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$300 Million Yacht of Sanctioned Russian Oligarch Suleiman Kerimov Seized by Fiji at Request of United States

Fijian law enforcement executed a seizure warrant freezing the Motor Yacht Amadea (the Amadea), a 348-foot luxury vessel owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov. Fijian law enforcement, with the support and assistance of the FBI, acted pursuant to a mutual legal assistance request from the U.S. Department of Justice following issuance of a seizure warrant from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which found that the Amadea is subject to forfeiture based on probable cause of violations of U.S. law, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), money laundering and conspiracy.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Kerimov as part of a group of Russian oligarchs who profit from the Russian government through corruption and its malign activity around the globe, including the occupation of Crimea. In sanctioning Kerimov, the Treasury Department also cited Kerimov as an official of the Government of the Russian Federation and a member of the Russian Federation Counsel.

According to court documents, Kerimov owned the Amadea after his designation. Additionally, Kerimov and those acting on his behalf and for his benefit caused U.S. dollar transactions to be routed through U.S. financial institutions for the support and maintenance of the Amadea.

“This ruling should make clear that there is no hiding place for the assets of individuals who violate U.S. laws. And there is no hiding place for the assets of criminals who enable the Russian regime,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will be relentless in our efforts to hold accountable those who facilitate the death and destruction we are witnessing in Ukraine.”

“Last month, I warned that the department had its eyes on every yacht purchased with dirty money,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “This yacht seizure should tell every corrupt Russian oligarch that they cannot hide – not even in the remotest part of the world. We will use every means of enforcing the sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war in Ukraine.”

“This seizure demonstrates the FBI's persistence in pursuing sanctioned Russian oligarchs attempting to evade accountability for their role in jeopardizing our national security,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The FBI, along with our international partners, will continue to seek out those individuals who contribute to the advancement of Russia’s malign activities and ensure they are brought to justice, regardless of where, or how, they attempt to hide.”

“This seizure of Suleiman Kerimov’s vessel, the Amadea, nearly 8,000 miles from Washington, D.C., symbolizes the reach of the Department of Justice as we continue to work with our global partners to disrupt the sense of impunity of those who have supported corruption and the suffering of so many,” said Director Andrew Adams of Task Force KleptoCapture. “This Task Force will continue to bring to bear every resource available in this unprecedented, multinational series of enforcement actions against the Russian regime and its enablers.”

“The U.S. Marshals Service will continue to contribute our expertise in support of Task Force efforts to take possession of seized assets of Russian oligarchs during these forfeiture operations,” said Director Ronald L. Davis of the U.S. Marshals Service. 

The seizure was coordinated through the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export controls, and economic countermeasures that the United States, along with its foreign allies and partners, has imposed in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine. Announced by the Attorney General on March 2 and run out of the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the task force will continue to leverage all of the department’s tools and authorities to combat efforts to evade or undermine the collective actions taken by the U.S. government in response to Russian military aggression.

Upon receipt of a mutual legal assistance request from the United States, Fijian authorities executed the request, obtaining a domestic seizure warrant from a Fijian court.

The Amadea, International Maritime Organization number 1012531, is believed to be worth approximately $300 million or more. The yacht is now in Lautoka, Fiji.

This matter is being investigated by the FBI’s New York Field Office with assistance from the FBI Legal Attaché Office in Canberra, Australia, the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, and the U.S. Embassy in Suva, Fiji.

Trial Attorney Andrew D. Beaty of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section and Trial Attorney Joshua L. Sohn of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section are handling the seizure. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Marshals Service provided significant assistance. The United States thanks the Fijian authorities for their cooperation in this matter.

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Here are the superyachts seized from Russian oligarchs

As part of an international pressure campaign on Russia, authorities from around the world have seized more than a half-dozen superyachts belonging to billionaire oligarchs allied with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The yacht seizures since the Feb. 24 invasion are "just the beginning," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters in March, as an international task force worked to identify further assets that can be seized or frozen.

“The Justice Department will be relentless in our efforts to hold accountable those who facilitate the death and destruction we are witnessing in Ukraine,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said of the ongoing efforts in May.

Here are the superyachts government officials have seized since Russia invaded Ukraine last month.

The Justice Department announced May 5 that the Fijian government had seized billionaire oligarch Suleiman Kerimov 's 348-foot yacht Amadea. The vessel, which is valued at more than $300 million , arrived in Fiji last month. Kerimov, who's worth an estimated $14 billion and has ties to the Russian government, was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department over alleged money laundering in 2018.

Special features on the sprawling yacht include a helipad, infinity pool, a jacuzzi and multiple bars, according to a report in Boat International . It can accommodate 16 overnight guests in addition to 36 crew members, the report said.

