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Publishing Mogul Malcolm Forbes's Fabulous Life Aboard The Highlander

By Mitchell Owens

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Then called The Highlander, publisher Malcolm S. Forbes’s fifth yacht by that name sails through New York Harbor in the 1980s. Jon Bannenberg, a world-renowned London-based boat designer, was responsible for the sleek vessel, which was topped with a helipad for Forbes’s gold-painted Bell Jet Ranger helicopter. New owners Joanne and Roberto de Guardiola have extensively renovated the boat, dropping the “the” from its name as well as lengthening Highlander to turn what was a largely business-related craft designed to host as many as 140 guests into a family-friendly vessel.

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Malcolm S. Forbes posed aboard The Highlander with one of the two Harley-Davidson motorcycles he kept on board.

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The bell on *The Highlander’*s foredeck; the windowed observation salon behind it is now the De Guardiolas’ master cabin.

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A view of Forbes’s observation salon. Boat designer Jon Bannenberg, who also decorated the interiors, turned octagonal lacquered chests into cocktail tables by adding glass tops. Padded-leather ceilings were used throughout as soundproofing.

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Scale models of Forbes’s Highlander yachts (arranged in chronological order from top) are displayed in a mirrored cabinet in the fantail salon; to the right is a painting by Charles Raskob Robinson.

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Another view of the main salon, showing the bird’s-eye maple paneling that then lined The Highlander. On the side table stands Moby Dick , a Steuben glass sculpture by Sidney Waugh and Donald Pollard; hidden peach-color lights illuminated each step of the staircase, and the potted palm and ficus trees recall the lush flora displays on Edwardian ocean liners.

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Maritime dioramas by Arthur Clark are shown in individual cases in the fantail salon; the banquettes were made by Donghia.

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Guests were welcomed aboard The Highlander by a steward dressed in traditional Scottish regalia and playing a bagpipe, shown here in the sundeck lounge; the plaid fabric is the Forbes family tartan.

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Forbes displayed an 18th-century Thomas Gainsborough portrait in the main salon; its subject is the third earl of Bristol. The furnishings include leather-clad banquettes and Georgian side chairs (at left).

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In the dining salon hung a 1937 Raoul Dufy watercolor depicting a mast and rigging on the Queen Mary ocean liner. Champagne buckets with Normandie provenance are displayed on the sideboard with other silver hollowware.

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The entrance to the dining salon is flanked by antique pilasters that designer Jon Bannenberg worked into the modern paneling; the 19th-century woodwork once graced Queen Victoria’s stateroom aboard the royal paddle steamer Osborne. Chippendale chairs flank the dining table, which is set with silver candelabra in the shape of stags’ heads (part of the Forbes family crest) and silver plates and flatware from the SS United States.

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Forbes’s own cabin features a built-in banquette, Italian green-marble accents, and a quilted-leather ceiling. On the leather-clad cabinet at left stands a diorama of HMS Bluebell, a Royal Navy corvette that served in World War II, and a Charles Parks bronze figure of a youth with seagulls; joining them is a Philip R. Morris watercolor. The window offers a view of *The Highlander’*s wake. As the boat’s owner proudly told Architectural Digest, “I don’t think too many boats since the Spanish galleons have had great rear windows.”

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Another view of Forbes’s cabin, showing the built-in daybed. A battle scene hangs above the bed, whose spread is made of a Donghia fabric.

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Signal flags are stored in a niche in the paneling; the clocks show the time at Forbes’s properties around the world: the 3,500-acre Laucala Island in Fiji; the 17th-century Château de Balleroy in Normandy, France; the 170,000-acre Trinchera Ranch in Colorado; and The Highlander.

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Malcolm S. Forbes and close friend Elizabeth Taylor on board The Highlander in 1988. The pair met in the mid ‘80s, and as their friendship grew, the publisher, an avid biker, taught her how to ride a motorcycle. Eventually Forbes would give her a purple-painted Harley-Davidson Sportster (purple was one of her favorite colors and referenced her famous “violet” eyes) as well as several pieces of jewelry and an antique Fabergé picture frame. The two also traveled the world aboard The Highlander, sometimes heading up the Hudson River to see football games at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point; on one trip to Thailand, the actress brought 37 pieces of Louis Vuitton luggage.

