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Below Deck 's Captain Sandy Yawn Marries Leah Shafer on Superyacht

The couple — who first connected on social media — got engaged in September 2023 after five years of dating

Erin Clack is a Staff Editor for PEOPLE. She has been writing about fashion, parenting and pop culture for more than 15 years.

Kelly Martucci

Captain Sandy Yawn has tied the knot — this time, in the romantic sense of the word!

The boat captain and Below Deck Mediterranean star, 58, married longtime love Leah Shafer on May 11, Yawn confirmed on Instagram . Fittingly, the couple said their "I dos" on a superyacht owned by their friend, It's a 10 Haircare founder Carolyn Aronson.

"I had no idea how amazing marriage could be! It feels incredible and I feel like the luckiest woman in the world," Yawn wrote on Tuesday, May 14. "I love you, Leah Rae Yawn!! Thank you for taking my name! Thank you to our entire family and friends for coming out to show your love and support to our relationship."

Yawn also shared videos from the wedding, which she said was filmed for a special Below Deck Mediterranean episode that will air on June 3. Yawn thanked Below Deck executive producer Nadine Rajabi for officiating their wedding.

Yawn and Shafer got engaged in September 2023 after five years of dating. At the time, the reality star — who popped the question — said she had already been thinking about marrying Shafer for years.

"I knew from the minute I met her, but the timing had to be right. I wanted to make sure we could truly do life together first," she told E! News , adding that when it came to her beachside proposal, Shafer wanted a true "fairytale" experience — which Yawn happily delivered.

"I planned a boat ride to a beautiful cove. I had it decorated with flowers with a path to a small table accompanied by three violinists where we could sit and have a small date," she told E! News of the romantic setup.

Yawn continued, "I shared my vision list of love I had written and wanted, then got on one knee. Then she said 'yes!' "

She said it was an unforgettable moment for both of them. "The look on her face was priceless, and my heart exploded! It was filled beyond capacity of anything I could ever imagine. Somehow I feel closer than I did before, and I can't explain it. There is an energy that I have never experienced in my life."

Yawn shared photos from the proposal on Instagram, including a shot of the couple embracing and visibly overcome with emotion.

"It's official! I asked Leah to marry me, and she said YESSSSS," she captioned the post. "We are engaged! Stay tuned for wedding 💍."

While attending BravoCon 2023 in November, Yawn told PEOPLE that the process of planning their wedding only strengthened the pair's bond. "Leah and I couldn't be happier or closer," she said. "It took us to the next level. I love it."

Yawn also shared that Shafer had taken charge of the wedding details, from the location to the flowers. Due to space constraints on the yacht, they had to limit their guest list to about 55 people.

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Yawn has her Bravo reality series to thank for meeting her wife. Shafer, a Below Deck fan, reached out to Yawn on Facebook in 2018. After exchanging messages back and forth for a while, the two decided to meet in person in Los Angeles and sparked an immediate connection.

In her 2023 book, Be the Calm or Be the Storm , Yawn wrote about the importance of timing and how Shafer came into her life at just the right moment.

"I believe God has a way of preparing you for 'the one.' He knew I wasn’t ready for her all those years ago. And she wasn’t ready for me. God waited for us," she wrote. "He gave me opportunities to make different choices and be more conscious, so that when that sweet little Facebook message came across my page, I was open."

Shafer was previously married for 20 years to Ross Shafer, with whom she shares a teenage daughter.

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Florida developer Sergio Pino found dead amid FBI ‘murder for hire’ investigation

Real estate developer Sergio Pino, one of the country’s largest Hispanic residential builders, died by suicide Tuesday morning after FBI agents arrived at his Cocoplum home amid what the bureau called a “murder for hire” investigation related to threats  made against his estranged wife, Tatiana Pino.

It was a startling end for a prominent businessperson who faced a federal inquiry into whether he had any connection to a group of men charged with stalking and threatening his wife of more than three decades during a contentious divorce. The dissolution of the couple’s marriage had played out in shocking headlines since FBI agents raided Pino’s Coral Gables home and office in late June — the pages of their divorce file show the couple relaying alleged incidents of poisoning, vehicle fires and a drive-by shooting at Sergio Pino’s home in recent years. Threats made against Tatiana Pino and her sister, including arson and a hit-and-run, led to the arrests of four men, including one of Sergio Pino’s household employees, earlier this year.

Early Tuesday, weeks after the first raid, FBI agents descended on Sergio Pino’s Coral Gables neighborhood as part of a “search and arrest” operation related to a murder-for-hire investigation that began in the fall of 2023, according to a statement by Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Veltri. A SWAT team entered Pino’s home after attempting to call out to anyone inside and getting no response, according to the FBI’s statement. Veltri said that Pino, who was 67, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and that FBI agents discovered him “alone in an upstairs bedroom.”

Law enforcement raided another home in Cutler Bay as part of the operation. One person was arrested, according to Veltri, who did not provide the suspect’s name or further details.

In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Pino’s criminal defense attorney criticized the FBI’s actions.

“Sergio Pino took his own life today,” said lawyer Sam Rabin. “The level of law enforcement activity at his residence was unprecedented and unnecessary, especially since we had offered to surrender him, should that have become necessary. Today’s events mark a very tragic ending to an investigation that we were confident we could successfully defend. There were many rumors and allegations, but what was lacking was evidence.”

Pino, the founder of Century Homebuilders Group and a high-profile Miami-Dade County builder and political donor for decades,  had denied any involvement  in the incidents involving his wife.

The striking scene in Cocoplum unfolded Tuesday morning as FBI agents returned to Pino’s home, where the couple once lived together. For much of the morning, Coral Gables police cruisers blocked off Isla Dorada Boulevard, where the house is located. A series of loud bangs could be heard from about a block away, beginning at 9:30 a.m., about every 15 minutes. Two helicopters hovered overhead at the waterfront estate, near the Cocoplum Yacht Club.

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Around 10 a.m., Coral Gables Fire Rescue arrived with lights on. Thirty minutes later, an ambulance left with lights on but no siren. Around 11:30 a.m., a van from the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner’s office arrived in the area.

The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s office later confirmed that Pino died inside his home on Isla Dorada Boulevard around 10:20 a.m.

The residence was not visible from the area blocked off by law enforcement on Tuesday morning.

A person in the neighborhood told the Miami Herald that law enforcement surrounding the house appeared calm, with weapons pointed at the ground. The person said that at one point they heard police say over the megaphone that they would breach the front door.

