Eric Schmidt was supposed to buy a yacht once owned by a Russian oligarch. Here’s the one he bought instead.
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- Eric Schmidt backed out of buying the Alfa Nero megayacht last year.
- He instead purchased the Kismet, formerly owned by Shahid Khan, and renamed her Whisper.
- The ship — one of the biggest yachts owned by a tech billionaire —was listed for about $161 million.
Last year, Eric Schmidt made waves in the yachting community when news came out that he was the soon-to-be owner of the Alfa Nero, an 81-meter megayacht that belonged to a sanctioned Russian oligarch.
The former Google CEO, who is worth $32.1 billion, per Bloomberg, was to pay $67.6 million for the yacht, which was being auctioned off by the government of Antigua and Barbuda, where the ship had been moored since February 2022, the month Russia invaded Ukraine. The small Caribbean nation had been spending $28,000 a week simply to maintain the mammoth boat.
But as the sale proceedings went on, legal challenges piled up as people laid claim to Alfa Nero, and Schmidt backed out of the deal.
It didn’t take long for him to rebound, though. In September 2023, just three months after he won the Alfa Nero auction, the billionaire purchased Kismet, renaming her Whisper, Business Insider has learned.
A spokesperson for Schmidt declined to comment to Business Insider.
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The 95-meter-long yacht, built by the renowned German shipyard Lürssen and delivered in 2014, was formerly owned by the Jacksonville Jaguar’s billionaire owner, Shahid Khan — hence images of the cat featured on her figurehead and throughout her decor.
Whisper, which can fit at least a dozen guests and a crew of 28 features a master deck with a private jacuzzi, as well as a full-service spa, lap pool, hammam, and outdoor fireplace. Made for entertaining, the megayacht has a cinema, a grand piano, and two helipads — one of which doubles as a basketball court and the other than transforms into a disco.
Her interior was designed to “create a feeling of relaxed opulence, based on a ‘Champagne & Caviar’ theme,” according to the brokerage that sold the ship.
While the yacht’s final sale price was not public, she was listed for 149 million euros (about $161 million at current exchange rates).
At a charity auction in January, one week aboard the ship went for $2.4 million, according to industry outlet Yacht Charter Fleet — a steal, considering she typically goes for $3 million a week.
