Who Owns the Octopus Yacht Now? Inside Paul Allen’s 414-Foot Legacy

Who owns the Octopus yacht? The short answer: Roger Samuelsson, a Swedish pharmaceutical billionaire, purchased the vessel in 2021 for approximately $275 million. But if you stop there, you miss everything that makes this particular ownership transfer one of the more fascinating stories in the superyacht world. I’ve spent a lot of time researching the mega-yacht market — partly out of professional curiosity, partly because I once made the mistake of assuming these boats were just floating mansions for people who get bored of their land mansions. Octopus corrected that assumption fast.

Who Owns the Octopus Yacht in 2026?

Roger Samuelsson. Swedish. Pharmaceutical sector. Billionaire. Those four facts are the ones that circulate most, and they’re correct as far as they go.

Samuelsson finalized the purchase in 2021, roughly three years after Paul Allen’s death in October 2018. The price tag — reported consistently around $275 million — made it one of the most expensive superyacht transactions in recorded history. To put that in context, that figure is more than the GDP of some small island nations, and it still reportedly represented a discount from the yacht’s original construction cost when you factor in the specialized scientific equipment built into the hull.

As of 2026, Octopus remains one of the largest and most technically sophisticated privately owned vessels on the water. Samuelsson has kept a relatively low profile compared to Allen’s more public persona, but the yacht has continued to appear at major ports and remains — at least partially — available for private charter through select brokers. More on that later.

Why Paul Allen Built Octopus

This is the section most people skip. Don’t.

Paul Allen wasn’t building a status symbol when he commissioned Octopus in the late 1990s. Or rather — he wasn’t only building a status symbol. Allen had a documented obsession with ocean exploration that went well beyond recreational diving. He co-founded Microsoft, yes, but he also funded the Allen Institute for Brain Science, backed SpaceShipOne, and poured money into a dozen scientific endeavors that had no obvious commercial return. The ocean was another frontier in the same category.

Octopus was delivered in 2003 by Lürssen, the Bremen-based German shipyard that has built some of the most technically demanding superyachts in existence. The vessel stretches 414 feet — about 126 meters — which put it in rare company at the time of its launch. But the length isn’t the point. The equipment is the point.

Allen equipped Octopus with two submarines. Two. A remotely operated vehicle system capable of reaching significant ocean depths. A dedicated decompression chamber. Two helicopters with a helipad large enough to accommodate them. A recording studio below deck. A basketball court. A glass-bottomed swimming pool that lets you look into the sea below the hull.

Motivated by his passion for underwater discovery, Allen used the yacht to fund and participate in genuine deep-sea exploration — including helping locate several historically significant shipwrecks. In 2015, the Octopus crew helped locate the wreck of the USS Indianapolis, the WWII heavy cruiser whose story was dramatized in Jaws. That wasn’t a PR stunt. Allen’s team had been working on the search for years using the yacht’s ROVs.

The recording studio, by the way, is not a token gesture. It’s a full professional setup. Allen was an accomplished guitarist who jammed with artists including Bono and Mick Jagger. The studio was built to a standard where actual recording sessions happened aboard.

What Happened to Octopus When Paul Allen Died in 2018

Allen died on October 15, 2018, from complications related to non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He was 65. He was not married and had no children. His estate — estimated north of $20 billion — passed under the management of his sister Jody Allen and a team of trustees charged with executing a complex philanthropic plan.

Octopus presented a specific problem. It wasn’t liquid. You can’t sell a 414-foot superyacht on a Tuesday afternoon and have the money in an account by Friday. The vessel costs an estimated $20–30 million per year just to operate — crew salaries, fuel, maintenance, insurance, port fees. The crew alone numbers around 60 people full-time. Those costs keep accruing whether the yacht is being used or not.

Probably should have opened with this section, honestly, because it reframes the entire $275 million sale question. The estate wasn’t necessarily looking for top dollar. They were looking for someone who could actually take on the operational burden of what Octopus demands. That’s a different qualification process than selling a painting or a portfolio of stocks.

The trustees reportedly listed the vessel shortly after Allen’s death. It appeared in superyacht brokerage listings with asking prices in the $325–$350 million range at various points, though pricing at this level is negotiated rather than fixed. The vessel continued operating during the sales process — continuing some scientific mission work and making select charter appearances — partly to keep the crew employed and partly to prevent the mechanical degradation that comes from leaving a vessel this complex idle for extended periods.

The $275 Million Sale — Why It Took 3 Years to Find a Buyer

Three years is a long time to sell anything. For a superyacht, though, it’s not unusual at this price point. The global market for vessels priced above $200 million is genuinely small — we’re talking about a buyer pool measured in dozens, not hundreds.

Consider the math a potential buyer faces. You write a check for $275 million to acquire the vessel. Then you accept an ongoing operational burn rate of roughly $20–30 million annually. You need a full-time captain and crew of 60+ people. You need to manage insurance across international maritime jurisdictions. You need berth arrangements at ports that can actually accommodate a 414-foot vessel, which significantly limits your options compared to smaller yachts.

Then there’s the specialized equipment. The submarines require certified operators and separate maintenance schedules. The ROV systems are not plug-and-play — they need dedicated technicians. The decompression chamber needs medical certification. A buyer at this level isn’t just buying a boat; they’re acquiring a small naval operation.

Several potential buyers reportedly toured the vessel during the 2019–2021 window. None pulled the trigger until Samuelsson. Whether others were scared off by the complexity, the price, or the ongoing cost structure isn’t publicly documented. What is documented is that the final transaction closed in 2021 at approximately $275 million — below initial asking prices but still firmly one of the top superyacht sales in history.