By Nora Taylor

By Alia Akkam

By Kristine Hansen

By Lola Ogunnaike

August 23 2021

23 Aug 2021

BOAT OF THE WEEK: INSIDE MALCOLM FORBES'S ICONIC 'HIGHLANDER,' ONCE THE ULTIMATE '80S PARTY YACHT.

This Bannenberg-designed 162-footer hosted everyone from rock stars to world leaders. After a major refit, she's now looking for a new owner.

If these teak decks could talk. Paul McCartney tinkling the ivory keyboard. Elizabeth Taylor sunning herself on the top deck. Margaret Thatcher discussing world peace with Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Harrison Ford taking a turn at the wheel.

Back in the 1980s, an invitation from  Forbes  magazine owner and consummate  bon vivant , Malcolm Forbes, to join him aboard his beloved superyacht   The Highlander  was a reason for celebration.

And Forbes was a master when it came to celebrating. His first of many Fourth of July parties aboard  The Highlander , anchored off Governors Island in New York Harbor, saw the world’s greatest movers and shakers piped aboard by tartan-clad Scottish bagpipers.

There on the yacht’s decks were the likes of Fiat boss Gianni Agnelli, Henry and Nancy Kissinger, David and Peggy Rockefeller and Brooke Astor. More than 150 Maine lobsters and 30 pounds of Scottish smoked salmon were reportedly flown in to feed the elite crowd.

During the five years Forbes owned the yacht, before his death in 1990, she traveled the globe; everywhere from then Communist China, to Bora-Bora, to Thailand, the Philippines and Alaska.

Launched in 1985, this was the last of five Forbes-owned yachts named  The Highlander,  after his family’s Scottish roots. But this one was unique. Designed by world-renowned designer Jon Bannenberg and built in Holland by Feadship, her dark green hull—said to be the color of dollar bills—stretched 162 feet bow to stern.

“She was nicknamed ‘The Ultimate Capitalist Tool’ for good reason,” the yacht’s current owner, New York-based interior designer Joanne de Guardiola told  Robb Report . “Anyone who was anyone stepped aboard at some time during the ’80s.”

De Guardiola and her husband, investment banker Roberto de Guardiola, bought  The Highlander  from the Forbes estate back in 2012. And just as she’d done with the couple’s previous Feadship, the classic 159-foot  Audacia , de Guardiola commissioned a top-to-bottom refit, this time with Florida’s Derecktor Shipyards.

“We had no thoughts of buying another yacht; we loved Audacia. But back in 2012, we had heard The Highlander was for sale and I went to take a look. She was not in great shape, but as a huge fan of Jon Bannenberg’s designs, and knowing her amazing history, we couldn’t resist,” she said.

The exhaustive, two-year refit took the steel and aluminum superyacht down to the studs. The yacht was extended by 12 feet to add a swim deck and rear “garage” for water toys; the top deck was lengthened. Effectively doubling its size, and the master stateroom was moved to where the observatory used to be.

The entire interior was redesigned and refitted with more modern materials and finishes. Out went the padded leather ceilings, the somber, dark green carpets and ornate Chippendale antique chairs; in went bleached-white Anigre paneling, wide-planked dark wood flooring, and brightly colored pop art.

One especially jaw-dropping feature de Guardiola created was the stunning, open-tread marble staircase from salon to upper deck. That and the new, glass-enclosed sky lounge with its disco vibe and blue onyx floor.

“The yacht didn’t really suit a family’s needs—she was really designed for Malcolm Forbes-style corporate entertaining,” says de Guardiola. “And if you wanted to splash in the water, you had to jump over the sides. Mr. Forbes didn’t like to swim.”

But de Guardiola is quick to add that her primary focus with the refit was evolving and not compromising Jon Bannenberg’s iconic design. “That’s what attracted me to the yacht in the first place.”

Mechanical improvements included the installation of Quantum zero speed stabilizers and full rebuilds for the trusty 900 hp Detroit Diesels. They still give the yacht a top speed of 18 mph, cruising at an easy 14 mph with transatlantic capability.

With kids in mind,  Highlander —de Guardiola dropped the “the” —is brimming with water toys. Everything from Waverunners, Seabobs, banana floats and kayaks, to Malcolm Forbes’ much-loved, Ferrari-red 22-foot Donzi speedboat. Sadly, his other favorite, a custom-built Cigarette Racing powerboat, is no more. After being fully restored during the refit, the boat caught fire while  Highlander  was anchored off the Amalfi Coast in Italy.