Tatiana Pino’s lawyer, Raymond Rafool, declined to comment Tuesday afternoon. “Under the circumstances, we are not commenting at this time,” he said.

Four Miami-Dade men, including an employee of Sergio Pino’s, were arrested earlier this year in connection with threats and attacks against Tatiana Pino and her sister. Bayron Bennett, who worked putting together food and beverage service on Sergio Pino’s yacht, is accused of recruiting Michael Dulfo, Edner Etienne and Jerren Howard to carry out a hit-and-run at Tatiana Pino’s residence and multiple arsons at her sister’s residence. The four men have pleaded not guilty.

A rented Home Depot trailer  rammed into Tatiana Pino’s car  as she pulled into her driveway after a day of divorce proceedings in August 2023. And three vehicles were set ablaze in two separate arsons at Tatiana Pino’s sister’s residence.

In a motion filed on July 5, Tatiana Pino’s divorce attorney said there had been another “attempt on Ms. Pino’s life just weeks ago at her home.” Pinecrest police have refused to release the report from that incident because it is part of the ongoing federal investigation.

In court testimony, Tatiana Pino said she blamed health problems  on what she believed was a poisoning attempt  by her husband. Sergio Pino had denied that allegation.

And he testified that he had also received threats throughout the divorce proceedings.

A month after Tatiana Pino filed for divorce, Sergio Pino said someone  shot at his Coral Gables home  and that he had received threatening phone calls around that time.

In September 2023, shortly after the hit-and-run at Tatiana Pino’s residence, Sergio Pino said someone set his car on fire. About a year before that, he testified, another car of his was vandalized.

©2024 Miami Herald. Visit miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.

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How Did Alex Jimenez Become “The Yacht Guy”

We met him, you’ve heard of him, and now it’s everyone’s chance to get to know him… Alex Jimenez, Aka The Yacht Guy , has created quite the following in the superyacht industry. From living the normal life to networking with UHNW individuals and travelling the world, Alex has created a lifestyle for himself that many dream of, and it’s time to find out how:

You’re very respected in the world of yachting, have you always worked as an influencer?

AJ: No, I wasn’t always an influencer though I wish I had been. Life’s a lot more fun as one (laughs). I became an influencer full-time back in 2014. Prior to TheYachtGuy, I held a regular job as a brain surgeon…I wish!!! Nope, just a regular guy, not that I’m not now, but you know what I mean. Becoming an influencer has allowed me some great experiences I would have probably never had.

How did you end up becoming a public figure in such a niche industry? And, have you made any friends in particular that have inspired you throughout your journey?

AJ: I have achieved this through Instagram and many years of making connections, networking and meeting some fantastic people. I’ve been fortunate with what I have been able to do .

What would you say is the hardest part of your day-to-day life?

AJ: Staying focused on goals can be tough with everything else that’s going on around you. Family, friends, bills, etc. In the end, I’m just a regular guy trying to make my way.

You’ve successfully achieved recognition as the No.1 yacht influencer globally. Do you have any further aspirations within yachting that you’d like to achieve? If so, what do they entail?

AJ: Thank you! Well, it has become more challenging over the years with so many people now turning their yacht profession into yacht influencers, from brokers to yachties; it’s great to see everyone’s perspective. As for aspirations, the biggest one is to own a yacht big enough to allow me to travel the world but small enough that I don’t need a crew. Then head out and enjoy cruising.

If this was to happen, what would you name it?

I’d name it “POEME” after my daughter ❤️

What’s the most memorable experience that you’ve had, courtesy of being an influencer?

AJ: It’s funny because at some moments not only was I not allowed to take pictures, but I was kindly asked to not even mention yachts for both safety and privacy to the owner, which I was totally okay with. But let’s say having a private jet pick you up in your small hometown and being flown out onto one of the world’s largest yachts to hang with what turned out to be some of the coolest laid-back people I’ve ever met was one for my record books.

Could you share your top tips for anyone aspiring to become a social media influencer?

AJ: I’d say do something you absolutely love because it shows in you. When people meet you, and you’re doing something for money or to be Insta-famous, it’ll show through…

For more lifestyle articles follow the link – SYC Lifestyle 

Lucy Johnson

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Tilman Fertitta's 252-foot, $150 million superyacht Boardwalk courses through canals after departing Feadship's Aalsmeer shipyard in The Netherlands on its way to sea trials. (Photo courtesy of Feadship)

Tilman Fertitta's Boardwalk by Feadship encountered 19 locks and bridges on its way to sea trials. (Photo courtesy of Feadship)

Momus Queen Blayne Fertitta and Tilman Fertitta in 2019 partying port side of his first Boardwalk yacht during The San Luis Salute in Galveston. (Gary Fountain Photo)

The Feadship team moves Tilman Fertitta's super yatch, Boardwalk, through the narrow canals of The Netherlands on its way to sea trials. (Photo courtesy of Feadship)

An areal view of Tilman Fertitta's Feadship Boardwalk of which he is expected to take possession in April. (Photo courtesy of Feadship)

Tilman Fertitta's super yacht, Boardwalk, by Feadship makes a beautiful departure as it heads for sea trials.

Tilman Fertitt's 77-meter Boardwalk from Feadship passes the last bridge on the to sea trials, passing the city of Rotterdam. (Photo courtesy of Feadship)⁠⠀

Tilman Fertitta Gets a New $150 Million Super Yacht — Take a Look at the Floating Paradise

Houston billionaire adds boardwalk to his empire.

I n the stratospheric world of billionaire Tilman Fertitta, more is more. And bigger is better. Consider the hospitality mogul’s ever-expanding business empire and then add his newest toy —  a superyacht set to splash through the waters of the Med in April.

Our curiosity was piqued when we saw info on a 77 meter (252 foot) Feadship yacht that “was commissioned by an experienced yachtsman, the project has been designed by De Voogt Naval Architects,” according to Boat International . The extraordinary yacht’s launch has additionally captured the attention of Super Yacht Times , Mega Yacht News , and  Yacht Harbor .

The name of the floating behemoth: Boardwalk . The same name as Fertitta’s 50 meter (163 feet) Westport motor yacht that has ridden the Fertitta family across waves of the Mediterranean and the Caribbean for a decade.

A little more research reveals that indeed the new vessel, which is headed this month for sea trials, was commissioned by Fertitta in 2016. Four years is fairly standard for yacht construction from the hull up. It was launched from the Feadship’s Aalsmeer shipyard in The Netherlands and in early January.

