
Given the average US diesel price at $4 or so, this is $611 per hour or $14668 per day of travel. Total tank value around 5.2 million bucks.
Or to put it how most car drivers would want to see it, about 0.0903 miles per gallon. Also ouch! That would make me want a big sailboat instead! Then again if you're
Does it come with fuel? (Score:2)
1.3 Million liters is 317,006 US gallons
According to this:
http://www.psmfc.org/efin/data/fuel.html#Data [psmfc.org]
Marine fuel costs between 3.5$ and 4$ a gallon.
At 4$ a gallon, it would cost almost 1.3$ Million dollars to fill the thing with fuel!
So really considering that it would be almost 1/10 of the value, 14 Million is pretty disposable! 10 Fill ups and it would pay for itself! :)
It would also get (317,006 / 31,000) 10 mpg! Likely pretty Eco-friendly for a ship...
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It doesn't get half the MPG of my Chevy.
Try 31,000 / 317,000 or about .1 MPG.
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Heh, well not having a frame of reference, it could still be good for a ship!
A Massive Yacht (Score:3)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdi6E-qzS1c [youtube.com]
Draft (Score:2)
She draws over 6 meters! That alone eliminates most of the places in the world I'd want to visit by boat.
Just put the mod points in the hat (Score:2)
Powned (Score:2)
"Ok Schmidt. Let's haggle. I'll give you 12! No, you can't think on it. Tell me now! Right now! 3, 2, 1..."
"SOLD!!!!
"Who said anything about million? Muahahahahhahaha!"
Six words: Butt ugly yacht, pretty tug boat (Score:2)
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the beholder that sees beauty in this boat is:
a) a fisherman;
b) a tug captain; or
c) a researcher.
Which of the above is likely to have 10 million plus to sink in to a vessel that would then need to be remodeled (+$$$) to either fish, do tug work, or do research?
BTW, she started life in 1973 as an ocean-going tug and was converted (for $millions) to a yacht. No question that she is likely an awesomely tough and seaworthy vessel, much more so than any other yacht out
My, what a BIG one you have! (Score:2)
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Yes, actually. Crazy Eddie's ads used to show up nationwide because many cable systems carried "superstation" WOR.
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Out of curiosity, how are those positions not mutually exclusive?
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My salary is fine and I have no envy, so until corresponding laws are in place it's no problem for me when rich people spend their money. Why shouldn't they? (And of course to some people someone with a salary slightly below $1000000 USD a year might still count as insanely rich, not sure about that.)
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I have no problem with people who buy expensive yachts if they happen to be insanely rich.
I'll bet the insanely rich are relieved to have had their spending prerogatives blessed by none other than you.
o_O
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Judging from the psychopathic tone of your post, I wouldn't be surprised if you indeed earn more than $1000000 USD per year.
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I don't think obvious trolling pays that much.
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To a communist, it sort of makes sense. $1M per year buys you most of life's luxuries while attenuating the maximum influence an individual can have over capital development. You can have a nice house, but you can't engage in a massive development project without forming or joining a collective.
If you want a sort of hierarchical quasi-meritocracy like we have now, while cutting down individual enterprise, a $1M cap is intuitively reasonable.
Of course I'm not advocating such a scheme (it would fail for any n
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kind of misses the point, huge-swinging-dick-look-at-me-hot-babes-wise, don:t you think?
Eric isn't much to look at, seems like a fit to me.