Industrialist Andrey Melnichenko owns majority stakes in fertilizer producer Eurochem, coal producer SUEK, and power generator SGK. His first venture in the early 1990s was a chain of currency-exchange booths from which he cofounded MDM Bank. He later founded Eurochem, SUEK, and pipe exporter TMK, with Sergei Popov, a former metals trader from Ural with whom he started working in 2000. Six years later, the partners began divvying up their assets and entirely separated by 2012, with Popov getting the bank and Melnichenko getting the other assets.
In 2015, Melnichenko unveiled Sailing Yacht A, reportedly one of the world’s largest sailing yacht, purchased for $400 million. He also has a megayacht, Motor Yacht A, that resembles a submarine and estimated to be worth a quarter of a billion dollars. Melnichenko owns a collection of Impressionist art, including pieces by Claude Monet, some of which hang inside his yachts. He is married to Aleksandra Nikolic, a Serbian former model.
His first superyacht was called Motor Yacht A, and his newest boat wears the equally austere name, Sailing Yacht A. But, Sailing Yacht A, or The White Pearlas it’s come to be known is anything but austere.
With its sleek profile and three carbon fiber, cantilevered masts, Sailing Yacht A looks like an ocean-going space craft. A hybrid, diesel electric drivetrain reportedly provides motivation when the wind dies down and propels it at up to 20 knots.
Not much is know about the interior, but it was reportedly designed by architect Phillipe Starck and can accommodate up to 20 guests in absolute luxury along with a massive 54 person crew.