With an estimated price tag of $150 million, the yacht has seven staterooms, a swimming pool, and, of course, a helipad accommodating Fertitta’s favored mode of travel.

The original Boardwalk remains in Fertitta’s possession and there is no indication that he will sell or charter it. As he has often said, he has no intention of letting anyone but family rest their heads on Boardwalk pillows. We would guess that deep-pocketed Fertitta will keep the smaller yacht in the Caribbean where the larger yacht would have difficulty maneuvering through the waters there.

In the world of superyachts , Boardwalk is a serious contender but falls short of the ridiculously huge mega yachts such as Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ Bravo Eugenia, which measures 356 feet, or the 351-foot Benetti Lana, which charters for $1.9 million a week.

Get a closer look at Tilman Fertitta’s new yacht in this video:

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The career rise of Bob Iger — and how the Disney CEO spends his fortune

• Bob Iger has been heading one of the world's largest entertainment companies for nearly two decades.
• The House of Mouse boss stepped down as Disney CEO in February 2020 only to return in 2022.
• Here's a look at his wealth, spending, and career, from a lowly position at ABC to Disney CEO.

Bob Iger has added another line to his résumé: Controlling owner of the world's most valuable women's sports team. 

Iger and his wife, Willow Bay, have taken a controlling stake in the Los Angeles women's soccer team Angel City FC in a deal that values the team at $250 million.

Perhaps most important on his résumé, though, is his tenure as the CEO of Disney.

Iger started his entertainment career in 1974 as a studio supervisor at ABC and climbed up the showbiz ranks to lead one of the most powerful businesses in the world.

Though he retired as CEO in 2020, Bob Iger returned to the role in a shocking shakeup two years later. Iger stepped down as CEO in February 2020 but stayed on as executive chairman until December 2021, when he retired, albeit ultimately briefly.

Iger has amassed a sizeable personal fortune across his 15 years and counting as CEO.

Forbes reported in 2019 that Iger had a net worth of $690 million, which is thought to be higher than that of Disney heiress Abigail Disney, who said that year that she's worth about $120 million . Iger, meanwhile, received $31.6 million in total compensation in 2023, or 595 times what the median Disney employee makes.

Here's what we know about Iger's life and career rise, including how he makes and spends his multimillion-dollar fortune:

Iger was born Robert Allen Iger in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in the small town of Oceanside, New York.

"I am very lucky," Iger told Laurene Powell Jobs at The Atlantic Festival in Washington in 2019. "I was a lower middle class kid or middle class. My father had manic depression so he had trouble holding a job. I started as a $150-a-week employee at ABC 45 years ago and rose up to be CEO of this company. It is a great story, but it is not necessarily because I was extraordinary."

He attended Ithaca College where he graduated magna cum lade in 1973 with a degree in Television and Radio.

At Ithaca College, Iger hosted a campus television show called " Campus Probe ." He graduated originally wanting to be a news anchor and briefly worked as a local weatherman in Ithaca, New York.

In 1974, Iger joined ABC, working in New York City. He wrote in his memoir "The Ride of a Lifetime" that he did "menial labor" for basically every show ABC produced out of Manhattan at the time.

Iger wrote in his book that he got his first job at ABC because of his uncle, who was in the hospital for eye surgery. His uncle was in the room next to someone who claimed to be a top executive at ABC, who said he would give the younger Iger a job.

Iger took the "top executive" up on his offer, though he quickly realized that the person was not a "top executive" but instead a lower-level one. Still, the person ran a small department at ABC known as Production Services and was able to secure Iger an interview with the department.

At age 23, Iger was brought on as a "studio supervisor."

But after a confrontation with his boss, Iger was almost fired and forced to look for a new job. Soon after, he moved over to a position at ABC Sports.

Iger has said that one of his bosses accused Iger of spreading rumors about him, causing the young Iger to almost be fired.

"He told me I wasn't promotable and I had two weeks to find another job somewhere in the company or I was gone," Iger recalled at the UCLA Awards Gala in 2013. "Fortunately, I was able to find another job in the company. They didn't think I wasn't promotable, I guess."

He worked his way up the ABC Sports ladder, working closely with Roone Arledge, "a relentless perfectionist," who was the head of ABC Sports at the time.

Iger wrote in his book that Arledge was the person who taught him the mantra which would follow Iger for the rest of his life: "Innovate or die."

Iger went on to become the vice president of ABC Sports.

ABC was later sold to Capital Cities Communications for $3.5 billion in a deal finalized in 1986.

Shortly after, Tom Murphy and Dan Burke — the heads of Capital Cities/ABC — tapped Iger to become the head of ABC Entertainment, and Iger moved to Los Angeles.

Iger wrote in his memoir that the constant traveling put strain on his first marriage, to Kathleen Susan. Eventually, the two divorced. They have two daughters.

While at the helm of ABC Entertainment, Iger was the one who took a chance and put David Lynch's "Twin Peaks" on air.

The critically-acclaimed series was cancelled after two seasons, but Iger wrote in his book that the risk he took putting it on television caught the attention of other famed directors such as Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. 

Iger and Lucas then developed a show based on the Indiana Jones franchise , which was cancelled after two seasons. But, Iger wrote in his book, Lucas never forgot the risk Iger took on his show, and he remembered it years later when he decided to sell Lucasfilm to Disney .

In 1993, Iger became president of ABC Network's Television Group.

 When Burke retired, Iger was tapped to replace him as president and COO of Capital Cities/ABC.

In 1995, Iger married journalist Willow Bay who, at the time, was a stand-in weekend news anchor on Good Morning America, and was poised to take over for then-full time host Joan Lunden.

Iger and Bay became engaged in 1995 . But after Disney agreed to buy Capital Cities/ABC that same year, Iger had quick decisions to make.

At that time, he wrote in his memoir, he had been commuting weekly to Los Angeles to meet his new Disney colleagues. He knew that after the acquisition was approved, he and Bay would not have much time to honeymoon. So, they quickly married later that same year.

"Willow and I also knew we'd have no chance for a honeymoon once the deal closed," he wrote. "We radically shortened our engagement and got married in early October 1995 ."

They are still married and have two children together .

In 1996, The Walt Disney Company bought Capital Cities/ABC for $19 billion, and renamed it ABC, Inc.

Iger wrote in his memoir that he heavily considered walking away from Disney at this point. But as part of the Disney-ABC merger , Iger agreed to run a media division at Disney for five years.

In 1999, Iger became the president of Disney International, the business division overseeing Disney's global operations. A year later, he was tapped to become the COO of Disney, working directly under then-CEO Michael Eisner.