“My husband was just heading off with our daughter and friends when the fire broke out,” de Guardiola says. “Everyone ended up in the water but were okay. It was one cool boat. It ran at over 60 mph.”

Since the refit, the de Guardiolas have taken friends and family all around the Mediterranean, hanging out at the Monaco Grand Prix, Cannes Film Festival, and hitting most of the Greek islands. Winters were in the Caribbean. Typically, they spent eight to 10 weeks a year aboard.

So why the decision to sell? De Guardiola says she’s looking for her next project: “As with my interior design work, I love the intellectual challenge of a makeover. It’s also time. We feel we’ve been good custodians. Now someone else should enjoy her.”

©robbreport

By SuperyachtNews 17 Sep 2015

Taking the high road

In 2012 the de guardiolas purchased one of the most iconic yachts from the past half-century from the forbes’ heirs, the 1986 feadship 'the highlander'. bryony mccabe speaks to the woman behind the restoration of such a celebrated yacht.….

“To me it was all about going back to the lines that Bannenberg is known for and to
 the organics of what he tried to do."

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Boat of the Week: Inside Malcolm Forbes’s Iconic ‘Highlander,’ Once the Ultimate ’80s Party Yacht

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If these teak decks could talk. Paul McCartney tinkling the ivory keyboard. Elizabeth Taylor sunning herself on the top deck. Margaret Thatcher discussing world peace with Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Harrison Ford taking a turn at the wheel.

Back in the 1980s, an invitation from Forbes magazine owner and consummate bon vivant , Malcolm Forbes , to join him aboard his beloved superyacht The Highlander was a reason for celebration.

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And Forbes was a master when it came to celebrating. His first of many Fourth of July parties aboard The Highlander , anchored off Governors Island in New York Harbor, saw the world’s greatest movers and shakers piped aboard by tartan-clad Scottish bagpipers.

<img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1234631010 size-large" src=" https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?w=1000&quot ; alt="Joanne de Guardiola’s interior design is light and sometimes whimsical, as opposed to Highlander ‘s previous formal, corporate look. - Credit: Courtesy IYC" width="1000" height="563" srcset="https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg 1000w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=150,84 150w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=980,551 980w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=640,360 640w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=320,180 320w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=660,371 660w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=480,270 480w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=960,540 960w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=230,129 230w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=184,103 184w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=170,96 170w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=600,338 600w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=125,70 125w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=110,62 110w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=285,160 285w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=800,450 800w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /> Courtesy IYC

There on the yacht’s decks were the likes of Fiat boss Gianni Agnelli, Henry and Nancy Kissinger, David and Peggy Rockefeller and Brooke Astor. More than 150 Maine lobsters and 30 pounds of Scottish smoked salmon were reportedly flown in to feed the elite crowd.

During the five years Forbes owned the yacht, before his death in 1990, she traveled the globe; everywhere from then Communist China, to Bora-Bora, to Thailand, the Philippines and Alaska.

Launched in 1985, this was the last of five Forbes-owned yachts named The Highlander, after his family’s Scottish roots. But this one was unique. Designed by world-renowned designer Jon Bannenberg and built in Holland by Feadship , her dark green hull—said to be the color of dollar bills—stretched 162 feet bow to stern.

<img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1234631066 size-large" src=" https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?w=1000&quot ; alt="Malcolm Forbes used The Highlander , which traveled around the world, to entertain political leaders, celebrities and other billionaires. - Credit: Courtesy John Barrett/Celebrity Archaeology/The Mega Agency" width="1000" height="563" srcset="https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg 1000w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=150,84 150w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=980,551 980w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=640,360 640w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=320,180 320w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=660,371 660w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=480,270 480w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=960,540 960w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=230,129 230w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=184,103 184w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=170,96 170w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=600,338 600w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=125,70 125w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=110,62 110w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=285,160 285w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=800,450 800w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /> Courtesy John Barrett/Celebrity Archaeology/The Mega Agency

“She was nicknamed ‘The Ultimate Capitalist Tool’ for good reason,” the yacht’s current owner, New York-based interior designer Joanne de Guardiola told Robb Report . “Anyone who was anyone stepped aboard at some time during the ’80s.”

De Guardiola and her husband, investment banker Roberto de Guardiola, bought The Highlander from the Forbes estate back in 2012. And just as she’d done with the couple’s previous Feadship, the classic 159-foot Audacia , de Guardiola commissioned a top-to-bottom refit, this time with Florida’s Derecktor Shipyards.

