they had not paid their designer

He superyacht that Steve Jobs designed during the last five years of his life he was on the verge of never reaching the high seas. Not because of a technical failure or a temporary fault, but because someone reported that Jobs’ heirs had not paid what they owed. the ship Venus was seized in the port of Amsterdam by court order without the possibility of carrying out its maiden voyage.

The person responsible for the blockage was designer Philippe Starck, who had worked with Jobs on the project. His lawsuit had an explanation that goes far beyond a simple unpaid invoice: it was overconfidence with Jobs.

Five years designing the perfect boat

Jobs was involved in the design of his yacht Venus with the same obsession that he put into every Apple product. As and as happened with Jony Ive with the design of the iMac, Macbook, iPod and, of course, with the iPhone, Jobs worked closely with Philippe Starck for years to define every detail of what the Venus.

From the outer silhouette to the woods of the interiors, looking for a result that combined elegance and technology in a way that no boat had achieved before.

The agreement between the two was closed with the same informality that characterized many of Jobs’ relationships of trust. Starck would charge 6% of the total project cost as compensation for his design work. There was not the slightest doubt among them as to what this deal entailed.

The problem is that Jobs died in October 2011 without having seen the Venus finished, and without having settled the final remuneration of the designer. As and as explained to Reuters the lawyer representing Starck’s company: “These guys had a lot of trust in each other, so there wasn’t a very detailed contract.” What during Jobs’ life was an agreement between people who respected each other, became a source of conflict with his heirs after his death.

Two different figures for the same boat

Starck’s remuneration was linked to 6% of the cost of the Venusan agreement that seemed simple until the time came to implement it. The original budget for the project was around €150 million, which would have left the designer with a commission of €9 million. The problem is that the ship ended up costing 105 million euros, and Jobs’ heirs argued that it was that final cost, and not the initial budget, that was the figure on which the payment should be calculated.

Applying 6% to the actual construction cost, Starck’s commission was reduced to about 6 million euros, three million less than he considered he was entitled to.

In the absence of an agreement, Starck turned to a debt collection agency and obtained a court order that detained the Venus in the port of Amsterdam without the possibility of making its maiden voyage until the debt was paid. The Port spokesperson confirmed the situation to the BBC: “The boat is new, but there is a claim of 3 million euros on it. The parties will have to resolve it.”

The dispute was resolved just a few days later. According to reported Le MondeJobs’ heirs paid Starck an amount that neither party wanted to make public, and the Venus was free to navigate. There were no statements or details about whether the payment was in line with what the designer claimed or if an intermediate agreement was reached.

The attorney for the owners of the Venus made no public comment at any point in the process, the case was closed as quietly as it had begun, and the ship left the dock of Amsterdam without anyone explaining how exactly the account had been settled.

The ship that Jobs never saw

He Venus It is a superyacht easily recognizable by its 80 meters in length and its sharp, high-waisted silhouette simulating a blade cutting the waves. The superyacht was built in the shipyards Feadship from the Netherlands, the same ones that built the launchpad by Mark Zuckerberg.

Its navigation technology is managed by seven 27-inch iMacs installed on the bridge, and the interior design combine glassaluminum and wood with three-meter-high windows that flood the spaces with light.

Jobs never set foot on it. He Venus was given directly to his widowLaurene Powell Jobs, a year after the death of the Apple co-founder, and it is she who has enjoyed it since then. Jobs was aware that he was designing a yacht that he might never see completed. Walter Isaacson stated in his biography of Jobs: “I know that it is possible that I die and leave Laurene with a half-built ship, but I have to continue. If I don’t, it is a recognition that I am about to die.”

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Image | Flickr (Jimmy Baikovicius), Feadship, Apple