Microsoft co-founder Allen’s secret Middle East visit

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You have to admire the celebrity-worship of the Israeli press. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen recently came to Israel on vacation, with his 301-foot long yacht Tatoosh. Like clockwork, we now have stories of his secret mission in Israel and of his secret jaunt inside the country. Allen has banned journalists from covering his visit.

Allen is allegedly visiting a “marine archaeological site” off Israel’s coast. The Tatoosh, the 26th-largest motor yacht in the world, was too large to dock in any Israel marina. Instead, it anchored at the Ashdod port while Allen landed in Israel via airplane and took a helicopter from Ben-Gurion Airport to the Tatoosh.

Allen is the 32nd richest person in the world and has an estimated wealth of $10.5 billion.

The Tatoosh carries a 30-person crew, multiple helicopters, six surface boats (including a 54-foot racing yacht and two catamarans), a swimming pool, a spa and a submarine.

But Allen has an even larger yacht – the 413-foot-long Octopus which is staffed by a crew of 60 including a security team of former Navy SEALs.

If there is another plutocrat better set to discreetly entertain Middle Eastern leaders, we haven’t met him. But discreet visits usually don’t happen in megayachts, unless there’s someone to impress.