Forbes reported that between 1994 and 1999, Eisner made $631 million. In the year 1997 alone, Eisner reportedly made more than $550 million. Over the years, Eisner invested his Disney money and became a billionaire by 2008 — perhaps predicting a financial path Iger may follow.

In the early 2000s, tensions began to brew between Eisner and Disney heir Roy E. Disney. After Eisner stepped down, Iger became the CEO of the Walt Disney Company in 2005.

Iger wrote in his book that, despite being the COO and thereby second in command behind Eisner, his promotion to CEO was not a guarantee. If anything, he wrote, many had associated him with the turbulence of Eisner's era and wanted an outsider for the job. Iger said he campaigned for months until he was officially named CEO in 2005 . 

Forbes reported in 2019 that in his first year as CEO, Iger made $22 million, a salary which did not include the stock options worth $2.9 million.

One of Iger's first major moves as CEO was to rebuild Disney's relationship with Pixar. At the time, the relationship between Disney and Pixar was strained, and Iger felt the future of Disney Animation relied on repairing it.

Before he officially became the CEO of Disney, he called to inform Steve Jobs — who was the majority shareholder in Pixar — that he was being appointed CEO and shared his hope they could discuss working together in the future. From there, the two began to slowly work on repairing the fraught relationship between the two companies. 

Iger wrote in his memoir that he felt Disney needed Pixar to help enter the future of animation. Pixar at the time was using technologies to produce content that had never been seen before, Iger wrote in his book.

Iger wanted Disney to be in on it — not just as a distributor for the films, as their previous agreement had stated , but to actually own what Pixar was bringing to the table.

In 2006, Disney announced that it would acquire Pixar for $7.4 billion, making Jobs, the majority shareholder in Pixar at the time, the majority shareholder in Disney.

Iger wrote in his book that the two companies were able to come together after he reached out to Jobs to forge a friendship and address any issues between the two companies. 

Iger and Jobs would go on to have a long friendship until Jobs passed away in 2011 . A month after Jobs died , Iger joined the Apple board, where he remained until he stepped down in 2019 ahead of launching Disney+ .

In 2009, Iger led Disney's acquisition of Marvel for $4 billion. This gave Disney access to the Marvel comic book library, which was the beginning of the now multibillion-dollar, box office record-breaking Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Iger wrote that part of the reason Marvel CEO Isaac "Ike" Perlmutter was willing to sell the company was because Jobs called Perlmutter to "vouch for" Iger and praised how Iger had handled the Disney-Pixar merger.

Still looking to help Disney expand into the future, in 2012, Iger led Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion. This gave Disney control of not just the Star Wars franchise, but also the Indiana Jones franchise.

Iger said that he knew Lucas was nervous to sell Lucasfim to Disney — mostly because the "Star Wars" creator knew he would be selling his legacy along with it. But eventually, Lucas warmed up to the idea.

Lucas enlisted Kathleen Kennedy to lead Lucasfilm right before the company was sold to Disney. The first Star Wars film made without Lucas was released a few years later, in 2015 — "The Force Awakens," directed by J.J. Abrams .

The company's acquisition spree continued in 2018, when Disney agreed to buy 21st Century Fox. At the time, Fox was owned by billionaire Rupert Murdoch who, after the sale, became one of the largest shareholders in Disney.

Forbes reported in 2019 that, if Murdoch were to cash in all stock available to him from the Disney deal, he'd own about $10.5 billion worth of Disney stock. In addition, Variety reported that collectively, the Murdoch family members were "the largest individual shareholders in Disney."

Iger wrote in his memoir that Murdoch selling the company he had built from scratch was an indicator that the "disruption" threatening the entertainment industry was now inevitable. 

"As [Rupert Murdoch] pondered the future of his company in such a disrupted world, he concluded the smartest thing to do was to sell and give his shareholders and his family a chance to convert its 21st Century Fox stock into Disney stock, believing we were better positioned to withstand the change and, combined, we'd be even stronger," Iger wrote in his book. 

In March 2019, the merger between 21st Century Fox and Disney was completed, with a price tag of $71.3 billion.

This move made Disney the second-largest media company in the world at the time, Forbes reported.

That year, Iger was also named Time's businessperson of the year.

"In a year when the tide has shifted against Big Business, Big Media and Big Tech, Iger has transformed his enormous media company into a gargantuan media and tech business while ensuring that the Walt Disney Co.'s products remain widely beloved," Belinda Luscombe wrote in Time's profile of him. "But for now, for just this moment, Iger is unassailable. He's transformed his company from a stuffy media doyen into a sexy cultural force."

In 2020, Iger — along with Seth MacFarlane and Cicely Tyson, among several others — was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.

Other inductees that year included the likes of Seth MacFarlane and Cicely Tyson.

In February 2020, Disney announced that Iger would step down as CEO and assume the role of executive chairman until his contract expired on December 31, 2021.

Iger was replaced by Bob Chapek , former chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Product. Iger would forgo his entire salary for the year, and Chapek would similarly take a 50% salary cut amid potential multibillion-dollar revenue losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, Business Insider's Ashley Rodriguez reported.

After a short-lived retirement, Bob Iger returned to Disney.

In November 2022, Disney made the shocking announcement that Iger was back to lead the company for two years, during which he'd work with the board to find a successor.

However, Disney's board in 2023 voted to  extend his contract to the end of 2026.

In 2019, he had a net worth of $690 million, per Forbes' estimates.

Forbes reported at the time that Iger's net worth was actually higher than that of Abigail Disney, the Disney heiress, who said in 2019 that she was worth about $120 million .

In March 2020, it was announced that Iger would forgo his salary for the year, as Disney dealt with presumed multibillion-dollar losses due to the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent shutdowns. His base salary was $3 million in the previous fiscal year and he made $47.5 million in total compensation.

Iger is known among peers for being a very kind leader and has been praised by his contemporaries for the way he has handled the mergers of Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm.

During his first stint as CEO, Iger grew Disney's profits 335% to $260 billion, Business Insider reported .

Forbes also reports that under Iger, Disney created more than 70,000 new jobs. 

"Literally, I have never heard one person say a bad thing about him and I have never seen him be mean," billionaire David Geffen told The New York Times in a profile on Iger . "To be honorable, decent, smart, successful, and a terrific guy is unusual anywhere. But it is most unusual in the entertainment business. He's in a category of one."

Iger's own increasing fortune has paralleled the rise in Disney's value over the years he's been at the helm.

