His yacht fails to come to the aid of a drifting vessel; storm of criticism hits Zuckerberg
A spokesperson for Zuckerberg told Forbes that the Facebook founder was not on board the Launchpad at the time of the incident
Mark Zuckerberg has come under fire after a small cruise ship that had run out of fuel near Juneau, in south-east Alaska, came to the aid of a broken-down boat and its crew, even though his superyacht was closer. According to reports in the American media, the Silicon Valley billionaire’s yacht – 118 metres long and with an estimated value of $300 million – is said to have ‘repeatedly’ refused to provide assistance when, last week, a nearby vessel sent out a distress call.
A spokesperson for Zuckerberg told Forbes that the Facebook founder was not on board the Launchpad at the time of the incident, explaining that the yacht’s crew were operating on a different radio channel.
By the time they saw the message, “the rescue operation was already under way”.
Although he is not directly responsible for what happened, the incident will not improve the public image of Meta’s owner, who is already the target of criticism for the social impact of his social media platforms, his relationship with Donald Trump and his lavish and exclusive lifestyle.
