The Rising Sun, the most hated giga yacht during the lockdown, has left Genoa.

The 138-meter giga yacht Rising Sun, owned by American millionaire David Geffen, has just left its mooring at the Marina Molo Vecchio in the port of Genoa, heading towards the western Mediterranean. The vessel was spotted anchored in Amalfi in mid-July and has recently been the subject of heated controversy, which has certainly not helped improve public perceptions of large pleasure vessels.

This vessel, built by the German shipyard Lurssen in 2004, has a gross tonnage of 7.841, an estimated value of over 500 million dollars and is ranked 22nd in the list of the largest yachts ever built and 12th among those built by the German shipyard.

In March 2020, during the peak of the pandemic and the various lockdowns around the world, this huge yacht – or rather its owner – had been at the centre of heated controversy on social networks and therefore in various media due to an (unfortunate) tweet in which Geffen, “isolated” on board with 45 crew and staff, was in the Caribbean archipelago of the Grenadines hoping that the rest of the world was “as safe” as he was.

The reactions of ordinary mortals were inevitable, more indignant than ironic, which forced Geffen to delete his Instagram account.

Geffen, now 80, is a film and record producer, founder of Asylum Records, Geffen Records, DGC and also co-founder of DreamWorks, together with Steven Spielberg.

He is also an avid art collector and philanthropist, having donated extensively to American hospitals, schools, and charities.

As a shipowner, he previously owned the 115-metre Pelorus, purchased in 2011 by Roman Abramovic for 300 million.

After a couple of weeks along the Campania coast, the Rising Sun stopped in Genoa for three days from July 31st to August 2nd.

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