In April, Spanish law-enforcement officials seized a 255-foot yacht called the Tango, which Justice Department says is owned by oligarch Viktor Vekselberg. Vekselberg is an aluminum magnate who the Treasury Department says has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Tango is worth an estimated $90 million, prosecutors said , and Vekselberg allegedly purchased it through shell companies. The 11-year-old yacht has seven staterooms and reportedly includes amenities such as a pool, gym and beauty salon .

Authorities in Italy seized a 215-foot superyacht called the Lady M this month. It's owned by Alexei Mordashov, Russia's richest businessman, and it’s estimated to be worth $27 million . The vessel, which requires a crew of 14, has six guest cabins , a pool and a gym.

But it pales in comparison to another of Mordashov's yachts, the $500 million Nord . The 464-foot vessel, which has two helipads and a waterfall and can accommodate 36 guests, was anchored this month in the Seychelles, where the U.S. and European Union sanctions don’t apply.

Italian officials also seized the 132-foot superyacht Lena, owned by the energy magnate Gennady Timchenko. Estimated to be worth $8 million, it has five cabins and can accommodate 10 guests.

SY A — short for Sailing Yacht A — is one of the world's largest superyachts. Valued at over $440 million, the 469-foot vessel, owned by the fertilizer magnate Andrey Melnichenko, has eight decks, multiple elevators, an underwater observation area and the world's tallest masts . It was seized in the Italian port of Trieste.

Authorities in Spain seized Sergei Chemezov's Valerie, a 279-foot superyacht that had been moored in Barcelona. Chemezov , a former KGB officer, heads the state conglomerate Rostec. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez touted the seizure on La Sexta television. “We are talking about a yacht that we estimate is worth $140 million,” Sanchez said.

Officials in France announced this month that they had seized the 289-foot Amore Vero, which was undergoing repairs in a shipyard near Marseille. When they arrived, authorities said, they found the crew preparing for an urgent departure, even though the repair work was scheduled to last through April. The $120 million boat, which has seven cabins , is linked to Igor Sechin, described by the U.S. Treasury Department as a close ally of Putin's.

Dareh Gregorian is a politics reporter for NBC News.

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Russian Says US Is Seizing $300 Million Yacht From Wrong Owner

By Bob Van Voris

The US is seeking to force the sanctioned Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov to forfeit a $300 million superyacht.

Meanwhile, another Russian man who’s not under sanctions claims he’s the owner of the ship, and he’s trying to get it back.

The 348-foot (106-meter) luxury ship Amadea already was seized in Fiji last year at the request of the US government, which on Monday asked a federal judge in New York to formerly transfer its ownership. The Justice Department claims Kerimov routed hundreds of thousands of dollars for maintenance, fuel and fees for the yacht through US financial institutions in violation ...

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Fiji court lets U.S. seize Russian oligarch’s $300 million superyacht

The United States secured a victory in its campaign to punish Russian billionaires for the war in Ukraine when Fiji’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a $300 million yacht owned by a pro-Kremlin oligarch could be seized by American authorities.

The ship, the Amadea, is headed to the United States, Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said in a tweet Tuesday, posting photos of the ship leaving port in Fiji while flying a U.S. flag. “The United States is deeply grateful to the Fijian police and prosecutors whose perseverance and dedication to the rule of law made this action possible,” he said.

The court’s ruling lifted a stay order that had blocked the United States from seizing the yacht.

Yacht justice: A new front in the war drags Russia’s oligarchs into the spotlight

Amadea’s owner is Russian billionaire Suleyman Kerimov , U.S. officials say . The seizure comes about a month after the Justice Department asked Fijian officials for permission to take the yacht after the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Kerimov as part of a group of oligarchs who it says profited from the Russian government through corruption and suspect activity, including the occupation of Crimea. The Treasury Department also said Kerimov was an official of the Russian government and a member of Russia’s upper chamber of parliament.

Fijian authorities seized the ship with assistance from the FBI, executing a U.S. warrant that was approved by Fijian judges. The paper owner of the ship, Millemarin Investments, appealed the seizure in Fijian courts, bringing the case to Fiji’s Supreme Court last week.

Russian oligarch’s $300 million yacht seized by Fiji on behalf of U.S.

But Fijian justices ruled in favor of U.S. authorities. The Amadea “sailed into Fiji waters without any permit and most probably to evade prosecution by the United States,” the justices wrote in their ruling . The yacht “has no interest in Fiji” and “should sail out of Fiji waters,” they said.