Roger Samuelsson — Who Is Octopus’s New Owner?

Here’s where my research hit a wall I wasn’t expecting. Samuelsson is notably private. Not reclusive in a suspicious way — just not a person who courts press coverage or maintains a public-facing profile the way Allen did.

What’s established: Samuelsson built his wealth in the pharmaceutical sector in Sweden. Sweden has produced a handful of pharmaceutical billionaires over the past three decades, largely connected to the growth of companies like Recipharm, Oriola, and various biotech ventures that scaled during the European pharmaceutical boom of the 1990s and 2000s. Samuelsson’s specific business history isn’t exhaustively documented in English-language sources, which makes independent verification of precise figures difficult.

What’s reported: His net worth is estimated in the several-billion-dollar range. He has interests in real estate and other asset classes beyond pharmaceuticals. He’s known in Swedish financial circles but doesn’t seek out international media attention.

Why Octopus specifically? That’s an interesting question. At $275 million, there were other large superyachts on the market at any given point in 2020–2021. He didn’t need to buy the most operationally complex vessel afloat. The working theory among the superyacht press is that Samuelsson was attracted precisely to what made Octopus hard to sell — the scientific capability, the submarines, the ROVs. He’s reportedly an ocean enthusiast. Whether he’s continued Allen’s tradition of funding actual deep-sea research missions isn’t publicly confirmed, but the yacht’s equipment profile makes that use case plausible.

Driven by an apparent interest in both luxury and oceanography, Samuelsson acquired a vessel that few people in the world could actually operate meaningfully — and paid accordingly for the privilege.

What Does Octopus Do Now?

Octopus has been spotted at major Mediterranean ports — Palma de Mallorca, Monaco, various Greek island stops — during the European summer seasons since the 2021 sale. It’s also appeared in the Caribbean during winter months, which tracks with typical superyacht seasonal migration patterns.

Charter availability is the question I get asked most when this comes up. And the honest answer is: yes, Octopus has been listed for charter, but at figures that reflect its operational cost structure. Charter rates for vessels at this tier typically run $700,000 to $1.2 million per week or more, before expenses. That’s not a number you negotiate into from a travel budget — it’s the domain of heads of state, tech founders post-liquidity event, and the occasional entertainment industry figure with genuinely unusual wealth.

The scientific mission equipment — the submarines, the ROVs — their current operational status under Samuelsson’s ownership isn’t publicly confirmed in detail. The vessels remain fitted with the equipment, as far as exterior and harbor observation goes. Whether active research missions continue is a different question. Allen’s missions were notable partly because he documented them and published findings. Samuelsson hasn’t established an equivalent public program, but absence of press releases doesn’t mean absence of activity.

Inside Octopus — The Most Impressive Features

Let me run through the specifications that actually matter, because the Wikipedia summary undersells most of them.

The Submarines

Octopus carries two. One is reportedly capable of diving to around 30 meters and accommodates multiple passengers — essentially a leisure submersible. The second is a more capable research-grade vessel. Having two is unusual even at this price tier. Most superyachts with submarine capability carry one, and many of those are small single-person or two-person units. Two full-scale submersibles on a private yacht reflects Allen’s serious intent toward ocean exploration rather than novelty.

The ROV Systems

The remotely operated vehicles carried aboard Octopus are capable of reaching depths far beyond what any manned submersible on a private yacht could safely manage. These are the systems that located the USS Indianapolis wreck and have been used in multiple other significant deep-water searches. They’re not consumer-grade — they’re the kind of equipment oceanographic research vessels deploy.

The Helicopter Capacity

Two helicopters. The helipad is sized to accommodate them simultaneously. This matters operationally because it transforms the yacht’s logistics profile — you’re not limited to port access for crew and guest transfers, and emergency medical evacuation becomes significantly more practical at remote locations.

The Recording Studio

Below deck, Octopus contains a professional recording studio that was installed to Allen’s specification. Reportedly equipped to commercial studio standard — not a hobbyist setup. This is the detail that surprises most people when they first encounter it. A 414-foot yacht with a recording studio capable of hosting actual sessions is genuinely unusual, reflecting Allen’s dual obsessions with music and the ocean.

The Crew Infrastructure

Running Octopus requires roughly 57–60 permanent crew members. That’s a headcount larger than many small businesses. The crew hierarchy includes a captain, first officer, chief engineer, and specialists for the submarines, ROVs, helicopters, medical systems, and guest services. Managing that many specialists in a confined marine environment is its own logistical discipline. The operational cost structure this creates — estimated at $20–30 million annually — is one of the primary reasons the yacht took three years to find a buyer willing to inherit it.

The Glass-Bottomed Pool

This one gets undersold in most coverage. The swimming pool on Octopus has a glass bottom — positioned so that swimmers can see directly into the ocean below the hull. On a vessel this size, that’s not a gimmick. It’s an architectural statement about what the boat is for. You’re meant to be aware of the water around you at all times. Allen built that into the DNA of the vessel from the keel up.

Octopus was never just a superyacht. It was a statement about what private wealth could accomplish in ocean exploration — and now it’s Roger Samuelsson’s statement to make. Whether he continues the scientific tradition Allen established or keeps it closer to private use, he owns one of the most capable private vessels ever constructed. At $275 million plus $25 million a year to run, that’s either the most expensive hobby on earth or a legitimate research platform. Knowing what Allen built, probably both.