Charles Simonyi

Space Is So Nice, He'll See It Twice, For Even More Money

Filed under: Wealth

Last time software mogul Charles Simonyi went into space, Martha Stewart catered his meals. This time the space tourist is paying an additional $10 million for his trip, a raise from $25 million to $35 million. Simonyi, who was the head of Microsoft's application software group, will be spending 11 days going from Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome to the International Space Station. His flight is set to launch March 26 and he is scheduled to return on April 6.

Simonyi, who is now engaged, has said this will be his last flight. It will also be the last planned space tourism flight to the International Space Station for a while. Russia's space agency has said that when the International Space Station crew doubles from three members to six there will no longer be room for tourists.

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Tags: charles simonyi, CharlesSimonyi, space tourism, SpaceTourism

The Classicist: The World's Greatest Luxury Yachts

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing, Books, The Classicist

In the rarefied world of mega yachts, the ultimate achievement is to have one designed by a certain Norwegian genius named Espen Oeino. The world's top star in naval architecture, Oeino's megabucks creations "combine the precision of fine machinery with indulgent finishes and the high-end amenities of a palace." When German luxury publisher teNeues opted to focus a volume in its amazing Luxury Toys series to the world's greatest yachts, it was quickly decided to dedicated the entire book to Oeino.

Luxury Toys: Mega Yachts showcases 20 of the Monaco-based Oeino's stellar creations accompanied by text from top yachting author Nick Jeffery, the most respected authority on luxury watercraft. Among the megayachts featured is Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's 413-ft. Octopus, the 8th largest yacht in the world and the second largest superyacht that is not owned by a head of state. The nine deck ship cost $200 million to build and has an annual operating budget estimated at $20 million.

Designed for self-sufficient long range cruising, the Octopus contains a wet dock for a 59-ft. tender and an equally large remotely-operated submarine that can descend to 2500 meters, a twin helicopter hangar and two helipads, countless giant antennae and a telescopic sonar, a cinema and music studio. Another Oeino creation featured in the book is the military-looking 233-ft. SKAT, pictured above, built by Lürssen of Bremen, Germany for Charles Simonyi, a former Microsoft software engineer and pioneering space tourist. The yacht features an elevator serving all four decks, a gymnasium, matching helicopter, and motorcycles with a special lift.

Gallery: Luxury Toys: Mega Yachts