It was on the Florida Boat Show in the 1990s that the American president - one of the richest men in the world - met Oliver Design. At the time, it was a young company that had the audacity to appear alongside the greatest naval designers at the Florida Boat Show. It was following a private visit to the boat show that Donald Trump chose the small Spanish studio to design his gigantic yacht.
And Donald Trump had already clearly had the idea of impressing the gallery, as he had indicated in a letter of intent to Jaime Oliver "I'm interested in building a 420-foot yacht, which, when completed, will be not only the largest yacht in the world, but also the most beautiful in the world."
Letter of Intent from Donald Trump
Donald Trump and Jaime Oliver in 1993
To design this luxurious 420-foot yacht, Donald Trump paid $170,000 to Oliver Design, a small Spanish naval design and engineering firm. Talks with the Spanish shipyard Astilleros Españoles (now Navantia) had been initiated. But the project was quickly aborted without any precise explanations. However, the decision was probably not unrelated to the bankruptcy of several family hotels and casinos. According to some sources, by early 1994, his companies had accumulated a collaborative debt of $3.5 billion, while Donald Trump had a personal debt of about $900 million.
The billionaire already had some knowledge of yachts, since in 1988 he bought the "Yacht of the Year" Kingdom 5KR "(formerly owned by Saudi billionaire Adnan Khashoggi) to the Sultan of Brunei. Renamed " Trump Princess " the yacht had been sold to a Saudi prince. This spectacular boat had moreover been used as the floating headquarters of the villain in the James Bond movie "Never Say Never Again", the last opus of the saga starring Sean Connery.
The largest and most luxurious yacht in the world
The Spanish firm has kept in its archives the plans of what would have been at the time the largest yacht in the world. "Trump Princess" would have had 4 decks, a heliport, luxury two-storey suites, sophisticated lounges, a swimming pool, Jacuzzis and a gallery decorated with palm trees, which could have had several uses.
Lounge
Owner's Suite
Salon