Kerimov and his family have a net worth of $9.8 billion, according to E.U. officials. He has received large sums of money from Sergei Roldugin, a caretaker of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offshore wealth, E.U. officials say. He was one of the oligarchs invited to a meeting at the Kremlin on Feb. 24, the first day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to discuss the war and Western sanctions.

Kerimov has made a career out of investing in distressed companies in Russia, according to Forbes . He lost billions in the 2008 financial crisis but recovered by investing in Polyus, a Russian gold producer.

The Amadea is among multiple yachts that the U.S. Treasury Department has targeted. In the early days of the invasion, President Biden warned Russian oligarchs: “We are joining with our European allies to find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets.”

Since then, governments around the world have seized Russian oligarchs’ assets.

Schadenfreude at sea: The Internet is watching with glee as Russian oligarchs’ yachts are seized

In March, Spanish authorities impounded several superyachts — the Crescent in Tarragona, the Valerie in Barcelona ​​and the Lady Anastasia in Majorca’s Port Adriano.

In April, Germany’s federal police said they had impounded the Dilbar , owned by Gulbakhor Ismailova, the sister of Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov. The same month, U.S. authorities seized a 255-foot yacht in Spain owned by Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg , the $90 million Tango.

In May, Italian financial authorities said they had impounded a $700 million yacht linked in media reports and by anti-Kremlin groups to Putin, but did not say who the owner might be.

This month, U.S. authorities identified the $65 million Sea Rhapsody, a ship with ties to Andrei Kostin, the top executive of a Russian bank, and the $156 million Madame Gu, which has ties to Andrei Skoch, a Russian politician, as luxury assets with ties to Putin’s allies, but they have yet to announce any seizures.

Photos show the luxury mega yachts that belong to Russian oligarchs — some of whom have hidden their ships as the UK ramps up sanctions.

• Sanctions targeting Russian oligarchs threaten their luxury assets — including their mega yachts.
• Many countries have implemented sanctions targeting Putin and Russian oligarchs following Russia's attack on Ukraine.
• Insider compiled a photo list of some of the luxury vessels.

Russian billionaires' assets — including their megayachts — are in danger of being seized as countries continue to impose sanctions on Russian oligarchs in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden announced that the US will make a substantial effort to seize Russian oligarchs' assets.

"We are joining with our European allies to find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets," Biden said in his State of The Union address on March 1. "We are coming for your ill-begotten gains."

Since the US is not in "armed conflict" with Russia it may be legally tricky to seize assets like yachts, Insider reported . 

"The threshold for seizing assets under sanctions is that the US has to be in armed conflict with the owner of the assets," Brian O'Toole, an economic sanctions expert, tweeted last Friday. "The idea of turning Russian corruption into Ukrainian assistance is lovely but this idea is illegal, period."

It can also be difficult to find out who the owners of these yachts are.

Offshore companies typically own the luxury vessels, but enough "public speculation" pointing to a Russian oligarch as an owner is likely "sufficient for a seizure," Insider reported . 

Many of the oligarchs moved their yachts to places where they can't be seized, such as the Maldives, which does not have an extradition treaty with the US.

Insider has compiled a list of photos with mega yachts linked to Russian oligarchs.

Galactica Super Nova

Amid sanctions and seizures targeting Russian billionaires, Galactica Super Nova — said to be linked to the CEO of Russian oil firm Lukoil — is no longer detectable via ship tracker site MarineTraffic , The Daily Beast reported Thursday. 

The superyacht — whose owner is named Vagit Alekperov — had just been in Montenegro last week, Insider reported .

Alekperov is not currently the target of any sanctions. 

The yacht is almost 230 feet long and can hold up to 12 guests and 16 crew members, according to the ship maker Heesen Yachts .

The ship also has a helicopter pad that can turn into an outdoor movie theatre, also according to the ship maker.

The Amore Vero

France seized Amore Vero, a 281-foot megayacht linked to oligarch and politician Igor Sechin, on March 3.

The yacht, Amore Vero, is estimated to have a value of $120 million . It has a swimming pool that doubles as a helicopter pad and a private deck for its owner, according to Oceana , the ship maker.

Per The Wall Street Journal , officials believe that Amore Vero is "owned by a company whose majority shareholder was Mr. Sechin," though the outlet does not provide the name of the company.

Sechin is the CEO of Rosneft, Russia's oil giant, and a former deputy prime minister. A known Putin ally , he was sanctioned by both the EU and the US before France seized his yacht last week .

Sechin was one of seven oligarchs sanctioned by the UK on Thursday. 

People in Russia have referred to Sechin as "Darth Vader" and "the scariest man on Earth," according to The Guardian .

Alisher Usmanov has been sanctioned by the EU, the US, the UK, and Switzerland. His boat remains in Germany, but the country says it hasn't seized it.