“We had no thoughts of buying another yacht; we loved Audacia. But back in 2012, we had heard The Highlander was for sale and I went to take a look. She was not in great shape, but as a huge fan of Jon Bannenberg’s designs, and knowing her amazing history, we couldn’t resist,” she said.

Courtesy Jim Raycroft

The exhaustive, two-year refit took the steel and aluminum superyacht down to the studs. The yacht was extended by 12 feet to add a swim deck and rear “garage” for water toys; the top deck was lengthened. Effectively doubling its size, and the master stateroom was moved to where the observatory used to be.

The entire interior was redesigned and refitted with more modern materials and finishes. Out went the padded leather ceilings, the somber, dark green carpets and ornate Chippendale antique chairs; in went bleached-white Anigre paneling, wide-planked dark wood flooring, and brightly colored pop art.

One especially jaw-dropping feature de Guardiola created was the stunning, open-tread marble staircase from salon to upper deck. That and the new, glass-enclosed sky lounge with its disco vibe and blue onyx floor.

<img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1234631013 size-large" src=" https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?w=1000&quot ; alt="The top deck nearly doubled in size during Highlander ‘s two-year refit. - Credit: Courtesy IYC" width="1000" height="562" srcset="https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg 1000w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=150,84 150w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=660,371 660w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=980,551 980w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=640,360 640w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=320,180 320w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=480,270 480w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=960,540 960w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=230,129 230w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=184,103 184w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=170,96 170w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=600,338 600w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=125,70 125w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=110,62 110w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=285,160 285w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=800,450 800w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /> Courtesy IYC

“The yacht didn’t really suit a family’s needs—she was really designed for Malcolm Forbes-style corporate entertaining,” says de Guardiola. “And if you wanted to splash in the water, you had to jump over the sides. Mr. Forbes didn’t like to swim.”

But de Guardiola is quick to add that her primary focus with the refit was evolving and not compromising Jon Bannenberg’s iconic design. “That’s what attracted me to the yacht in the first place.”

Mechanical improvements included the installation of Quantum zero speed stabilizers and full rebuilds for the trusty 900 hp Detroit Diesels. They still give the yacht a top speed of 18 mph, cruising at an easy 14 mph with transatlantic capability.

<img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1234631011 size-large" src=" https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?w=1000&quot ; alt="One of Highlander ‘s lounges. - Credit: Courtesy IYC" width="1000" height="563" srcset="https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg 1000w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=150,84 150w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=980,551 980w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=640,360 640w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=320,180 320w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=660,371 660w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=480,270 480w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=960,540 960w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=230,129 230w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=184,103 184w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=170,96 170w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=600,338 600w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=125,70 125w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=110,62 110w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=285,160 285w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=800,450 800w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /> Courtesy IYC

With kids in mind, Highlander —de Guardiola dropped the “the”—is brimming with water toys. Everything from Waverunners, Seabobs, banana floats and kayaks, to Malcolm Forbes’ much-loved, Ferrari-red 22-foot Donzi speedboat. Sadly, his other favorite, a custom-built Cigarette Racing powerboat, is no more. After being fully restored during the refit, the boat caught fire while Highlander was anchored off the Amalfi Coast in Italy.

“My husband was just heading off with our daughter and friends when the fire broke out,” de Guardiola says. “Everyone ended up in the water but were okay. It was one cool boat. It ran at over 60 mph.”

Since the refit, the de Guardiolas have taken friends and family all around the Mediterranean, hanging out at the Monaco Grand Prix, Cannes Film Festival, and hitting most of the Greek islands. Winters were in the Caribbean. Typically, they spent eight to 10 weeks a year aboard.

<img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1234631068 size-large" src=" https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?w=1000&quot ; alt="A young Harrison Ford, taking the wheel of Highlander , was one of many celebrity guests in the 1980s. - Credit: Courtesy The Highlander Archive" width="1000" height="563" srcset="https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg 1000w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=150,84 150w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=980,551 980w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=640,360 640w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=320,180 320w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=660,371 660w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=480,270 480w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=960,540 960w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=230,129 230w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=184,103 184w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=170,96 170w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=600,338 600w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=125,70 125w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=110,62 110w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=285,160 285w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=800,450 800w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /> Courtesy The Highlander Archive

So why the decision to sell? De Guardiola says she’s looking for her next project: “As with my interior design work, I love the intellectual challenge of a makeover. It’s also time. We feel we’ve been good custodians. Now someone else should enjoy her.”

