Newly arrived in Ibiza, the Laurel -built in 2006- held for many years the prestigious title of the largest private yacht built in the United States and is valued at no more and no less than 66 million euros. The price to rent it is precisely along these lines and is not suitable for all pockets: about 525,000 euros per week plus expenses.
Originally owned by Charles Berwind, of Berwind Corporation, the ship was acquired by the new Yorker Tom Golisano, founder of Paychex, for just over €45 million in 2010. Golisano not only founded Paychex, a leading provider of payroll and HR services for small and medium-sized companies, he is also known for starting the Golisano Foundation, which supports charitable causes in areas such as healthcare and education.
The luxury yacht Laurel has the capacity to accommodate 12 guests in seven staterooms thanks to her 73 meters in length. It has five decks connected by an elevator, a three-story glass sculpture as a monumental centerpiece, main hall with huge windows, a panoramic observation lounge, library, sky lounge and multimedia room.
Image of a room on the ship / Superyacht
The lower deck has a beach club that converts to a swim platform when deployed, with direct access to the sea, and storage space for tenders and leisure equipment. With up to 24 crew members on board, it includes highly specialized personnel, such as diving instructor, masseuse, physical trainer, etc.
As for the anecdotes of its owner, this multimillionaire founded his company when he was 30 years old, with a young son with intellectual disabilities and just when he had just lost his job as a payroll services salesman. Instead of giving up, he asked himself, “Why are payroll services only meant for large companies?” With barely 2.500 euros and a credit card he founded Paychex from his kitchen table. He gathered some accountant friends and proposed a revolutionary system: split the service among several small companies, with local support but centralized software. At the time, no one was betting on SMEs.
Years later, that humble start-up became one of the largest companies in its sector. Today Paychex manages the payroll of more than 700,000 companies in the U.S. and employs more than 15,000 people.
In addition, this visionary participated in New York politics as a gubernatorial candidate in 1994, 1998 and 2002 for the Independent Party, raising millions of dollars but never winning. In 2006, the former President Bill Clinton asked him to become a founding sponsor of the Clinton Global Initiativegolisano personally reviewed budget by budget with Clinton, treating this experience as a business.
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.