Usmanov's Dilbar is "is the largest motor yacht in the world by gross tonnage," according to Lürssen , the German ship's maker.

It's 512-foot long and weighs 15,917 tons. The ship has been docked in Germany for months undergoing a "refitting," but last week Forbes reported that it was unable to leave the dock.

Germany, however, has denied that it formally seized Dilbar.

Forbes said that "the German federal customs agency is the 'responsible enforcement authority' and would have to issue an export waiver for the yacht to leave, and that 'no yacht leaves port that is not allowed to do so.'" 

Still, multiple outlets reported that Usmanov has fired the crew on the Dilbar.

The Uzbekistan-born oligarch is a supporter of Putin. 

"I am proud that I know Putin, and the fact that everybody does not like him is not Putin's problem," Usmanov told Forbes  in a 2010 interview. 

Suleyman Kerimov was sanctioned by the US, and his son, Said Kerimov, owns ICE. The superyacht is worth is an estimated $170 million.

The Kerimov family owns the majority of Polyus Gold, Russia's biggest gold producer .

ICE was dubbed "Superyacht of the Year" in 2006 at the World Super Yacht Awards, according to Boat International . It is approximately 300 feet and has its own resident helicopter, according to Club Yacht .

Quantum Blue

Sergey Galitsky's ship, Quantum Blue, has an estimated value of $250 million and is last known to be docked in Monaco.

Galitsky is the founder of one of Russia's largest supermarket chains, Magnit.

His name is not currently on the list of sanctioned Russian oligarchs,

Though he also is not the target of any current sanctions, Vladimir Potanin's superyacht, Nirvana, is one of at least four ships docked in the Maldives .

Potanin is the Former First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia and was a longtime trustee for the Guggenheim museum before stepping down on March 2, according to The New York Times . 

Nirvana is not Potanin's only superyacht, he also owns another named Barbara, according to Fortune .

Alexander Abramov's Titan, Alexei Mordashovis' Nord, and Oleg Deripaska's Clio are also located in the Maldives.

At 533 feet long, Roman Abramovich's Eclipse was the largest yacht on the globe until 2013 when the 590-foot Azzam overthrew it. 

Abramovich, once Russia's richest man , is the departing owner of Chelsea FC soccer club. He was sanctioned by the UK on Thursday along with six other oligarchs, Insider reported .

The luxury boat has a host of amenities, including two helicopter pads, a missile detection system, and a swimming pool more than 50 feet long. It also has space for up to 36 guests and 70 crew members, according to Yacht Harbour .

Insider previously reported that it is currently docked in the Caribbean .

Another yacht named Solaris is linked to Abramovich. The vessel, worth approximately $600 million, left Spain Tuesday after having been under repair since late 2021, Insider reported.

Solaris is 460 feet and can host a total of 36 guests, according to SuperYachtFan .

Tango, owned by the US-sanctioned Viktor Vekselberg, is currently located in Palma, Spain.

Tango can host up to 14 people and is 254 feet long, won the 2012 World Superyacht Awards, and has an estimated worth of $120 million, according to SuperYachtFan .

Vekselberg is a Ukrainian-born businessman who owns Renova, a Russian conglomerate, according to The Guardian .

He was one of nearly two dozen Russian oligarchs and officials that the US sanctioned on Friday.

The US Treasury Department claims that he has close ties with Putin, and has announced that assets such as his $90 million jet and his superyacht Tango have been frozen, Insider reported .

Graceful, a yacht reported to belong to Russian President Vladimir Putin, left Germany just before his invasion of Ukraine, Insider reported in early February.

—Manu Gómez (@GDarkconrad) February 9, 2022

Graceful is 270 feet long and has a saloon, gym, spa, library, and an indoor pool nearly 50 feet long that doubles as a dance floor.

Scheherazade

A mystery yacht remains untouched as the owner remains a mystery.

The owner of the 459-foot Scheherazade is suspected to be a Russian billionaire, though the owner was never publically identified, The New York Times reported .

Many people believe it belongs to Vladimir Putin, nicknaming the vessel "Putin's Yacht."

SuperYachtFan estimates the ship's value sits at $700 million.

Stella Maris

Stella Maris is linked to oil and gas tycoon Rashid Sardarov. It was last seen in Nice, France, according to The Washington Post .

The luxury vessel is priced at $75 million, is 237 feet long, and can hold up to 14 guests, per SuperYachtFan .

Sardarov is not being sanctioned. 

Sailing Yacht A

Sailing Yacht A is believed to belong to Andrey Melnichenko. The boat was seized by Spanish officials Saturday, Reuters reported .