Highlande r is listed with IYC in Fort Lauderdale for $8.5 million.

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Malcolm Forbes` Iconic Yacht The Highlander Now Available for Charter

By Brody Patterson

Updated on August 31, 2017

One of the most iconic ships in the world of business, the superyacht Highlander is, for the first time, available for charter.

The ship was built in 1986 for millionaire publisher and businessman Malcolm Forbes, a man known for his extravagant lifestyle and lavish parties. Among the many illustrious guests Forbes entertained on this stunning vessel were Elizabeth Taylor (who was a close friend of his), Prince Charles, Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Robert de Niro, Harrison Ford, Paul McCartney, and Mick Jagger.

The yacht is now owned by American financier Roberto de Guardiola, who purchased it in 2012 and had it undergo a comprehensive overhaul, a process which included interior changes, lengthening of the hull, major mechanical revamp, and a full paint job. The ship is now 162-feet long and has a cruising speed of 13 knots. Up to twelve guests can be accommodated in its six staterooms, with adequate spaces for the eleven crew members left as well.

The Highlander, which is currently based in the Mediterranean but is set to move to the Caribbean later this year, is available for charter through superyacht broker Edmiston.

About Brody Patterson

Brody has worked as a full time staff writer for Luxatic for over five years, covering luxury news, product releases and in-depth reviews, and specializing in verticals on the website alongside the tech & leisure section, as well as men's fashion, watches and travel. Learn more about Luxatic's Editorial Process .

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Family updates Highlander, a former Malcolm Forbes yacht

As an interior designer who loves yachting, Joanne de Guardiola bought Malcolm Forbes’ last yacht, Highlander, took it down to the studs, and remade his corporate-entertaining yacht into something she and her husband, Roberto, could enjoy with family and friends.

“I am a big fan of Jon Bannenberg, its designer, and it’s a Feadship, which are the best of the best. Bannenberg only designed three or four Feadships,” Joanne de Guardiola says.

She and husband were acquainted with the Forbes family, and they knew the yacht was available.

“It was one of those things,” de Guardiola says. “We took a look at it, and ended up buying it. She’s a great boat, and I loved her.”

Roberto grew up on the water in Havana, and boating has always been part of his life. Not so Joanne; she grew up in Michigan.

“Roberto and I chartered a few times, and I fell in love with boats. About a dozen years ago, we bought our first Feadship, Audacia,” she says.

“With kids 8, 10, or 12, they are not on their phones or computers all the time, and doing water sports with them is fun. We have this inflatable gym that you can get flipped off of, banana floats, kayaks, paddleboards, Seabobs. Everyone has a blast. Being on the water is phenomenal for families.”

They keep their yacht in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, depending on the season, and they spend about 10 weeks a year on it. Some of their favorite trips have been to Ponza Island, Istanbul, Greece, Croatia and Venice. The Palm Beachers now are planning a trip to Capri, and they are hoping to go to the Galapagos Islands soon.

Highlander, launched in 1986, was legendary, de Guardiola says.

“People often come up and talk to our crew because they have fond memories of being on board with Malcolm.”

When preparing to renovate and redecorate, de Guardiola studied Bannenberg’s original designs; she looked at the yacht’s bones, and let them lead her.

“I cleaned up exterior lines, and I took off the teak handrails. It broke my heart, but that change makes the boat look younger.” She repainted the yacht a slightly lighter shade of green, removed striping and extended sidewalls where necessary.

She also extended the top deck forward, doubling its size, and added “brows” for a finished look and to provide shade.

She moved the satellites to the stacks, which made room for a custom Jacuzzi with fountains that change color for a fun water feature.

Secured aft are Forbes’ Cigarette boat and Donzi, which de Guardiola also renovated. The space between them, where Forbes used to keep his motorcycles, now has a big sun pad.

Water accessible

De Guardiola extended the lower deck, making it more accessible to the water.

“Malcolm didn’t swim, and that’s why I designed a swim platform like floating stairs at the back. We can sit on it, or raise it up and use it for diving, or we can lower it down in rough waters for swimming. We can also use it as a passerelle.”

Throughout, she rearranged the interiors to make them work for her family’s lifestyle.