Forbes reported that that Iger's fortune is split between his Disney shares "and cash or other investment from sales of Disney shares over the decades."

According to Forbes , Iger was compensated $65.6 million in 2018, which was 1,424 times the average Disney employee's salary. He had been given another $26.3 million in stock after he successfully closed the Disney-Fox merger and for agreeing to extend his contract until 2021. His initial compensation in 2018 was $39.3 million (not including stock rewards).

In April 2019 , Abigail Disney publicly criticized Iger's high pay on Twitter  and later wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post elaborating on her thoughts . 

"I'm not arguing that Iger and others do not deserve bonuses. They do," Disney wrote. "They have led the company brilliantly. I am saying that the people who contribute to its success also deserve a share of the profits they have helped make happen."

Most recently, Iger received $31.6 million in total compensation in 2023, or 595 times what the median Disney employee makes.

As Iger is a very private person, not much is known about his spending.

He and his wife bought a home in Brentwood, California, in 2006 from actress Michelle Pfeiffer for about $19 million, the Orlando Sentinel reported that year .

The home reportedly was 7,500 square feet and had five bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a guest house, a tennis court, and a pool. As of a 2018 interview with Vogue , Iger was still living in Brentwood with his wife and their two children.

The Igers also previously owned an apartment on the Upper East Side of New York City. The property sold in 2018 for $18.75 million, Business Insider reported.

The Igers' former home has a library,  living room views of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir in Central Park, and four bedrooms, including one master suite with two bathrooms and a walk-in closet.

Iger spends time — and likely money — maintaining his mental and physical health, about which he's notoriously rigorous. He told The New York Times that he wakes up at 4:15 every morning and doesn't touch his phone until he's finished with his morning exercise routine.

Iger has also said that he doesn't eat carbs unless it's pizza , recalling that during his high school years, he worked at his local Pizza Hut .

Iger reportedly has multiple yachts.

He has a 180-foot superyacht called Aquarius, which he wrote about in Vanity Fair in 2014.

He's also having another built, expected to be 30 feet longer, according to The Wall Street Journal.

When he's "off the clock," he travels. Iger is a regular attendee at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. The media conference is a hub for entertainment and tech moguls.

Variety reports that in 2019 , Iger attended the conference along with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg , Shari Redstone , Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky , and even former Democratic presidential candidate John Hickenlooper.

In 2019, Iger and his wife committed $1 million to launch the Iger-Bay Endowed Scholarship at Iger's alma mater, Ithaca College. The scholarship aims to boost diversity in the media industry.

The scholarship was funded through the proceeds from Iger's memoir.

Iger also spends some of his fortune on vacations. Beyond their business dealings related to Disney and Pixar, Iger was also close personal friends with Jobs and has said the two would vacation together in nearby resorts in Hawaii.

"We vacationed at adjacent Hawaiian hotels a few times and would meet and take long walks on the beach, talking about our wives and kids, about music, about Apple and Disney and the things we might still do together," he wrote in his book. "You don't expect to develop such close friendships late in life, but when I think back on my time as CEO — at the things I'm most grateful for and surprised by — my relationship with Steve is one of them."

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Iger has been seen on billionaire David Geffen's yacht. In August 2017, Iger was seen on the yacht with Oprah Winfrey, Diane von Furstenberg, and Diane Sawyer.

Geffen owns a megayacht , known to be a common hang-out spot for celebrities and fellow billionaires , including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, during the summer months, as seen on his Instagram page.

The yacht is worth $590 million, as previously reported by Business Insider.

In his personal life, Iger has a set of A-list friends who have been known to rave about him. One of those friends is Winfrey, who has said that if Iger were to run for president, she would not just vote for him but eagerly campaign on his behalf.

"I'll tell you the truth, this is not really where I intended to be tonight," Winfrey said at the Centennial Awards, where Iger was being honored, in 2019 . "I was hoping that by this time in early fall, I would be knocking on doors in Des Moines, wearing an 'Iger 2020' T-shirt. Because I really do believe that Bob Iger's guidance and decency is exactly what the country needs right now."

Iger is also close to Jeffrey Katzenberg, cofounder of Dreamworks and former chairman of Walt Disney Studios.

After Comcast bought Dreamworks in 2016 for $3.8 billion, Katzenberg's net worth rose to $900 million . 

Iger and Katzenberg have been friends for years, and Katzenberg is among the group of people who tried to encourage the Disney CEO to run for president.

"No matter how much I begged Bob," Katzenberg said while presenting the Simon Wiesenthal Center Humanitarian Award to Iger in 2019. "He just wasn't willing to run for president of the United States."

In his memoir, Iger admitted that he once considered running for president, but ultimately decided against it.

"I think the Democratic Party would brand me as just another rich guy who's out of touch with America who doesn't have any sense for what's good for the plight of the people," he told The New York Times in a 2019 profile.

Despite many people — including some major Hollywood players — urging him to run for president in late 2019, Iger publicly remained firm that he had no plans to pursue a presidential campaign.

Iger has also spent his free time involved in politics in the past. Shortly after Donald Trump was elected president, Iger joined Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum.

Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum was a business council created to hear the perspectives of different leaders on how to improve job growth in the US. 

But Iger stepped down from the role in 2017 after Trump announced the US would withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, Variety reported.

Iger announced his resignation from the council in a tweet stating: " As a matter of principle, I've resigned from the President's Council over the #Paris Agreement withdrawal ." 

The council, which ultimately disbanded , also included JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, and Stephen A. Schwarzman, the cofounder of private equity firm Blackstone.

In September 2019, however, Iger did outline what would have been the central themes of his campaign, had he decided to run.

"America is gravely in need of optimism, of looking at the future and believing that so many things are going to be all right, or that we as a nation can attack some of the most critical problems of our day," Iger said at The Atlantic Festival in Washington in 2019. "And that could be the environment, that could be income disparity, that could be the technology's impact on the world from a disruption perspective. It could be the cost of education, availability of affordable housing, healthcare. You name it."

Iger's 2020 plans to retire from Disney were derailed by the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2020, Iger announced his plans to retire at the end of his contract term, though the coronavirus pandemic derailed his plan. Disney's board extended Iger's term as chairman to the end of 2021. At the end of his term, Susan Arnold took his place  as chairman.

With a $3 million salary in 2019, plus a $21.8 million bonus, $10 million worth of stock awards, and $9.6 million worth of stock options, Iger was consistently one of Hollywood's highest-paid CEOs  prior to his departure, Business Insider previously reported.

