Ship Designer Denies Selling Hydrogen-Powered Yacht to Bill Gates

(Bloomberg) — Billionaires are the only plausible buyers of the 112-meter superyacht concept Aqua, given its reported 500 million pound ($650 million) price tag.

But contrary to a media report over the weekend, Bill Gates apparently isn’t in contention. Sinot, the Dutch yacht architecture and design firm behind the hydrogen-powered vessel, said Monday that the world’s second-richest person didn’t buy one.

“Aqua is a concept under development and has not been sold to Mr. Gates,” according to a statement on the company’s website. “Sinot has no business relationship with Mr. Gates.”

Representatives for Gates, 64, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. The Microsoft Corp. co-founder has a net worth of $117.9 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that Gates had commissioned a cutting-edge vessel to be based on the firm’s blueprint. The identity of a buyer is often a closely guarded secret in an industry where owners prize their privacy and vessels can take years to build.

“It is often not relevant to share any details about a new-build superyacht project when it is in the early stages because a lot of engineering, design and research work still needs to be done and decisions still need to be made,” said Merijn de Waard, founder of SuperYacht Times, adding that Aqua is a concept rather than a yacht under construction.

The superyacht’s brochure makes clear any buyer can expect seclusion, noting the owner’s pavilion — which occupies the front half of the upper deck — offers an abundance of privacy. Along with a helipad and infinity pool, the eco-friendly floating palace also includes a spa, floor-to-ceiling glass doors and even a waterfall on deck.

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