Philippe Starck Impounds Steve Jobs' Superyacht 'Venus' Aluminum Goddess in Fee Dispute

At 70-80 meters long, the super yacht ‘Venus’ is very much inspired by the design products founder Steve Jobs created during his time at Apple. The entire yacht is constructed of aluminium, making it much lighter than other yachts of its kind, an extraordinary vessel with teak decks and large panes of ceiling-to-floor glass throughout.”

Venus Not Home for Xmas

It may be Christmas season, but this TIME post on Steve Jobs’ impounded superyacht reminds us that for many, life is all about the benjamins.

The 256-foot superyacht appropriately christened ‘Venus’ was designed by the famed Philippe Starck at a commission equal to 6% of the cost. Original estimates put the cost of the yacht at $200 million but the final cost came in under budget at about $140 million. (PS: could we move these engineers over to the defense department?)

Starck claims that he’s owned $4 million, based on the superyacht’s original estimate.

Jobs reportedly asked Starck to build him a boat back in 2007, and approved the design at their second meeting. “Steve and I shared the same idea about the elegance of the minimal, the elegance of work well done,” Starck told the BBC.  “It is not like a lot of mega yachts showing the vulgarity of money. It’s a boat showing the elegance of intelligence.”

The superyacht was completed shortly after Jobs’ death on Oct. 5, 2011 and is locked up in Amsterdam, as Starck seeks to collect the total fee based on the original estimate. Ironically, one of the world’s top businessmen didn’t have a firm agreement in writing.