Billionaire pays $138,000 to moor $2.4m-a-week charter yacht at Monaco Grand Prix

The super yacht formerly belonged to late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen

Octopus is seen docked near Athens in 2011 (EPA)

One of Formula One’s premier races, the Monaco Grand Prix, attracts as much attention for its glitz, glamour and celebrity guests as the circuit and race itself.

While Max Verstappen stole the show in the racing on Sunday, the famed event inevitably gained attention for some of the A-list attendees, including Neymar and Tom Holland.

One such guest was an unnamed billionaire who reportedly paid $138,000 to moor his chartered super yacht near the tracks. The vessel, named Octopus, was commissioned in 1998 by late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and was first launched in 2003.

According to Luxurylaunches, the 126-metre vessel – built by German shipyard Lurssen – was the largest yacht at the event, where weekly mooring fees can reach prices of $150,000.

Last year, The Guardian reported that it sold at auction to an undisclosed buyer for roughly $200m. It is currently available for charter with Camper & Nicholsons, a luxury yacht sales and charters company, for roughly $2.4m per week.

The yacht accommodates 12 guests across 13 cabins and requires 45 crew members to take care of the eight decks, seven tenders, two helipads and dive centre.

Dubbed as a “proven world explorer” on which “science is just as important as luxury”, Octopus is reportedly equipped with some of the best exploration technology and equipment. BOAT International recently reported that the vessel has “more than 54 tonnes of AV and IT equipment on board” (including a 10-man submarine and remote-controlled submarine) and a “range of 12,500 nautical miles”.

Although charters such as one recent trip to Antarctica suggest that science and exploration are at the forefront of the yacht’s facilities, luxury has clearly not been overlooked. With parts of the super yacht renovated in 2021, the entertainment deck now includes a spa, pool, gym and bar area, as well as a cinema, library and underwater observation lounge.

According to Bloomberg, Allen wrote in his memoir Idea Man, published in 2011, that the construction of the yacht was a point where “all my passions come together in one moveable feast”.