Portuguese 
English 
Spanish 
2 min of reading 
0 comments 
With 113 Meters in Length, Double Helipads, Private Cinema, Spa, and Even a Land Rover on Board, Le Grand Bleu Became Famous After Rumors That Roman Abramovich Had Lost It in a Billion-Dollar Poker Bet.
In 2006, the world learned about one of the most talked-about stories among Russian billionaires. The luxurious yacht Le Grand Bleu, valued at US$ 125 million, gained media attention for a supposed unusual episode: it was allegedly lost in a poker game among friends.
The protagonist of the story was Roman Abramovich, then owner of Chelsea FC in the Premier League.
The yacht, measuring 113 meters in length, features seven cabins, spa, private cinema, beach club, circular swimming pool, and gym. The vessel also includes two helipads, a 20-meter tender yacht, a 22-meter sailboat, and even a Land Rover on board — a setup worthy of a floating resort.
-
G2 level geomagnetic storm hits Earth on May 15 and may illuminate New York, Wisconsin, and Washington with a rare aurora borealis.
-
With 502 meters in length, 13,500 tons, and the capacity to move 29,000 cubic meters per hour, the giant machine impresses in German mining.
-
12,000-year-old rock art in Arabia reveals 176 engravings and signs of a lost culture in the Saudi Arabian desert
-
Lost temple in Egypt resurfaces after 2,200 years and reveals a 35-meter circular basin dedicated to the mud god Pelusium in Pelusium
The Alleged Game Among Billionaires
According to reports released at the time, Abramovich had welcomed his friend Eugene Shvidler on board the Le Grand Bleu.
During a night of fun, they bet on cars, houses, and luxurious mansions. Close sources stated that Shvidler won a poker game in which the superyacht was at stake, becoming its new owner. Abramovich, however, denied the story, and no official confirmation has emerged about the truthfulness of the episode.
The Million-Dollar Exchange Between Art and Luxury
Years later, another nautical mystery caught the public’s attention. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, commissioned the superyacht Topaz in 2012, built by the German shipyard Lürssen Werft in Bremen. The vessel, measuring 147.25 meters in length, was valued at around US$ 450 million.
However, in 2019, the yacht was renamed “A+” with no record of sale or transfer of ownership. The curious detail is that, in 2017, Saudi Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Al Saud purchased the painting “Salvator Mundi” by Leonardo da Vinci for US$ 450.3 million, an amount equivalent to that of the yacht. Shortly thereafter, the prince gifted the painting to the United Arab Emirates, fueling rumors of a symbolic exchange between the artwork and the vessel — one of the most intriguing mysteries in the world of luxury.
Be the first to react!