Which billionaire’s luxury yacht trip won the summer? From Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez’s showy adventures on Koru, to Diane von Furstenberg and Barry Diller’s schmoozing with Oprah and Kris Jenner

Sep 22 , 2023

Jeff Bezos enjoyed spending the summer cruising around on his superyacht, Koru. Photos: @laurenwsanchez/Instagram, Getty Images

Many of the world’s mega-rich have toned down their social media humblebrags recently – but not Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez, or Diane von Furstenberg, whose yachting lives have been on full display

From the Bezos-Sánchez engagement party attended by Leonardo DiCaprio, to Giorgio Armani’s fashion event attended by Kerry Washington, life on the high seas looks more glamorous than ever

Jeff Bezos made headlines in 2019 for a rare appearance partying at sea on David Geffen’s yacht, the Rising Sun, with ex-Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and model Karlie Kloss.

Four years later, Bezos is no longer Amazon’s CEO, and he’s spent the last few months earning a new title: king of the high seas. As 2023’s yacht season comes to a close, it’s clear that Bezos’ brand new US$500 million superyacht won the summer.

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez were spotted on May 17 in Ibiza, Spain. Photo: GC Images

Many of the world’s rich and famous have shied away from being spotted while holidaying on yachts. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav made that mistake early in the season, sparking backlash after hosting a lavish soirée overlooking a bevy of yachts on the French Riviera, just weeks after the Hollywood writers’ strike kicked off.

But Bezos and his superyacht guests appear undaunted by coverage of their travels.

Jeff Bezos’ mega-boat Koru is almost twice the length of an Airbus A380. Photo: Super Yacht Times

Bezos named his mega-boat Koru after a Maori symbol of growth (perhaps a reference to being the world’s largest sailing yacht at 417ft long) and new beginnings.

Koru took its maiden voyage to Gibraltar in April, and a flurry of photographed stops followed. In May, a shirtless Bezos and his now-fiancée Lauren Sánchez – who has a striking resemblance to the sculpture on Koru’s bow – took the yacht for a spin off the coast of Spain before sailing it to the Cannes Film Festival.

“Is it just me, or is it hot outside?” Lauren Sánchez wrote on this Instagram post of Jeff Bezos from late July. Photo: @laurenwsanchez/Instagram

In June, Koru made its way to the Italian Riviera, where the couple posed for photos on the ship’s deck. Then it stopped by the Italian island of Capri before posting up at nearby Positano, a cliffside town that’s become a favourite of celebrities and travel influencers.