“This (162-foot) boat (with seven cabins as well as room for 11 crew) has a lot of interior space, and I actually cut a room out,” she says.

On the main deck, the salon and media room now flow together. De Guardiola removed padding from the ceilings and walls, replacing it with bleached-white anigre paneling, European walnut trim and bronze ceiling squares. She put in a wide-plank dark-oak floor, and she changed window boxes to match the shape of the windows. Also, she designed a stunning floating stairway in Brazilian granite, creating a very dramatic focal point.

Contemporary furniture, covered in practical indoor-outdoor Perennials textiles from David Sutherland, is functional as well as beautiful. For example, in the media room, furniture includes bronze and parchment tables by Holly Hunt, a Le Corbusier chaise, and a custom bronze bench.

Exotic anigre wood covers the walls in the master stateroom, which is located on the main deck forward, where de Guardiola designed a floating bed in custom woods. “We raised it up off the floor, so that when sitting on the bed, we can look out the surround windows. This room used to be the observatory and we decided to moved the master to this location.” The stateroom also includes closets, his and her marble bathrooms, and, on this deck are Roberto’s office and the galley.

On the bridge deck, a custom dining table can seat two or it can be extended to seat 18 people. Placed around it are Philippe Starck aluminum and teak chairs designed for David Sutherland. The sky lounge, with a disco vibe, is completely glass, with a blue onyx floor and a custom bar.

“It’s a greenhouse room, with the windows coming up around, so you can sit in there when anchored off of Monaco, for example, and you see the twinkling skyline. It’s fantastic.”

On a boat, you get to be inventive on how to use space on different ways, she says.

“Bannenberg played with angles and circles, and was very innovative. I am really proud that I was able to update the boat, and you can’t tell where the boat has been altered. It was a complicated process.”

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Property of the month: 5 reasons to buy this historic Hamptons mansion

The hamptons has something for everyone.

Picture courtesy of iStock Photo

An established beach retreat for smart New Yorkers, the Hamptons’ pick-and-mix of characterful towns offer properties as luxurious as your yacht perfect for those seeking an East Coast bolthole. The Hamptons are as much a social scene as a summer destination. People buy properties here not just for somewhere to unwind between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day, but as somewhere to don expensive linen shirts and hit VIP beach parties. Each village has its own unique seaside vibe: smart, pared back, bookish. The old whaling port of Sag Harbor is known for its arts scene and trendy restaurants, Southampton hosts the financiers, and Montauk is a popular party town with millennials.

The flight from New York takes just 35 minutes. Helicopter operator Blade, a sort of Uber for Wall Street types, operates weekend flights from Manhattan to the Hamptons. Useful for quick trips to your beach pad.

It mixes history with hedonism

All property images courtesy of Alamy/Jake Rajs

During America’s Gilded Age, the late 19th century era of excess popularised by Mark Twain, a new industrial elite built mansions to suit their wealthy lifestyles. Eminent architects began to design enormous houses that mimicked the castles of Europe, replete with grand marble staircases, high vaulted ceilings and white and gold Rococo panelling.

With the sinking of the Titanic and later the 1929 Stock Market crash, such ostentatious design fell out of favour, but many of the mansions remain, monuments to an emboldened era. One such house at 92 Coopers Neck Lane in Southampton is currently on the market at $32.5 million. The 1890s house was purchased in the early 1900s by Thomas Morrison Carnegie Jr, nephew of the great steel industrialist Andrew Carnegie, and owned by the family until the 1950s. One can imagine the summer parties that must have been held at that time, pre-Prohibition cocktails in the hands of Vanderbilt heiresses and Hollywood stars such as Gary Cooper, who owned a property nearby.

It's purpose built for summer entertaining

This particular 1,115m² property was one of the original “summer cottages” for which the Hamptons are famous, built with plenty of bedrooms for guests and staff, says the agent, Molly Ferrer of Sotheby’s International Realty. 
“Southampton has long been popular with New York’s finance set and the current owners are no exception. New Yorkers often have lots of friends in this Hamptons village and it’s a great place for them to spend the summer, especially in a house like this, which is so well-suited to entertaining.”

The shingle-style house, set on 1.9 hectares and a short walk from the beach, is owned by investment banker Roberto de Guardiola of De Guardiola Advisors, and his wife Joanne, an interior designer. The couple bought the property in 1994 and have carried out extensive renovations, including the restoration of original custom decorative plaster mouldings such as the cove ceiling in the living room.

