Bill Gates' $80 million Riviera superyacht berths hit the market after hydrogen yacht plan unravels

Luxury yacht watchers are doing a double-take after reports that two French Riviera berths tied to Bill Gates' hydrogen yacht project are being sold.

As Luxurylaunches reported, those spaces were part of a costly marina arrangement created for a plan that never came together as intended.

What happened?

At issue are a pair of high-profile berths at Port Vauban in Antibes on Billionaires' Quay, the outlet noted. Gates took them in 2020 under a lease said to run for at least 20 years, paying €63 million (~$80 million) for a broader hydrogen-yacht effort, as Challenges reported.

Breakthrough, Feadship's 118.8-meter (~390-foot) hydrogen yacht, and Wayfinder, the 68-meter (223-foot) support vessel, were the two vessels these spaces were meant to serve, per Luxurylaunches. Identified as "A01" and "A02," the pair includes a 140-meter (~459-foot) primary berth and a 70-meter (~230-foot) secondary berth, the publication said.

To ready the marina for those yachts, Port Vauban carried out about €7.1 million (~$8.2 million) in work, including a major extension of the main mole. Last year, Luxurylaunches reported the port became the first marina anywhere able to supply liquid hydrogen to a superyacht, which it demonstrated when Breakthrough refueled there. 

Even so, Gates never turned Antibes into his personal base, and both yachts were later sold to Canadian billionaire Patrick Dovigi, undoing the larger plan.

Why does it matter?

The listing highlights how much money went into a luxury project built around berth rights worth tens of millions of euros, even though the development ended before the owner ever stepped aboard.

It also leaves behind a hydrogen infrastructure at Port Vauban that could have uses beyond the superyacht market.

Shipping remains a major source of planet-warming pollution, and cleaner fuels have applications well beyond the superyacht world, if they can be produced economically.

Early investments can help prove out lower-pollution systems, even if access arrives first in elite settings.

What are people saying?

Much of the reaction has focused on the contradiction that the berths were created for a tightly linked yacht setup, but that setup no longer exists.

Luxurylaunches pointed out how scarce berths like these are, noting that only a small number in southern France can handle vessels of this size while touting their security, amenities, and access to nearby facilities and perks. They could now fetch several tens of millions of euros from the next buyer, Riviera Radio reported.

"That leaves the next buyer with something arguably more difficult to acquire than a superyacht itself: a permanent foothold on one of the most exclusive stretches of waterfront in the Mediterranean," Luxurylaunches concluded.

Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.