As Disney's on-again-of-again CEO, Iger fended off challenges to his control of the company.

Iger returned to Disney as the company's CEO following the ouster of his successor, Bob Chapek. His contract was originally set to expire in 2024, but Disney's board in 2023 voted to  extend his contract to the end of 2026 — and increased his compensation package by several million dollars.

Upon his return, Iger faced challenges to his control over the company, including from activist investor Nelson Peltz over two board seats. Iger ultimately prevailed. The proxy fight over the seats is estimated to have cost all parties about $70 million .

Iger and Bay most recently bought a controlling stake in the most valuable women's sports team in the world.

In July 2024, Iger and Bay bought a controlling share of Los Angeles women's soccer team Angel City FC for an undisclosed amount in a deal that values the team at $250 million. Iger and Bay replace Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian as Angel City FC's controlling owner.

• Main content

American billionaire and owner of Harbor Freight stores just took delivery of this 384-feet long megayacht. The $350 million vessel has seven decks, a pool, and a yoga studio it uses AI to stabilize the mammoth yacht on rough seas.

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Sanctioned billionaire Alisher Usmanov is suing the German government for violating his human dignity by raiding and seizing his $800 million megayacht Dilbar. According to the oligarch, the 512 feet long vessel also constitutes as his ‘protected home.’

Boston telecom billionaire Robert Hale, who started his business by taking a loan from his parents, left 1,000 graduating students at Umass Dartmouth in complete awe by gifting them $1,000 each.

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From Elon Musk to Kim Kardashian, this luxurious explorer yacht can be configured to satisfy a billionaire’s every whim. The 262 feet long vessel can have everything from a full fledged laboratory to a dive center to a helicopter hangar to even a rocking nightclub.

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Bill Duker discusses creating his custom superyacht Sybaris

To celebrate _ Sybaris  _being named Sailing Yacht of the Year at the World Superyacht Awards 2017 , we bring you this interview from our archive, in which Duker gave us the inside story on the build of the Perini Navi yacht.

Superyacht owner Bill Duker was always the man with a plan – until, as he tells Stewart Campbell and Sacha Bonsor, a health scare forced his life philosophy to change. The upside? A new 70 metre ketch, Sybaris , from which he will live every day to the full.

Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans, goes the famous John Lennon lyric. It’s a line that rings true for lawyer-turned-software mogul and multiple yacht owner Bill Duker, after being told he might die before seeing one of his life’s dreams – owning a 70 metre sailing yacht – realised. “When I heard it (cancer) was in my lymph nodes, the worst bit was thinking that I couldn’t make plans,” he recalls, as we cluster around a saloon table on the big Perini Navi Perseus3 at the Monaco Yacht Show. “I’m somebody who has always lived with a plan.”

A week after his diagnosis in 2009, he made two resolutions: to ensure every single day is lived according to the plan; and to have a lot of fun. “From that moment forward, from after that first week, every day I get out of bed and ask myself what I’m going to do to have fun today,” he says. He beat the cancer, and judging from the smile on his face as he talks about his new superyacht project, he’s having the time of his life. The boat is Sybaris , a 70 metre ketch currently in build at Perini Navi ’s Viareggio yard. When it’s launched in 2015 it will become one of the biggest sailing yachts on the planet, and immediately one of the most iconic boats afloat. In the meantime, he’s got the 52 metre Feadship Rasselas to play on. “The Feadship was not a passion,” he says. “It was just for fun. The Feadship was, ‘I can’t wait any more for my boat to be built!’”

His new-found philosophy is perfectly embodied in the sailing yacht’s name. For those who skipped classics at school, Sybaris was the name of a Greek settlement in ancient Italy known for its hedonism, feasts and excesses, represented in modern parlance by the word sybarite. “For Sybarites, living was important. And this boat is more than self-indulgent, it is everything we’ve always wanted. We’re giving ourselves something far beyond anything I could have imagined as a kid,” Duker says.

Boats of his childhood imagination were the working type. The son of a longshoreman from upstate New York, he grew up modestly, with some of his earliest boating memories born on the docks of Albany, where he was apprenticed in his father’s job. “We used to joke when I was a kid that working at the docks was the longshoreman scholarship. You know, I was brought down to the docks to work when I was 13 years old,” he says. “I grew up there. I wasn’t supposed to be there at 13, but my father was a union guy and the union guys took care of their kids and that was the only way the kids could make enough money to go to school.”

"Sybaris is more than self-indulgent, it is everything we've always wanted. We're giving ourselves something far beyond anything I could have imagined as a kid."

It was only later, as a successful lawyer, that Duker’s thoughts turned to spending time on yachts for pleasure. In 1992 he found himself working with a colleague from California and made any excuse to head to San Francisco on the weekend, where the two of them would go sailing. “One day he said to me, ‘We oughta buy a boat together. A big boat’,” Duker remembers. He loved the idea, so they bought Coconut , a 24.4 metre Dynamique sailing yacht.

The partnership lasted for about a year before Duker struck out on his own, buying the 32.5 metre Ron Holland-designed Shanakee . But even then, in 1995, when 32 metres was a seriously big boat, his ambitions weren’t satisfied. “The idea for Sybaris has been in my mind since then. My son West and I would sit on the back of Shanakee in the evenings and draw the boat of our dreams. I can’t tell you how many boat drawings there are. We talked about how big the boat would be, who was going to be on the boat, where we would go with it…” he says, fondly. Throughout our conversation West’s name keeps appearing and it’s obvious Duker is devoted to his only son.

It’s a professional and filial relationship – West works as the director of marketing at Duker’s software company, and partnered with his dad on the designs for superyacht  Sybaris . The dream to build big is a shared one, a joint father and son longing, which started to become a reality during various regattas in the 1990s and particularly on one trip sailing in the Caribbean. “We were competing and started seeing bigger boats. And then we got a chance to get on board the (48.5 metre) Vitters Thalia in the Caribbean. Suddenly we had a sense that there were much larger boats out there and that you could do so much more with a bigger boat. They’re so monumental. This gave West and me a feeling of creativity and that really drove us.”

It took the better part of a decade, however, before Duker was ready to sign terms with a shipyard – and then came the cancer hammer-blow. Once in the clear, however, the plans could really gather momentum. “The boat kept growing in order to bring the lines down and make it look as sleek as it does. We thought it’d be a 56 metre, but then I started thinking that it had to be special, it had to be different. And there are already 10 or 11 or so 56 metres; I didn’t want hull number 12. I wanted something people could see from half a mile away and say, ‘Hey, there’s Sybaris ’,” Duker says.