The three-storey house has 11 bedrooms, two of which are in a separate guest apartment in the north wing of the house with a separate entrance. A 139.3 square metre stable, now used for entertaining, has been completely uprooted and moved closer to the main house, and there is also a heated pool and a tennis court.

You can keep your yacht close by

The De Guardiolas are moving partly because they spend an increasing amount of time on their yacht, Highlander . The 49.45 metre boat, which they bought from the late entrepreneur Malcolm Forbes, has hosted a guest list the Carnegies would have approved of, including Ronald Reagan, Mick Jagger and Liz Taylor. Most Southampton residents moor their yachts at the protected port in nearby Sag Harbor, at the private Sag Harbor Yacht Club or one of the two public marinas, which can accommodate boats of more than 30 metres. Few dock at their home although a few waterfront properties with yacht moorings do exist.

The Hamptons is a foodie paradise

Unsurprisingly, Southampton is not cheap. Coopers Neck Lane was recently ranked number eight on the 15 most expensive streets in the US, according to online real estate site Zillow. With a median home value of $11.87 million, it was the only road in New York State to make the list.

For these sorts of prices you will be in walking distance of some of the finest food and drinking scenes in New York State and arguably the country. Try Tutto Il Giorno, an Italian restaurant, which has rustic seafood dishes and outposts in Southampton and Sag Harbor. The American Hotel Restaurant in Sag Harbor is great for celebrity spotting. There are also plenty of laid-back beach bars, including Bay Kitchen Bar in East Hampton, with its daily happy hour special featuring $1 oysters and $5 glasses of rosé, or Rick’s Crabby Cowboy Café in Montauk, which has firepits and serves up s’mores (that’s a sort of chocolate marshmallow sandwich to you non-Americans). Montauk is about a 30-minute drive from Sag Harbor and about 40 minutes from Southampton.

On the market with Sotheby’s International Realty. +631 513 9895, sothebyshomes.com .

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Financier flips Palm Beach home for $14M, an 80% markup in eight months

Buyer is Gretchen Jordan, wife of private equity boss Jay W. Jordan II

• Kate Hinsche

A financier flipped a non-waterfront Palm Beach home to the wife of a private equity boss for $14 million — an 80 percent markup in eight months.

Records show Roberto de Guardiola, via an LLC named for the address, sold the home at 515 North Lake Way to Gretchen S. Jordan, in an off-market deal.

Guardiola is president of New York-based De Guardiola Advisors, an investment banking firm specializing in mergers and acquisitions. The Cuban-born financier and his interior designer wife, Joanne de Guardiola, have been longtime Palm Beachers. 

In 2021, they sold their Palm Beach home at 12 Lagomar Road for $15.3 million, opting for a condo at the Plaza of the Palm Beaches that they bought for $3 million the same year, records show. They’ve made headlines for some of their other luxury investments –– in 2014, Architectural Digest featured the couple’s renovation of late publisher Malcolm Forbes’ yacht, The Highlander. 

Also in 2021, the couple sold their Southampton, New York estate for $18.2 million , after listing it for $37.5 million in 2015. The 4.5-acre estate was built in 1899 and once belonged to the Carnegie family.

Jordan is the wife of Jay W. Jordan II, co-founder and managing partner of the Jordan Company, a New York-based private equity firm. The couple also bought the home at 273 Tangier Avenue in Palm Beach for $12.7 million in 2021, records show. 

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De Guardiola bought the North Lake Way home for $7.8 million in June, according to records. The 0.3-acre property includes a 3,000-square-foot house built in 1963, with four bedrooms, four bathrooms, and one half- bathroom, records show. According to a previous listing, the home was extensively renovated in 2020, including the kitchen and bathrooms.

The latest sale price of $14 million is an 80 percent markup from de Guardiolas’ purchase price eight months ago.

While the South Florida market is cooling from its pandemic-era frenzy, prices have continued to rise, with non-waterfront properties in Palm Beach reaching price records .

David Malm, a New England-based private equity and real estate investor, bought a new Palm Beach townhome for $12 million in a deal that closed this month. Financier Steven Hudson flipped a townhome for $26.7 million last month, earning about $1 million in the deal. Real estate investor Irwin Ackerman and his wife, Mary Ackerman, sold a Palm Bach home facing the ocean for $34.9 million in an off-market deal, also last month.