The ship is more than 465 feet long and can hold up to 20 guests, according to SuperYachtFan . The website says that Sailing Yacht A also features an underwater observation area and has a value of more than $500 million.

Melnichenko is an EU-sanctioned Russian billionaire who works in coal and fertilizers, according to Forbes . The magazine also reported that he owns a second yacht, Motor Yacht A, which is similar to a submarine. 

Oligarch Gennady Timchenko's superyacht "Lena" was seized in the port of Sanremo, Italy on March 5, Reuters reported.

Timchenko is the owner of a private investment group, Volga Group and a shareholder of Bank Rossiya. The oligarch has been sanctioned by the EU, which describes him as a "long-time acquaintance of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin."

Timchenko was also sanctioned by the UK on February 22. 

The superyacht is valued at around 50 million euros ($54 million), Reuters reported. It has fold-down terraces, as well as an "owner's suite" which opens out onto the sea with "gull-wing doors," according to its manufacturer, Sanlorenzo.

Italian authorities also seized a $71 million super-yacht belonging to one of the wealthiest men in Russia , Alexei Mordashov. 

The 215-ft "Lady M" superyacht was seized in the Port of Imperia, northern Italy, a source confirmed to Reuters.

The yacht can accommodate up to six guests on and also has accommodation for four crew members, per the Superyacht Times .

The oligarch, who is the chairman of steel mining company, Severstal, has also been sanctioned by the EU, which says Mordashov is "benefiting from his links with Russian decision-makers." Mordashov has insisted he has "absolutely nothing to do" with Russia's attack on Ukraine. 

The Oligarch moved $1.3 billion worth of shares in travel company, TUI, to an offshore tax haven on the day he was hit by sanctions, Insider's Huileng Tan previously reported. 

He was also added to the UK government's sanctions list on March 15.

Some superyachts belonging to Russian billionaires are currently seeking refuge in the Maldives, including a yacht owned by billionaire Oleg Deripaska, Reuters reported.

The billionaire, who is also the founder of one of Russia's largest industrial groups, Basic Element, was added to the UK's sanctions list on March 10.

Also built by Lürssen, the superyacht - which is around 238 feet long - can accommodate 18 guests in nine cabins, per Superyacht Fan.

The superyacht Valerie - worth $140 million - was seized in Barcelona on Monday, Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, said on La Sexta television, per Reuters.  

Sanchez did not confirm the owner of the yacht, but two sources confirmed to Reuters that it belonged to Sergei Chemezov, who is said to be a close ally of Putin.

The oligarch, who was previously a KGB spy with Putin in the former Soviet Union, recently said that Russia would emerge victorious from Western sanctions, Reuters previously reported . 

Chemezov, who is the CEO of Russian defense conglomerate Rostec was added to the US sanctions list on March 3. 

His yacht is 279 feet long and can accommodate 17 guests in eight suites, per Superyacht Fan.

Crescent, most likely owned by Igor Sechin but also rumored to belong to Putin, was the third yacht Spain seized as the West ramps up sanctions, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

The superyacht is 443-feet long and costs an estimated $600 million, according to  SuperyachtFan, which also says the vessel hosts a retractable helicopter hangar and a large pool with a glass bottom.

Lady Anastasia

Lady Anastasia is owned by Russian oligarch Alexander Mikheyev but was seized by Spain on Tuesday, according to Reuters . 

The boat is almost 160 feet long and can hold up to 10 guests, according to Yacht Harbour .

Mikheyev, who was sanctioned by the EU, is the head of a helicopters division under Rostec, New York Mag reported .

• Main content

Watch CBS News

Superyacht seized by U.S. from Russian billionaire arrives in San Diego Bay

June 27, 2022 / 3:40 PM EDT / CBS/AP

A $325 million superyacht seized by the United States from a sanctioned Russian oligarch arrived in San Diego Bay on Monday.

The 348-foot-long (106-meter-long) Amadea flew an American flag as it sailed past the retired aircraft carrier USS Midway and under the Coronado Bridge.

"After a transpacific journey of over 5,000 miles (8,047 kilometers), the Amadea has safely docked in a port within the United States, and will remain in the custody of the U.S. government, pending its anticipated forfeiture and sale," the Department of Justice said in a statement.

The FBI linked the Amadea to the Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, and the vessel became a target of Task Force KleptoCapture, launched in March to seize the assets of Russian oligarchs to put pressure on Russia to end the war in Ukraine. The U.S. said Kerimov secretly bought the vessel last year through various shell companies.

But Justice Department  officials had been stymied  by a legal effort to contest the American seizure warrant and by a yacht crew that refused to sail for the U.S. American officials won a legal battle in Fiji to take the Cayman Islands-flagged superyacht earlier this month. 

