When you become a billionaire, you run into a whole new class of problems that you sometimes have to deal with.
For instance, those making minimum wage at a Burger King somewhere, while honorable work, may not have the luxuries of the billionaire lifestyle - but at least they never have to worry about slamming their super-yacht into the side of a prized coral reef off the coast of Belize.
Because that's the problem that hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb is being forced to deal with this week. Loeb's yacht damaged what is being called a "pristine reef" near the famous Great Blue Hole outside of Belize, according to Bloomberg.
Loeb's 200 foot yacht was filmed last Sunday anchored at Belize's Lighthouse Reef Atoll. Spokespeople say Loeb was not on the yacht at the time and the Financial Times has reported there will be an official investigation.
A spokesperson for Belize's department of the environment said Loeb's yacht caused the damage: “Samadhi on Sunday lowered the anchor in a very sensitive area of Belize. Officers are doing an investigation. We know that damage was done,” the spokesperson to FT.
Loeb responded: “As a life-long surfer and someone who loves the ocean, I was horrified to hear about this incident in Belize. We promptly contacted the Belize Audubon Society (a conservation group) and are committed to working together to restore the reef.”
Loeb acquired his super-yacht back in 2013 from former Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill. It's offered as for charter on several websites for about $360,000 per week.
The yacht was on a charter trip at the time when its anchor was dragged through the coral. According to Bloomberg, the barrier reef outside of Belize "is a Unesco World Heritage site and the largest of its kind in the northern hemisphere."
It was once called “the most remarkable reef in the West Indies” by Charles Darwin.
Professor Daniel Parsons, director of the energy and environment institute at the University of Hull in the UK and a member of a 2018 expedition with Richard Branson that mapped the reef, told the Financial Times:
“These very fragile ecosystems are under significant stress already. So any additional stress that’s placed on them, the reef in that location where it’s been damaged has probably not got the capacity to recover.”
We expect the Belize Audubon Society will be getting a sizable check from Mr. Loeb in the coming weeks...


