You can be a passionate environmentalist and still indulge in the fanciest, most polluting treats money can buy, and no amount of public shaming or criticism will talk you out of it. Film director and multi-millionaire Steven Spielberg knows all about that.
In a few months,Steven Spielbergwill also know more about what it’s like to have certain aspects of his private life exposed to the public, as he’s expected to serve as a witness in an ongoing lawsuit between a U.S.-based luxury brokerage firm and the Netherlands-based luxury shipyard Oceanco. At the center of the suit is the fanciest apple of discord possible: Spielberg’s $250 million megayacht.
Whether the claims of the lawsuit are frivolous or not will be established by the Dutch court, but whatever the outcome, the lawsuit will serve as a window into the world of the one-percenters. At the core of the dispute is Y720, a 2022 megayacht built by Oceanco for Spielberg and later named Seven Seas, which came to replace his previous superyacht,also called Seven Seas(now sailing under Man of Steel).
According to court documents, Merle Wood & Associates is claiming they’re owed a 5% commission of the value of Seven Seas, which would be the equivalent of $12.5 million. The brokerage firm has represented Spielberg in his transactions with Oceanco since 2008, when he commissioned the first, smaller Seven Seas from the shipyard, the 86-meter (282-foot) vessel delivered to him in 2010.
Y720 is bigger, at 109 meters (357 feet) in total length, but also more luxurious and with enhanced performance – an upgrade in every sense of the word. Spielberg sold the first Seven Seas in 2021 for a ɾєρօɾτed $160 million thɾօυɢҺ the same brokerage firm, but he already had the contract signed for the bigger one. The brokerage firm claims they also facilitated the second contract, which, as part of an oral understanding with Oceanco, should have netted them a 5% commission, an increase over the initial 3.5% fee.
For their part, Merle Wood & Associates claim they’ve repeatedly tried to contact Oceanco in hopes of getting paid but never heard back. The shipyard is fighting back against the claims, saying that the repeated calls and subsequent lawsuit amount to nothing short of “abuse” since there is no such verbal agreement in place – and, as such, no need to enforce it.
“The client [Spielberg] is also not looking forward to having to come over to the Netherlands to give a witness ȿτɑτємєɴτ in a dispute about a non-existent commission agreement. Even less, now that the presence of the customer will not go unnoticed by the media,”Oceancosaysin court documents.
The request to deny preliminary hearings has been denied, which means that witnesses will be called forward to give testimony. The local Dutch media believes Spielberg will be among the first called to the stand in an attempt by the brokerage firm to prove that the verbal understanding exists and, as such, is legally binding.
The bigger the boat, the bigger the headache.