The Amadea made a stop in Honolulu Harbor en route to the U.S. mainland. The Amadea boasts  luxury features  such as a helipad, mosaic-tiled pool, lobster tank and a pizza oven, nestled in a décor of "delicate marble and stones" and "precious woods and delicate silk fabrics," according to court documents.

"The successful seizure and transport of Amadea would not have been possible without extraordinary cooperation from our foreign partners in the global effort to enforce U.S. sanctions imposed in response to Russia's unprovoked and unjustified war in Ukraine," the Justice Department said.

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The billionaire's social calendar: The must-attend events for the world's wealthiest business icons

Billionaires are predictable — and they like to stick together.

Each year they attend a standard set of parties, festivals, and conferences.

Here's where you can find a billionaire at any time of year — and how much it will cost you to join in on the fun.

There are around 2,780 billionaires in the world , according to Forbes. That's about 0.00003% of the global population.

And despite their scarcity, these billionaires are surprisingly easy to find . After all, birds of a feather — especially those of a small brood — flock their private jets together. At the start of the year, they descend en masse on Davos. In July, they fly to Sun Valley before, every four years, making their way to the summer Olympics . In December, their yachts anchor in St. Barts.

Here's where billionaires mingle, wheel and deal, and relax, and how you can join them — for a small price, of course.

January: Davos

After billionaires shake off their New Year's Eve hangovers, many make their way to Switzerland for the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos to attend lavish dinners, hit the slopes, and discuss the global problem du jour.

The official event is invite-only and costs tens of thousands per ticket. But those who want to rub shoulders with attendees — think Bill Gates, Marc Benioff, and Mark Zuckerberg — aren't completely barred from the Alpine resort.

Many of Davos' luxury hotels , like the Steigenberger Grandhotel Belvédère and AlpenGold, are closed to the public, so you'd be better off renting an apartment. Those don't come cheap, though. Local outlets reported that rentals went for 10-times their typical prices last year. One apartment with two double beds and a pull-out sofa cost nearly $27,500 to rent for the five nights of the conference.

And good luck finding food. With most of the restaurants booked up for conference events, you may be left paying $43 for a hot dog.

February: Super Bowl

NFL teams are among the most popular toys of the ultrarich : Walmart's Rob Walton has the Broncos, hedge fund manager David Tepper owns the Panthers, real estate tycoon Stanley Kroenke boasts the Rams, Jerry Jones controls the Cowboys, and so on.

So it's no surprise that a number of billionaires flock to the sport's biggest game every year, though Super Bowl weekend as a billionaire involves more than just wings and great commercials.

Host committees and travel agencies have curated luxury experiences for the richest football fans that cost six figures and include chartered jets, five-star accommodations, and access to the field after the game. Suites for this season's game in Las Vegas are going for up to $3 million on rental platform Suite Luxury Group .

There are also the private parties, known for their superstar performers — in some cases, ones particularly familiar with billionaires. Last year, DJ D-Sol, also known as Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, reportedly spun a set at a party attended by billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Apollo cofounder Josh Harris.

March: Hong Kong's Art Basel

Last year marked the grand reopening of Hong Kong's Art Basel after a three-year coronavirus hiatus. Wealthy Chinese carpooled together in private jets to the fair, Bloomberg reported, and spent millions adding to their collections.

In a savvy scheduling maneuver, the 2023 art fair coincided with the Wealth for Good summit. The conference, a push to get more family offices to set up in the city, counted billionaires like Yahoo cofounder Jerry Yang, Sequoia Capital China's Neil Shen, and local real estate magnate Adam Kwok as its attendees.

Artsy clocked more than a dozen seven-figure sales at the art fair, including work like George Condo's "Purple Compression" and Kazuo Shiraga's "Kisan," which sold for $4.75 million and $5 million, respectively. One of the fair's most famous sale's came in 2018, when Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen sold Willem de Kooning's "Untitled XII, 1975" for $35 million to a private collector.

April: The Masters Tournament

Forget Easter. The first signs of spring mean one thing for billionaires: golf.

Each year, the Masters Tournament kicks off the run of major professional golf championships at Augusta National. The famously exclusive club in Georgia — it didn't allow women to join until 2012 — counts a number of billionaires as members.

Pals Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, as well as Warren Stephens, David Ziff, and Stanley Druckenmiller, belong to the club, Bloomberg reported in 2015.

Each year, hundreds of private aircraft land at the airports around Augusta , according to information from the aircraft-tracking website JetSpy .

