Felix Frieler/picture alliance via Getty Images
Jeff Bezos’ superyacht, Koru, has attracted the interest of yachting industry insiders and celebrity watchers alike since it first set sail in 2023.
The boat has hosted several events for the Amazon founder and his wife, Lauren Sánchez, including a foam party for Sánchez’s son Evan Whitesell’s birthday ahead of their June 2025 wedding in Venice, Italy.
Named after the Māori word for “loop” or “coil,” the 417-foot-long vessel is one of the world’s largest sailing yachts and cost Bezos an estimated $500 million. (Still, at that price tag, it likely would not have made a sizable dent in Bezos’ net worth.)
Bezos commissioned the three-masted schooner from the Dutch custom yacht builder Oceanco. It made its maiden voyage in April 2023, traveling from the Netherlands to Gibraltar.
In its first summer season, Koru criss-crossed Europe, drawing attention for its unique design, sheer size, and the mermaid sculpture on its prow, which many thought bore a striking resemblance to Sánchez. (The sculpture is of the Norse goddess Freyja, one of Bezos’ favorite figures from mythology, Sánchez later clarified.)
It’s also attracted the paparazzi, who have been keen to get a glimpse of the A-listers on board. In August 2023, the yacht served as the venue for one of Bezos and Sánchez’s engagement parties, which drew guests including Bill Gates, Whitney Wolfe Herd, and Ari Emanuel. In 2024, Katy Perry, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Kim Kardashian were photographed near the yacht.
Like many of the world’s largest yachts, Koru boasts luxurious features, though they have largely been kept under wraps. Oceanco has confirmed that its decks include three jacuzzis and one swimming pool.
A second 250-foot “support yacht,” Abeona, with an on-deck helipad, accompanies Koru on its travels.
The yacht has largely been praised by industry insiders,
“It’s absolutely beautiful,” Federico Rossi, the COO of luxury yachtbuilder Rossinavi, told Business Insider in 2024.
But the yacht’s history is not without controversy.
Koru’s masts are so tall that the yacht nearly required the dismantling of a historic bridge in the Netherlands in order for it to pass through. Locals planned to egg the superyacht if the bridge came down, and following the public outcry, Oceanco withdrew its request for the city to take apart the bridge.
The liberal use of teak on the yacht’s decks and interiors has also drawn criticism. The wood has gained a bad reputation in the yachting industry, as it can take a long time to grow, leading to deforestation, and can come from Myanmar, a country with a checkered human rights record.
In 2024, Oceanco was fined for violating the European Timber Regulation and not properly tracing the teak used to craft some of Koru’s furniture and interiors.
“Oceanco deeply regrets these oversights,” and never intended to violate the regulations, a company spokesperson said in a statement to BI. “We have enhanced our due diligence processes to ensure this does not occur again.”
A representative for Bezos did not respond to questions about the use of teak on the yacht.
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