Billionaire Blues: Carl Icahn Puts His Yacht Up For Sale!
You probably won't find Carl Icahn reclining in a chaise lounge in the Caribbean this winter—at least not on the deck of his 177-foot yacht. In a grim reminder that even billionaires are feeling the pinch of the recession, this week Icahn put his boat up for sale for $37 million.
Super Yacht Times reported earlier this week that Northrop and Johnson, a yacht brokerage, had posted a listing for a boat named the Starfire. While the article and the official listing don't mention Icahn by name, the Starfire—named after his Starfire Holding Corporation—has long been Icahn's pride and joy, as we first mentioned a couple of months ago when we'd noticed that Icahn had started renting out the boat for as much as $250,000 a week. That was before the market truly tanked, of course. Now the site that Icahn set up to offer up the boat to prospective renters has been taken down, and it appears Icahn is looking to cash out altogether.
Sadly, this means America's 20th richest man will no longer be able to conduct business from a satellite phone in the middle of the Mediterranean, or play chess with his son surrounded by a crew of 12, as Ken Auletta recounted in The New Yorker in 2006:
If you happen to be in the market for a yacht—or you're just curious to see what $37 million buys you—the full brochure is below.
Previously: All Aboard! Where Carl Icahn Stages Deals, Blogs