Billionaires like former Nike CEO Phil Knight, hotelier Robert Rowling, and investor Herbert Allen Jr. all had planes touch down for last year's tournament, according to the Jetspy data. So did Tiger Woods — the only billionaire winner of The Masters.

His victory means he is the proud owner of one of Augusta National's iconic green jackets, which are only allotted to members and Masters winners.

The secretive club hasn't ever spelled out its membership process, but it's invite-only, and new members can only join when existing ones leave.

You can, though, spectate alongside some of the biggest names in business. Tickets for the Masters are available through a lottery system — or for as much as $10,000 on the secondary market.

May: The Cannes Film Festival

Summer starts early for billionaires, who dock their yachts for the Cannes Film Festival at the end of May. While the event is technically reserved for industry professionals, per its website, the super-rich can, of course, pay to play. For them, the fete is as much an opportunity to get a first look at Oscar winners as it is an opportunity to mingle with stars on the Croisette.

It was one of the first stops on Jeff Bezos' 2023 grand debut tour of his $500 million superyacht Koru , which he disembarked to hit up the Vanity Fair party at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, a favorite venue of the very wealthy and those who court them. Other guests included A-listers Robert de Niro, Naomi Campbell, and Pedro Almodovar. In years past, the likes of David Geffen and Len Blavatnik have turned up at the same event.

Billionaires like François-Henri Pinault and the late Paul Allen have hosted their own parties at the film festival: The former throws the Kering Women in Motion Dinner each year, while the latter was known for his themed yacht parties .

Notably missing from the French Riviera this year? The yachts of Russian Oligarchs .

June: The Royal Ascot

While a number of billionaires spend June in the Hamptons or crisscrossing the Mediterranean , some prefer to spend it on dryer land. The headline billionaires at the Royal Ascot — an annual horse race held about 25 miles outside London — are, unsurprisingly, the members of the British royal family.

But many other members of the three comma club, and their hats, are in attendance. The rich crowd is different from the one at a typical F1 Grand Prix , and some billionaire horse owners — like Chanel's Alain and Gerard Wertheimer; the shipping scions of the Niarchos family; Tetra Pak heiress Kirsten Rausing; and construction magnate Anthony Bamford — have even had skin in the game .

For over 200 years, the Royal Ascot has been open to the public — about 300,000 people attend the five-day event — but don't expect to get anywhere near the rich and famous. Joining the Royal Enclosure requires a special application process, including having two sponsors. Plus, there's a strict dress code — no spaghetti straps or bow ties allowed — and kids under 10 years old are not allowed.

July: Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference

Every July, private jets descend on the small town of Hailey, Idaho, for the summer counterpart to Davos: the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference — also known as billionaire summer camp.

Since 1983, boutique investment bank Allen & Co — its president, Herbert Allen, is a billionaire himself — has hosted the event, which attracts the biggest and richest names in business, including Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett, and Rupert Murdoch.

Private planes touch down in the small town of Sun Valley for the conference, which has become known for the deals struck in between rounds of golf, guided hikes, whitewater rafting, and tennis matches. It's where Jeff Bezos snagged The Washington Post for $250 million in 2013 and where the seed for Disney's $19 billion acquisition of ABC was planted in 1995.

This year's hot topics included the planned sale of Paramount to Skydance — with Shari Redstone making a grand entrance — artificial intelligence, and the 2024 election.

The vacation-cum-business-meeting is invite-only and pretty much restricted to masters of the universe dressed in vests and quarter-zips — as well as their entourages. Security is strict, with even the press walled off from most of the wheeling and dealing.

But when the conference is not in session, you, too, can stay at the Sun Valley Lodge , the homebase of the retreat that offers a year-round ice skating rink, luxe spa, and pool with a view of the mountains. The most basic rooms cost upwards of $500 a night over the summer, and suites go for upwards of $1,500. But don't feel too bad for the billionaires, Allen & Co foots the bill.

August: Burning Man

On its face, Burning Man — the anticapitalist art and music festival in the Nevada desert — doesn't really seem like an event for billionaires. But the richest people in the world don't seem to care about whether or not they're wanted.

Since the 1990s, attending Burning Man has become a sort of status symbol of the tech elite. Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page are longtime Burners — the festival inspired the very first Google Doodle — as is Eric Schmidt, who they chose to be Google's CEO.

Facebook cofounders Dustin Moskowitz and Mark Zuckerberg, and Uber cofounder Garrett Camp have also attended. Even Ray Dalio, the billionaire hedge fund manager, wanted to see what all the hype was about, sporting some psychedelic bell bottoms and joining the party in 2019.

While ticket sales were down this year — the event did not sell out for the first time since 2011 — the uber-rich are still attending. Hundreds of private planes descended onto Black Rock City's temporary runway during the first days of the festival. The starting price to charter a plane through Burner Express Air is $9,000, one way.

