The Fascinating Story of Steve Jobs’ $120 Million Yacht ‘Venus’

Perfection entered the life of Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, from his childhood and, over time, it became a kind of obsession that he applied to many areas of his life. A few years ago, journalist and biographer Walter Isaacson told a remarkable anecdote about the tech entrepreneur.

One day, like any other, a young Jobs helped his father, Paul Jobs, build a fence around the family home in Mountain View. As they worked, the father shared some advice with his son: “You have to make the back of the fence, which no one will see, look as good as the front of the fence.”

Jobs’ obsession made one of his dream projects come true: his yacht

The future Apple co-founder had just received a lesson he would never forget. Growing up, and especially during his years at the company, Jobs became obsessed with designHe wanted Macintosh computers to be beautiful, inside and out. He didn’t settle for anything he wanted. Jobs liked to push the envelope.

Jobs’ quest for perfection extended to his personal life. Buying a simple piece of furniture was an odyssey. He lived a minimalist lifestyle for a long timewith his house practically empty. When building his yacht, he did not hesitate to demand something less than unique and unprecedented.

According to International BoatWhen French industrial designer Philippe Starck presented the initial project, Jobs responded: “I think you should make everything out of glass.” No one had ever built anything like it before, and not everyone would have agreed to pursue the project. Yet construction of Venus began in 2009.

Jobs, who died in 2011, was unable to enjoy the ship. Venus was unveiled in October 2012 after being built at the Feadship shipyard. Its design, however, has not gone unnoticed. The boat is distinguished by its white hull, silver-painted segments and stainless steel details, as can be seen on the bow.

It also features rectangular windows running from the bow to the middle. In a nod to Jobs’ obsession with perfection, the designers added a false upper deck which hides the communication and television receivers, which passengers can open if necessary.

The yacht measures 256.6 feet in length and 38.7 feet in width and has a low all-glass superstructure. Starck, who allegedly charged $9 million for his workdesigned Venus’ exterior with straight lines and 90-degree angles. The boat has an axe-shaped bow and an unusually flat, square stern.

Indeed, the Venus’ design shares some of Apple’s product design philosophy. It is striking but also elegant and minimalist. Not much is known about its interior, as no photos reveal what lies behind its structure. However, some images show a bridge built into several iMacs online.

Jobs’ family kept the yacht after his death; his widow Laurene Powell Jobs inherited it. She used it on several occasions. Recently, however, the yacht was involved in an incidentThe Venus collided at low speed with the 108-metre yacht Lady Moura, owned by Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas. Fortunately, the incident was not serious.

This article was written by Javier Marquez and originally published in Spanish on Xataka.

Images | Jimmy Baikovicius (CC BY-SA 2.0) | fdecomite (CC BY 2.0) | Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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