Octopus Yacht

Paul Allen Yacht Octopus

 

Megayacht Octopus

Octopus Yacht

Paul Allen's Octopus

Octopus is a mega-yacht owned by Paul Allen, the billionaire who co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1975.

A cruising mega-yacht, Octopus weighs 9,900 tons, which is more than an Arleigh Burke-class naval destroyer, yet can reach speeds of up to 20 knots, thanks to eight Mercedes diesel engines that generate a total output of 19,000 hp for the twin screws.

When it was delivered to Paul Allen in 2003, Octopus, which is 414 feet (126 meters) long, was the longest yacht in the world, a title that passed to the Rising Sun in 2004, Dubai in 2006, Eclipse in 2010, Azzam in 2013, and will soon pass to the Gigayacht
Octopus has a crew of fifty-six in twenty-eight cabins and can accommodate up to twenty-six guests in thirteen luxury suites. The yacht has two helicopter landing pads, a swimming pool, a basketball court, a recording studio, and six tenders (smaller boats that ferry guest to and from shore), including one that is 63 feet long.

Octopus Yacht SubmarineThe interior dock of Octopus holds a submarine (right) that can take up to ten people down for up to eight hours, as well as a remote-controlled unmanned submarine that can dive to a depth of 8,900 feet.

The exterior of Octopus was designed by Espen Oino and his team at EOI in Monaco. The interior was designed by Jonathan Quinn Barnett of Seattle, Washington, and the yacht was engineered and built by Bremen, Germany's Lürssen Yachts, which also built David Geffen's Rising Sun, Alisher Usmanov's Dilbar II and the Azzam.

As massive as Octopus is, one mega-yacht apparently isn't enough for a billionaire like Paul Allen. Three years before he paid $250 million (see yachts cost) for Octopus in 2003, he paid $100 million for the 303 foot-long Tatoosh, which he also still owns.

On which yacht did Paul Allen get better value for his money?
The answer depends on your views on wealth. After leaving Microsoft to Bill Gates, Paul Allen became a venture capitalist, a real estate developer, a professional sports team owner (he owns the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Portland Trailblazers and the National Football League (NFL)'s Seattle Seahawks), and dabbled in philanthropy.

If you think his wealth is self-made, click here. If you believe he was blessed to amass it, click here.