Jobs family, designer Starck reach agreement on payment

An agreement between the Jobs family and designer Philippe Starck has resolved a dispute that saw one of the late Steve Jobs' final projects, a 263-foot custom-designed mega-yacht called "Venus," impounded in an Amsterdam dock. The argument stemmed from Starck's contention that he hadn't been fully paid for his work, with the Jobs family saying that his fee was contingent on the final cost of the yacht, which actually came in under budget.

The project was originally budgeted for up to 150 million Euros ($198 million), but was finished following Jobs' death for only $138.5 million, meaning Starck was to receive much less than the nearly $12 million he was originally projected to receive (his fee was based on six percent of the ship's value). Jobs began the project years before his death, after a cruise between Italy and Turkey. Like many Apple products, the ship is mainly made of aluminum and glass, and even uses 27-inch iMacs for navigation.

After his death, Jobs' widow Laurene Powell-Jobs met with Starck to complete the project. Paris newspaper Le Monde first reported the resolution, quoting from a Jobs family lawyer. Details of the final agreement were not revealed, but the lawyer hinted that Starck did not receive the full fee he had originally asked for.

by MacNN Staff