Rising Sun

A giga-yacht ahead of her time

When Rising Sun was delivered in 2004, she stood as one of the largest yachts in the world and a clear signal of what Lurssen could build. At 138 metres and more than 7,800 GT, she brought a residential completeness that very few yachts had ever attempted. She has since passed through notable ownership while fully retaining her original stature. Rising Sun remains one of the defining large yachts of the whole 2000s decade. She helped to set the very template for the residential giga-yacht that others would follow.

The build clearly showed the yard's rare ability to combine great size with genuine speed. Her 82 rooms and multi-level layout set expectations that many later yachts would openly chase. She stands as an important step toward the giga-yacht era that eventually followed her. Lurssen delivered a vessel that still holds its own comfortably two decades later. Two decades on, her sheer completeness still feels remarkably ahead of its time.

Jon Bannenberg's assured exterior

The exterior came from Jon Bannenberg, one of the most influential yacht designers of the entire modern age. His profile for Rising Sun is broad and confident, stepping up through several decks to a commanding upper level. The lines were drawn to carry real volume while somehow keeping a genuine sense of movement. She looks purposeful and grand from absolutely any angle. The profile has become one of the most recognisable of its whole generation.

Bannenberg planned extensive open decks for entertaining and for the yacht's signature sports facilities. A full basketball court on deck was cleverly designed to double as a helicopter landing area. The exterior integrates all of those features without ever losing its underlying composure. It is a design that has aged over twenty years with real and lasting dignity. Those sporting features remain genuinely rare even among far newer yachts today.

An early giga-yacht that still runs near thirty knots and sleeps a small hotel.

Eighty-two rooms of residential comfort

The interior by Seccombe Design gives Rising Sun the settled feel of a large private residence. She contains a remarkable 82 rooms across her decks, a figure that speaks directly to the completeness of the layout. Among them are a cinema, a wine cellar, a full gym and generous guest accommodation. The finish throughout is warm and enduring in the manner of the very finest homes ashore. Guests find the deep comfort of a great country house carefully translated to the sea.

Living spaces were thoughtfully arranged for family life on a grand scale and for large-scale hosting alike. She sleeps up to 18 guests across nine staterooms with a large crew always in support. Reception rooms flow easily into one another with the natural ease of a great house. Every space aboard was built with long and comfortable stays firmly in mind. The layout supports both intimate family days and much larger gatherings with equal grace.

Thirty knots from four engines

Rising Sun's outright performance sets her firmly apart from many other yachts of her size. Four MTU diesel engines drive her to a top speed of around 30 knots, a genuinely remarkable figure for a 138-metre displacement yacht. That pace was highly unusual in 2004 and remains impressive even today. She was clearly built to cover long distances quickly and without fuss. That turn of speed still reliably turns heads whenever she gets under way.

The powerful propulsion package was carefully matched with the range needed for long ocean passages. Stabilisation and robust construction keep her comfortable and dependable in almost any sea. Her systems were engineered for the deep reliability that a vessel of this size demands. Rising Sun can still move between continents at a genuine pace two decades on. Her build quality has allowed her to age with quite remarkable grace.

For the owner who wants a proven great yacht

Rising Sun suits an owner who values a complete, residential yacht with real, genuine performance. Her scale and her 82 rooms comfortably support both family living and grand entertaining. The onboard sports facilities and cinema make her especially ideal for active guests of all ages. She is a yacht built squarely for those who want essentially everything aboard. She suits those who want serious capability alongside deep comfort.

As one of the most admired large yachts of her whole generation, she carries a reputation built patiently over two decades. She rewards an owner who appreciates both pedigree and pace in equal measure. Rising Sun continues to command real attention in every harbour that she enters. Her place in the wider history of yachting is now entirely secure. Her standing among serious collectors of great yachts remains assured.

A Deal Done Over Coffee, A Yacht That Outgrew It

The commission came together with unusual speed for a project of this scale. Jon Bannenberg pitched his concept to Larry Ellison over coffee in London one morning, and the two men are reported to have settled everything in two emails without a lawyer ever being involved, an almost unheard-of pace for a full-custom yacht that would grow to 138 metres. Bannenberg's exposed Z-frame structure, first sketched as an early idea, survived into the finished yacht and separates her tender-launching areas while staying simple enough to build; the raw aluminium finish he originally wanted was value-engineered into a metallic paint job instead. The cinema was set into the accommodation like the stone of an avocado, in a description later used by his son and design successor Dickie Bannenberg, with a corridor arcing gently around it, and the aft cockpit deck doubles as a full basketball court.

Ellison owned Rising Sun until 2006, when David Geffen bought a half share; Geffen took full ownership in 2010 and has kept her ever since, hosting guests who have included Leonardo DiCaprio, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen and Oprah Winfrey. The yacht's highest-profile moment under Geffen was not a happy one: in March 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic shut down much of the world, he posted a sunset photograph captioned that he was isolated in the Grenadines avoiding the virus, and the backlash was sharp enough that he made his Instagram account private within days. She remains active rather than retired, having been sighted cruising Mallorca and Mexico's Puerto Vallarta in recent seasons.

Для кого: For the owner who wants a complete residential giga-yacht with real speed and two decades of proven pedigree.