The magnificent superyacht Dilbar was commissioned by the Russian tycoon Alisher Usmanov for around US$263 million. According to Forbes, the business magnate Alisher Usmanov is the world’s richest Russian and also the second richest man living in the United Kingdom. With a net worth estimated at over US$16 billion, this is not surprising. Usmanov built his substantial wealth through the lucrative metal and mining industries and by following up his initial success in business with a range of clever investments that resulted in further accumulation of wealth. He holds vested interests in the media, publishing and mobile telecom industries. Investments include shares in Groupon, Zynga and Twitter. Usmanov is rumoured to have sold his Facebook shares recently.
Dilbar
Alisher Usmanov (source: Wikipedia)
Built by the German master shipbuilding company Lürssen, Dilbar was launched in 2008. The yacht obviously holds a place dear to Alisher Usmanov’s heart as it was named after his late mother Dilbar Usmanova – a Russian linguistics teacher. Dilbar is 361 feet long (110m), weighs more than 4,000 tons and is constructed with steel. The superyacht has an aluminium superstructure.
Known as a generous philanthropist, Alisher Usmanov is also environmentally conscious. His yacht is the world’s first environmentally mindful superyacht. The main engine exhausts are built with particle filters that reduce carbon emissions. Despite being constructed with the conservation of the environment in mind, Dilbar is a mechanically superior vessel with top performance abilities; she can travel at a cruise speed of over 18 knots and at a maximum speed of 21 knots.
Comfort and style
Dilbar was built by Lürssen, and comfortably accommodates up to 20 passengers in nine luxurious suites and can also provide well-appointed lodgings for up to 47 crew members. Her grand design is of a standard the yachting world has come to expect from the multi-award winning yacht designer Tim Heywood, while the beautiful ship’s lavish interior was designed by Alberto Pinto – one of the top designers regularly used by the affluent across the globe. The superyacht offers amenities like a Jacuzzi, a swimming pool and two helipads. Dilbar is considered the younger sister of the superyacht Pelorus, owned by Usmanov’s fellow Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and also built by Lürssen.
Building yachts for kings and stars
Founded in 1875, Lürssen is known as a leading superyacht builder throughout the world. Some of the famous yachts the company built are David Geffen’s Rising Sun, Paul Allen’s Octopus and the world’s biggest private yacht, Azzam, originally commissioned by the president of the United Arab Emirates Khalifa Al Nahyan.
The obvious pleasures of a Russian billionaire
Besides his luxurious yacht and his private jet, an Airbus 340, Alisher Usmanov also has two very impressive estate homes. A Grade I five century old Tudor mansion spread over 300 landscaped acres in Surrey, UK, and a Grade II Regency-style villa in London, UK which used to belong to the oil baron J. Paul Getty. The oligarch also holds a substantial stake in one of the most popular British football teams, Arsenal.