The experiences of many celebrities and billionaires on the Playa lean less into the "decommodification" and "leave no trace" principles of the festival and more into the "immediacy" one — as in instant gratification. They travel around in tricked-out art cars (basically fancy golf carts) and forego rustic tents for more fancy camps, complete with furniture, air conditioning, and personal chefs who charge six figures for their services.

All of this may be why there was a hefty dose of schadenfreude when Burning Man went underwater , quite literally.

September: The Monaco Yacht Show

There are yachts, and then there are the superyachts — and those are aplenty at the Monaco Yacht Show in Monte Carlo, where billionaires gather at the end of the summer to scope out their new toys. (There are also, technically, megayachts, but for plebeian purposes, they are one and the same.)

The 100-plus boats on display have an average length of 165 feet, and feature elevators, bars, spas, pools, gyms, hot tubs, and helipads — sometimes more than one. Jet skis and submersibles are popular add-ons.

In the past, yachts owned by billionaires like Paul Allen, Steve Wynn, and Pier Luigi Loro Piana have been exhibited at the show — with some available for sale or to charter. The event also used to be a favorite of opulent Russian oligarchs, though sanctions have prevented them from attending for the past couple of years.

This year's show includes the 73-meter yacht Planet Nine, which was featured in Christopher Nolan's "Tenet" and is on sale for nearly $86 million. Making her debut is Kismet, the yacht owned by the billionaire Shahid Khan, the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars. She is available to charter for a starting price of $3.36 million a week.

If you're looking to peruse boats that you can't afford — or maybe meet a billionaire who will invite you on theirs — you're in luck: The Monaco Yacht Show is open to the public for the small price of 600 Euros, or $640, a day.

October: The Frieze Art Fair

The Frieze Art Fair, held annually in London, draws the rich — and the staff of the rich — from around the world looking to add very expensive contemporary art to their collections. (For those who prefer pre 21st century art, there's the nearby Frieze Masters.)

In years past, collectors like Point72's Steve Cohen , Diamond titan Laurence Graff, and the wife of hedge fund legend Louis Bacon, Gabrielle, have all been spotted. While exactly which works these patrons have bought tend to be kept under wraps, pieces go for millions of dollars each year.

While anyone can buy tickets to the fair itself — this year for as low as £46, or $57 — the fetes surrounding Frieze Week are a more surefire place to spot a billionaire — or their younger, edgier heirs. A look at party snaps from the last few years show Gordon Getty's granddaughter Ivy Getty, Cohen's daughter Sophia, and Roger Penske's granddaughter Sophia mingling with art-world celebrities, and possibly looking for some six-figure works of art to add to their starter collections.

November: Le Bal des Débutantes

Le Bal des Débutantes continues the centuries-long tradition of rich, famous women reminding society that they are, well, rich and famous.

The ball is invite-only, and no one, not even billionaires, can buy their way in — at least that's what Ophélie Renouard, the founder of the ball's current iteration, told Insider. Renouard handpicks the cohort of about 20 women each year, who go to Paris for a weekend of photoshoots, makeup and hair appointments, and traditional waltzes.

Past debutantes have included royalty like Princess Hélène of Orléans and Princess Akshita Bhanj Deo; children of Hollywood elite like Forest Whitaker's daughters Autumn and True, and Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillipe's daughter Ava; and, of course, the heiresses of billion dollar fortunes like Araminta Mellon, Kayla Rockefeller, Laila Blavatnik, and Amanda Hearst, usually with their very wealthy and very powerful parents in tow.

As is often the case for the rich — and rich nepo babies, in particular — things come free: The weekend's dance lessons, couture gowns, glam squads, and jewels are paid for by sponsors.

December: New Year in St. Barts

Billionaires ring in the New Year seemingly anywhere but at home. And while Aspen and Maldives are popular choices for the wintering elite, there is perhaps nowhere with more billionaires-per-square foot during the holidays than St. Barts.

In years past, the Caribbean island, formally Saint-Barthélemy, has attracted yachts owned by the likes of David Geffen, Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg, and Bernard Arnault for year-end festivities.

Unfortunately for the poor rich, one of the most infamous St. Barts New Year's parties will be canceled this year. Roman Abramovich — the former Chelsea FC owner, sanctioned Russian billionaire, and unlikely hero of St. Barts — will not be hosting his multi-million dollar extravaganza, which has featured performances from Prince and Beyoncé; millions worth of food and alcohol; and guests like Orlando Bloom and Rupert Murdoch.

Guess they'll have to buy tickets to Nikki Beach's party like the rest of us.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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