The exterior design was done in collaboration: Philippe Briand for the naval architecture and PH Design with input from West and Bill for the exterior. If you’ve never heard of PH Design, that’s because it doesn’t do yachts – it does residences. The studio has worked with Duker on his homes and such is his faith in it, he had no qualms tasking it with creating the look for his 70 metre yacht. Was it a risk? “It’s not risky to hire somebody I trust with everything,” Duker says. “We’ve known each other for so long that I only have to have a short conversation about what I want and they know exactly what I’m thinking. Every time I have an idea, PH Design makes it better. And I can’t say no to them. When they bring something to me, I say, ‘Wow, we have to do that!’”

PH Design also drew the superyacht's interior, and if the exterior of  Sybaris was designed to be iconic, what’s inside was designed to inspire. It’s the same with all of Duker’s projects, whether it’s the glass box on top of a building in New York City, his 1920s property on the water in Miami (“the prettiest house on Miami Beach”) or his big estate in upstate New York on 300 hectares – each of them have interiors that, he says, “give people something to talk about”. A big part of that is the art – and Duker has an enviable collection. He started amassing it in the 1980s, and it features pieces from Frank Stella, Rodin and Jean Dubuffet. He’s still collecting for the new yacht, which has been designed to act as a sort of gallery.

“The interior is minimal, but not minimalist,” Duker says. “And every piece of furniture on board is art – every turn of the corner is art! I don’t think it’s possible to give a higher level of detail.” The renderings of Sybaris  give you an impression of how big a part art and design play in the interior. More modern New York loft than boat, Sybaris ’s owner won’t have any worries about conversation stalling over dinner. But with a Briand hull, a lightweight carbon fibre rig, and an estimated top speed of 17 knots – giving it regatta-winning potential – the yacht has plenty of sailing chops, too.

From conception to realisation, the superyacht will have taken 44 months to build – almost four years of intense, gratifying planning. I am concerned about what will happen when Duker’s boat is delivered – will he run out of plans? I needn’t have worried: “We’re going around the world,” Duker says. “I’m taking five years and doing my first circumnavigation. Part of the plan is to take on a local expert wherever we are in the world, so we can spend the evenings talking about where we’re going, what the history, geography, culture and politics are like in a particular area. We’re going to learn as we go around the world.”

But it would be naive to think he doesn't have something else up his sleeve. “You asked me if I was excited about delivery,” Duker says. “To some extent I am, but I have already started thinking about the next boat, and how it will be different. Like I said, it’s the planning that is important, making that dream happen. There’s a poem I wrote recently about it. I write crazy Dr Seuss-like poems. It takes five minutes and I do it every day,” he says, reciting one.

It opens: “I’ve lived my life by having dreams,” and ends: “Dreams are not just for the night, they give hope to live and fight.” There’s Lennon again: you may say he’s a dreamer, but he’s not the only one…

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Gianluca Vacchi: All About The Italian Business Badboy

The Italian man of mystery.

Have you ever thought, “who is Gianluca Vacchi?” and struggled to find an answer? Us too. We may have featured Gianluca Vacchi a fair amount here at DMARGE, but what we haven’t necessarily covered is who he actually is. 

So, we thought it about time to dive into the world of Gianluca Vacchi to uncover who he is, how he became famous, who he’s dating, what he does for a living and, perhaps most importantly, how much he’s worth…

In This Gianluca Vacchi Story…

Gianluca vacchi quick facts, life before fame & business career, gianluca vacchi’s girlfriend and future wife: shamon fonseca, gianluca vacchi’s dj career, gianluca vacchi’s fitness, gianluca vacchi’s fashion & style, gianluca vacchi’s family, gianluca vacchi’s net worth, gianluca vacchi’s prime video series, gianluca vacchi ‘enjoybike’, gianluca vacchi controversy.

Who Is Gianluca Vacchi?

Gianluca Vacchi is an I talian businessman, entrepreneur and social media celebrity . At the age of 25, he and his cousin Alberto Vacchi took the multinational Italian business, Industria Macchine Automatiche S.p.A. (IMA) , public.

IMA has gone on to become incredibly successful, and through various holding companies, Gianluca owns around 50% of the company and so receives dividend payouts each year valued at around US$50 million , which contribute to his wealth. 

Gianluca Vacchi was always destined to have a keen eye for business, having graduated from Studiorum University in Bologna, Italy, with a degree in Business and Economics .

He set out on his own path in business and began buying and selling stocks to start generating some money. He then became a non-executive director of IMA . 

He also founded a watch company called ToyWatch , which saw significant growth in its first year. Once this growth had been achieved, he sold the company.

He also founded and later sold the Last Minute Tour company , again, after it had achieved significant growth. 

Gianluca has been dating Sharon Fonseca for a number of years and they share a daughter together . The pair are now engaged to be married but met way back in 2018 during the recording of ‘Trump It’, one of Gianluca’s first recordings (more on his music below)…

In an interview with ETV agency, Sharon said:

“I was the model for one of his videos and I saw that [Vacchi] was very attentive to me. I am a person who takes things slowly. And he was escalating. Gianluca has a great personality, besides being a very attractive man, an energy that wherever he goes leaves everyone like ‘wow'”. Sharon Fonseca

Owing to his now playboy-esque lifestyle, Gianluca Vacchi also has a taste for party life and even has a side hustle as an accomplished DJ . He began DJ-ing and highlighting his love for partying through his social media accounts when he turned 46 in 2013.

Through his DJ interest, Gianluca Vacchi has worked with the likes of Steve Aoki, Nicola Zucchi, Christian Lena and Albertino. He has a record contract with the dance music label, Spinnin’ Records, and has released a number of tracks, which you can listen to on YouTube .

In the summer of 2023, Vachi released the summer anthem ‘ Sombrerito Blanco ‘ featuring Colombian singer Martina Camargo. Mixing Camargo’s original vocals with huge synth cords and drum crescendos, it embodies Vacchi’s now signature firey sound imbued with a pop catchiness.

One of the biggest draws for us here at DMARGE is just how well Gianluca Vacchi looks after his body via various workout routines and investing in some of the latest gadgets, all designed to improve his health . He is living proof that you are never too old to work out , and if anything, some of his workouts could prove to be too tough for his younger peers.

