Duke-semansMansion

NY Billionaire's Yacht Seized Over Endangered Animals

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing, Wealth, Crimes and Misdemeanors

A $26 million yacht with Versace interiors owned by cab driver-turned-fertilizer king Tamir Sapir - who lives in Manhattan's famed Duke-Semans mansion (above) - was seized by customs officials in Miami this week over trophies made from the skins of endangered animals. The yacht, named the Mystère, was found to contain zebra skins, a jaguar skin rug, Bengal tiger and African lion heads, cigar boxes covered in elephant hide, a reticulated python cigarette holder, and large carved ivory tusks, the Miami Herald reports.

Sapir, an emigré from Russia whose $1.4 billion fortune is now mainly invested in real estate, will get the yacht back minus the gruesome décor after paying a $150,000 fine. Sapir bought the historic seven-story Duke-Semans mansion across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art from Doris Duke's relatives for $40 million after a single walk-through, and is now said to be spending $10 million on renovations including - get this - a gallery for his world-class collection of ivory. He is ranked at No. 522 on Forbes' Richest Americans list.

Tags: animal skins, AnimalSkins, billionaires, Doris Duke, DorisDuke, Duke-Semans mansion, Duke-semansMansion, endangered species, EndangeredSpecies, Forbes, Miami, Tamir Sapir, TamirSapir, yacht