this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2024
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Summary

  • Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy, and Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo are among those missing after a British yacht sank in Sicily
  • British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah are also missing
  • The yacht sank in bad weather in the early hours of Monday - 15 were rescued, six are missing, and a man’s body has been recovered
  • The body has not been formally identified, but the Palermo coastguard said it was the ship’s cook
  • The search is continuing on Tuesday - access to the boat’s cabins has been blocked by furniture
  • Separately, it has emerged that Mike Lynch’s co-defendant in a recent major legal case, Stephen Chamberlain, died on Saturday in a road accident
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[–] [email protected] 81 points 2 months ago (4 children)

Now, now. Disaster is a bit excessive when all that's been missing is some billionaires, don't you think?

[–] [email protected] 58 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I mean, there's also a bunch of staff on those yachts who didn't deserve to be eaten by orcas.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Plus at least some environmental damage that results from any boat sinking.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

I have it on good authority that that isn't an issue in this instance. They've towed the boat outside of the environment.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

The BBC are reporting that all staff were rescued except for the cook whose body has been recovered for what it's worth.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

That's good news I guess, kind of.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago
[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 months ago

AFAIK Mike Lynch was the highest net worth individual on the yacht and Reuters says his net worth is ~$450 million so there may actually not be any missing billionaires. (The Evening Standard claims he had a net worth of £986.4 million which would make him a billionaire in USD but rich lists are often BS so I'm going off what was claimed in court)

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Eh, hoping that 18 year old Hannah will be found, she probably hasn't done anything yet.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

well and how is this very different than a car crash. people die there to but we just accept it more because its common.

[–] [email protected] 42 points 2 months ago

Condolences to the crew and their families, and only the crew and their families.

[–] [email protected] 40 points 2 months ago (1 children)

if only Poseidon could claim even more billionaires for us...

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 months ago (2 children)

That's useless. The money is just going to their heir(s).

[–] [email protected] 21 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Ahem, I have a doctorate in crusader kings 2. A few more rounds of gavelkind will destroy their family

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago

May I kindly recommend the intrigue focus? Usually brings up a reason to throw that surplus offspring into the dungeon real fast.

Also antagonizing them until they challenge you to a duel is also a good strategy.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

Or the CK2/3 goodbye AKA assassinating every heir one by one until there's none left.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Who will probably spend it all instead of hoarding it until they're broke at 35 and need to find a real job.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

a real boom to the economy

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Yeah, it unironically would be. Nothing boosts a consumption based economy like previously hoarded wealth being spent on actual goods and services.

Which is why MC Hammer and Ringo Starr have both been much better for the US economy than for example Mark Zuckerberg ever was.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

i mean yeah i was making my statement SOMEWHAT bitterly as a jab at billionaire "job creators" but it's absolutely true that what drives an economy is the DEMAND SIDE being able to actually pay for shit X3 which is why i'm a proponent of universal basic income. It sucks wealth out of the places where it's congealed and stagnant (rich people) and circulates it up through the people who actually spend it on their needs

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

I agree, with one important caveat: in order to work properly, UBI must be paired with price controls. Otherwise, the profiteers will simply raise prices even more, canceling it out.

Combining both UBI and price controls on everything needed to survive and support yourself in a modern society (housing, food, water, electricity, heating and/or aircondition, transportation, internet), though, would be EXTREMELY beneficial to literally all of society!

[–] [email protected] 39 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I haven't been following this, but this thing was pretty large. Did it not have a lifeboat?

kagis

Apparently it did, and a few people made it into it, but not all.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy3el37z4po

Karsten Borner, captain of a nearby boat, said after the storm had passed, the crew noticed the yacht that had been behind them had disappeared.

"We saw a red flare, so my first mate and I went to the position, and we found this life raft drifting," he told Reuters.

His crew took on board some survivors, including three who were seriously injured.

Sounds like it might have flipped pretty quickly, rather than being a slow sinking:

Witnesses told Italian news agency Ansa that the Bayesian’s anchor was down when the storm struck, causing the 72m (236ft) aluminium mast to break in half and the ship to lose its balance and sink.

The ship's unusually tall mast may have contributed to its sinking, according to Matthew Schanck, chair of the Maritime Search and Rescue Council.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the mast acted almost like a sail in the strong wind "especially with it being so high".

The extreme winds could have caught the mast and pushed the yacht over, he said.

One of the survivors, British tourist Charlotte Golunski, told Italian newspaper La Repubblica how she held up her one-year-old daughter Sofia to stop her from drowning.

She said the two of them and her partner James survived only because they were up on deck when the yacht sank.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

Thank you, Kagi

[–] [email protected] 22 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Was it orcas? Are orcas going to start the revolution by violently suppressing the bourgeoisie?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

Yes, it was orcas, and that's exactly what's going to happen.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Everyone here joking about Orcas when we could be talking about how this boat got hit by a fucking tornado.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)

A fucking tornado hell-bent on consuming billionaires??? Yes, please. I'll take two!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

This disaster movie will be a fan favorite.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 months ago

Funny how this gets plastered all over the news as tens of thousands have been drowning in the Mediterranean for years now without anyone paying much attention.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago

If only the ocean could continue to eat the rich!

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago (2 children)

This is getting suspicious.

A bitcoin whale wallet seems to have had $230+ million btc stolen on Monday as well.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Hacked Bitcoin whale may have lost $238m

What is your theory? That the ocean's apparent vengeance on billionaires extends to bitcoin whales?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The co-defendant from the lawsuit also dying is more specifically suspicious, the btc "hack" happening at the same time is just a potential cherry on top.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I found it odd that the two co-defendants died within days of each other. But it's hard to imagine that it was a conspiracy, given that the yacht sank because of a storm. I don't see any connection to the bitcoin hack.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The storm must have been caused by judicious Cloud Seeding.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I think you may have your tin foil hat on too tight 😆

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

Dude! They only work if they're on tight!

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

The yacht seemingly sank because of the storm, but we don't have enough confirmed evidence to make that a factual consideration yet, just a guess. There are a lot of pieces that may connect. The missing people include very high wealth individuals, and the lawsuit angle creates a connection for potential malfeasance.

What better cover story would work to hide several crimes? Its not necessarily a conspiracy of crime, but it has some weird timing.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago (9 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

Not OP but it would be far easier to contrive getting the boat to the storm. Most ships nowadays (particularly big ones) have autopilot. GPS interference or maybe even hacking (I'd bet a billionaires yacht has sattelite internet) could get it off-course without being too noticeable.

Is it probable? No. Is it possible? Yes.

It might be worth raising an eyebrow and asking the question at least.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

OH NO! Anyways...

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I heard in the news that this yacht costs hundreds of thousands to hire. They probably had a "business meeting" on board, and most likely would have claimed the cost for renting the yacht as "business expenses" for tax purposes. Just saying.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

They owned the yacht, they were the ones collecting the fee.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Double dipping!

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