It can always be assumed that Italian men are born with fashion and style in their veins, but Gianluca Vacchi really does know how to dress well. Whether he’s perfectly combining traditional sartorial pieces with modern shirts or showing off envy-inducing watches , he’s a man you need to be following for style inspiration. He also has an amazingly narcissistic tattoo as well as a juicy watch collection .

Gianluca Vacchi has been linked with a number of women in his past , most notably, Giorgia Gabriele, with whom he posted videos dancing to his Instagram account. These videos quickly went viral and essentially catapulted him to social media stardom.

He split with Gabriele and, following a relationship or two later, settled down with model Sharon Fonseca, 27 years his junior. Gianluca announced 11th May 2020 that he and Fonseca were expecting their first child. Their daughter, Blu Jerusalema Vacchi, was born on October 28th 2020.

Gianluca Vacchi’s net worth is said to be an estimated US$200-US$500 million. The majority of this comes from his holding stake in IMA, but he no doubt can now demand large sums for social media posts and guest appearances at various events around the world.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gianluca Vacchi (@gianlucavacchi)

On Thursday 5th May 2022, Gianluca Vacchi announced via his Instagram page that a series revolving around him will soon be coming to the Prime Video streaming service in Italy on May 25th 2022. He said in the caption, “Stories never tell the whole story. That’s why we made a film. Gianluca Vacchi: Mucho Más exclusively on @primevideoit from May 25th in more than 240 territories.”

Vacchi is such a fitness fanatic that he’s even released his very own tailormade fitness gadget: the ‘Enjoybike’. Designed to be the perfect halfway point you never knew you needed between an exercise bike and an infrared sauna , the reclined exercise bike is surrounded by a ring of infrared lights.

Set to around 30 degrees Celsius, the heat allows users to burn more calories and enjoy a whole host of skin and nervous system benefits brought on by heat exposure. Apparently, you can burn a whopping 800 calories in a 45-minute session…

View this post on Instagram A post shared by #ENJOYBIKE by Gianluca Vacchi (@enjoybike_gv)

Given his larger-than-life personality, it’s no surprise that Gianluca Vacchi has found himself embroiled in controversy multiple times. He once came under fire for posting a video of himself slapping the bums of models on a private yacht . The video had been posted by the millionaire on his Instagram as part of the promotion of his track ‘Mueve.’. 

Vacchi could be seen in the video singing along to the song, which was playing in the background, and then proceeding to hit the models’ behinds in sync with the song’s beat.

The clip received social media backlash with many regarding it as demeaning and depicting Vacchi’s lack of respect towards women. The Italian playboy fired back, telling his critics to “learn to joke.” About a week later, Vacchi went on to post another clip, but this time, of himself being spanked by four women while clad in a short skirt and heels. 

Get the latest breaking news and original content across sport, entertainment, luxury and travel.

One of Britain's richest men spotted on his 1930s superyacht in Devon

Alicia has been named for the daughter he lost in a car crash, aged 11 months old

• 13:57, 30 OCT 2018
• Updated 12:50, 14 NOV 2018

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One of Britain's richest men has been spotted in his newly refurbished 1930's super-yacht - named after his daughter who was tragically killed.

Ian Wace, 55, who has a net worth of £505m, was spotted on board the Alicia, previously known as the Janidore.

The multi-millionaire hedge-fund manager has recently taken back the vintage vessel after it underwent a three-year refurbishment.

It was released following a christening ceremony where it was re-named in honour of Mr Wace's daughter Alicia, who died in a car crash aged 11 months alongside his son Guy, four, and wife Joanna, 34.

Images showed him getting off the vessel after it docked in Dartmouth, Devon.

The 50-metre classic yacht emerged following a major refit at the Southampton Marine yard after work began in 2015.

The ship's systems were rebuilt and the yacht underwent "major structural works".

The yard said that Alicia, which was originally launched in the 1930s as one of the eight yachts to be built by US yard Defoe, had been restored to 'the splendour of her era'.

Alicia is the third iconic super-yacht refit for the yard following Sir Charles Dunstone’s Shemara and Lord Sugar’s Lady A.

Mr Wace's boat also bears more than a passing similarity to James Dyson's 250ft Nahlin. In 2010 it also emerged from a lengthy refit and was pictured pulling in to the same Devon port.

The Nahlin, once owned by newly succeeded King Edward VIII was built in 1930 and boasted six guest staterooms with en-suite bathrooms, a special ladies' sitting room, a gym and a library.

The ship found fame when the royal chose to take his married lover Wallis Simpson on an extended cruise around Eastern Europe.

Mr Wace has now followed in James Dyson's footsteps and has had his own 1930s motor yacht professionally restored and birthed in the same port.

Mr Wace is the chief executive officer, chief risk officer, and founding partner of London's Marshall Wace hedge fund.

He became a successful businessman after witnessing the haunting death of his first wife and their two young children.

Speaking in 2011 Wace said: "The motivating force of my life was the accident.

"It's no use avoiding it - it's the elephant in the room. Something terrible happened to people very dear to me.

"It is what it is, I can't undo it. But a positive force did emerge, in Ark, and I'm happy to be part of that."

Peter Morton, the CEO of The SMS Group, described the yacht as “unquestionably beautiful” and said the launch was “a major positive milestone in another huge refit project.

He said: “The project has seen the best of British design, innovation and engineering and we now look forward to a successful period of trials pre-handover."

“Today’s launch is a major positive milestone in another huge refit project for The SMS Group, all our colleagues and all our suppliers.

"It’s big, big news.

"As a company, we are genuinely thrilled to have had the inspiration and support of another truly exceptional British businessman; and whilst the project has been challenging the end result is simply outstanding.

"MY Alicia is unquestionably beautiful.

“MY Alicia, MY Shemara and MY Lady A were all managed by SMS in a totally transparent and honest way – working directly with the owner.

"This ensures the very best value for money and complete control of the project; owners are therefore, masters of their own destiny, which is so very important to all those involved.

"In this case, it was the owner’s vision that has inspired the growth and creation of a business as opposed to just another project; we’re extremely grateful and look forward to very many future successful projects.”

The christening of MY Alicia was caught on camera by Jacek Prawdzik, who also shared many pictures of the boat on social media.

On deck two other boats can be seen, one a motorboat and the other by sail, and a tender is located towards the front of the vessel.

As per tradition, a bottle of champagne was broken on the hull - although it took a few attempts for the bottle to its target. There was also a well-stocked bar at the event.

Alicia is now expected to head for the Mediterranean and join modern and classic yachts for the 20th Les Voiles de Saint Tropez in September.

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