Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has decided to withdraw his winning bid of $67.6 million for the superyacht Alfa Nero, which has been stranded in Antigua for over a year due to legal disputes.
Ronald Sanders, Antigua and Barbuda’s ambassador to the US, confirmed Schmidt’s withdrawal from the purchase. The sale had become entangled in lawsuits, and Schmidt determined that he could not obtain clear title to the ship due to the ongoing legal disputes. Sanders clarified that the yacht is owned by the government of Antigua and Barbuda, and its ownership is not in question.
However, individuals close to Schmidt, who preferred to remain anonymous, emphasized that any property under litigation can pose complications and uncertainty in terms of ownership.
The 267-foot Alfa Nero boasts luxurious amenities such as a baby grand piano and a swimming pool that can be converted into a helipad. It was abandoned in Antigua’s Falmouth Harbour in March 2022 when the US Treasury imposed sanctions on Russian fertilizer billionaire Andrey Guryev, who denied ownership of the superyacht. Later, Guryev’s daughter, Yulia Gurieva-Motlokhov, came forward to claim it.
Following the lifting of sanctions on the vessel by the US, the government of Antigua auctioned it off, despite legal efforts by Gurieva-Motlokhov to block the sale. Her legal team has since appealed to Antiguan courts to nullify the transaction.
Sanders revealed that Warren E. Halle, a developer from Maryland, was the second-highest bidder in the Alfa Nero auction, but Halle did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Eric Schmidt, whose estimated net worth stands at $27 billion, as per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, served as Google’s CEO for approximately a decade. He has accumulated around $4 billion from the sale of Alphabet stock, which has enabled him to invest in various AI startups.
