Russian billionaire buys most expensive private jet – reports
Russian businessman Roman Abramovich has reportedly acquired a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner jet worth $350 million, the most expensive private jet in Russia to date, Forbes magazine wrote, citing sources in the aviation market.
A spokesman for Millhouse, the company that manages Abramovich’s assets, declined to comment on the news.
However, according to Flightradar24 data, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft had indeed arrived from Basel to Moscow’s Vnukovo airport on December 18, where private aviation is serviced. The next day the plane flew from Moscow to St. Martin in the Caribbean.
According to Forbes, there are only 250 such aircraft in the world, and this one is the first in Russia. Mexico’s president had used a Boeing Dreamliner as his presidential plane, and the only other privately-owned Dreamliner belonged to UAS International Trip Support, which operates global luxury charter jet service ‘Dream Jet’. Other than that, the aircraft type is largely owned and operated by major airline companies.
According to the media, Abramovich’s Dreamliner was built in 2015 for a private airline operator from Switzerland, PrivatAir. It was never handed over to the company, which filed for bankruptcy in 2018. In 2019, the aircraft was reportedly re-equipped to suit Abramovich’s needs.
The base value of the aircraft is reportedly $248.3 million, but sources say additional equipment cost at least another $100 million. In November, media reported that Abramovich put his old private jet, a Boeing 767-300ER, up for sale for an estimated $100 million. That plane was widely known as ‘Bandit,’ due to the black tint on its cockpit windows.
Abramovich’s fortune is estimated at $14.5 billion, he is currently Russia’s 12th richest businessman, and is best known for owning the UK’s Chelsea Football Club.
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