Late Microsoft Founder Paul Allen’s $326 Million Super Yacht Just Hit The Market

If you’re in the market to do some light leisure boating this fall, perhaps we can interest you in a 414 foot super yacht called “Octopus”. 

That’s the name of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s yacht that has just hit the market for a staggering $326 million, according to Bloomberg. The vessel was where Allen partied with the likes of U2 and Mick Jagger, and it has sailed to and from destinations like Venice and Shanghai. The yacht is listed at brokerages Fraser and Burgess.

Allen was said to have had a “deep affinity” for the German built yacht. When it was delivered in 2003, Allen was “overwhelmed by its size”, which is a third longer than a football field. At the time it was built, it was the fourth largest yacht in the world. 

Allen said of the boat in his 2011 memoir: “When I first stood on the bridge, I felt as though I was on a spaceship. With features including a pool, basketball court, movie theater, a recording studio with ocean views, all my passions come together in one moveable feast.”

The yacht is currently anchored off of Antibes, France and is also capable of scientific research voyages. It sports two elevators, an 8 person submarine, two helipads and garage space for helicopters and an SUV. 

The yacht has gone through an 8 month refit, resulting in space for 26 guests in 13 cabins and room for 63 crew members. 

Any buyer of the yacht will be buying a piece of pop culture, as well. Jagger and Dave Stewart recorded tracks on the yacht and U2’s preview for an album on the yacht was so loud that it burned through some of the yacht’s speakers. Allen also used the yacht to take adventures including a dive onto the deck of a sunken aircraft carrier. 

Allen continued about the yacht: “It’s less a Bentley than a Range Rover. Octopus has realized every mission I had in mind for her.”

Another prominent yacht sale was made this year when Malaysia’s government offloaded a yacht called “Equanimity”, that used to belong to fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, for $126 million. It has since been renamed “Tranquility” and was rented last month by Kylie Jenner for her 22nd birthday. 

Allen passed away in October at age 65. He had amassed a $26 billion fortune from his time at Microsoft and, through his family office, had acquired sports teams, real estate, art and stakes in startup companies. His sports teams, the Portland Trail Blazers and the Seattle Seahawks, are worth more than $3 billion combined. 

At least half of Allen’s assets were earmarked for charity, after he joined the Giving Pledge.