Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

For Sale: Sir Allen's Yacht | It seems like every day brings with it another apartment, boat, or car that the government is now auctioning off because its owner is either behind bars or about to head to prison any minute now. Today is no exception! The 112-foot yacht that belongs to accused fraudster "Sir" Allen Stanford is now up for sale. It's supposedly in excellent condition and features a new interior made of mahogany. Although if you do buy the yacht, keep in mind that you probably won't be able to use it to cruise to Antigua. That could get dangerous! [Luxist]

Vanity Fair's "New Establishment" list, an "annual ranking of the top 100 Information Age powers," appears on the web this time around, not in the actual magazine as in previous years. [Update: An abbreviated version appears in the October issue; the full list is online.] And while there are a few surprises to be had—Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, who's been reviled in the press in recent weeks, takes the top spot—it once again gives Vanity Fair editor /part-time restaurateur Graydon Carter an opportunity to do what he does so well: insure that his close, personal friends get their moment in the sun!More

Bull to Market | Bernie Madoff's boat is up for sale. The 90-foot yacht, which is named "Bull" and was constructed in 2007, has been docked in Antibes, France ever since Madoff's assets were frozen. But now the administrators overseeing the liquidation of Madoff's investment firm have approved its sale. A British firm has the official listing posted online. Unfortunately, it doesn't indicate if the yacht comes with the bikini-clad babe sitting on the deck. But you could always try asking! [Telegraph]

Rupert Murdoch is currently using his 183-foot sailboat. Or at least he was a few weeks ago when the Rosehearty was spotted in Auke Bay, Alaska and the "rumor on the dock" was that mogul's special on-board guest was none other Mel Gibson. But if you're planning ahead, you may want to take note that you can now rent Murdoch's "aluminum masterpiece" by the week. It's not cheap—it will run you €220,000, or $310,000, a week. Then again, no one ever said a "stunning interior by famous French designer Christian Liagre" came cheap, and you can bring nine friends with you, so maybe you can split up the costs? While you try and make the numbers work, you can take the grand tour of Murdoch's floating palace after the jump.More

Pirates of the Mediterranean? | We've all heard about those nasty pirates off the coast of Somalia, who have been attacking cargo ships and the occasional cruise ship over the past few months. (If you're interested in a fantastic account of one such attack, check out this article by William Langewiesche from the April issue of Vanity Fair.) Is it possible the piracy trend now moving north to, say, European waters? That's what some are wondering now that a cargo ship seems to have mysteriously vanished off the coast of Sweden. It's possible it wasn't a pirate attack and was connected to a commercial dispute of some sort. Although if it was an attack by pirates, the view from the beaches of Saint-Tropez are about to get a little bit more interesting, no? [AP, related]

Andrés Piedrahita Has a Yacht to Sell You | A couple of days ago, Vanity Fair contributing editor Vicky Ward reported that Andrés Piedrahita, Walter Noel's son-in-law and a senior exec at Fairfield Greenwich, recently took possession of a $30 million yacht, and has since been spotted cruising the Mediterranean. Piedrahita's response? He's just showing off the boat to potential buyers, silly.More

Arianna's Best Birthday Ever | How has Arianna Huffington been spending her 59th birthday? She started the day in Greece before making her way to Croatia, reportedly aboard the Rising Sun, the 454-foot, $250 million yacht that is co-owned by billionaires David Geffen and Larry Ellison. [Gawker]

Some people are toning things down because of the recession. Then there's Andrew Farkas, the real estate heir and yaching aficionado who purchased the Montauk Yacht Club in 2007 and has since presided over a multi-million-dollar renovation of the property. Farkas is hoping "to lure the mega-yacht crowd into his slips and turn his club into a nightlife destination," reports Vanity Fair's Jessica Flint, and to drum up interest in the M.Y.C.—as well as celebrate the club's 80th anniversary and his own birthday—Farkas hosted a Great Gatsby–themed party last weekend: More

With all the depressing talk about the stock market (the Dow fell close to 200 points today), and struggling banks (Citigroup chairman Dick Parsons said today he had no idea when the bank would be able to pay back the $45 billion it's borrowed), it's nice to see that some people are still spending recklessly and entertaining the rest of us in the process. Despite the fact he's lost an estimated $20 billion amid the economic meltdown, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich's latest toy —the world's largest and most expensive privately-owned yacht—made an appearance late last week.More

Lawyer Marc Dreier pleaded guilty to charges he bilked investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars a couple of weeks ago, and he remains under house arrest until his sentencing next month. (He may end up with a life sentence if prosecutors get their way.) He's been having trouble paying his bills since he was first indicted several months ago. According to his lawyer, Dreier even had to dip into his son's bar mitzvah fund recently to cover his living expenses. Perhaps that's why his yacht, which is one of a bunch of Dreier's assets now up for sale, was just discounted? Dreier's "Escape" (or "Seascape"), which was originally listed at $13.5 million, was just reduced to $12.5 million. After the jump, a few photos of the boat where Dreier probably spent many hours plotting and scheming. More

Tamir Sapir certainly isn't the first Russian billionaire to be accused of having bad taste, but he might be the first one who has landed in court thanks to his fondness for over-the-top decorations. The real estate tycoon—and former New York City cabbie!—signed a guilty plea in connection an attempt to import 29 items that violated of the Endangered Species Act, including seven carved elephant tusks, a zebra-skin-lined children's bed, and a fully stuffed and mounted lion, pieces he planned to use to decorate his Versace-drenched yacht. He's since agreed to pay $150,000 in fines, but there is some good news to come out of this sad tale of animal exploitation/bad taste. In comparison to his father, we're thinking son Alex Sapir's Maybach—or "rolling office," as he likes to call it—is downright classy! [Luxist, NYP, NYDN]

Yesterday, the Daily News reported that mega-developer Larry Silverstein has collected more than $21 million from the Port Authority since 2006 to "develop" the Freedom Tower—even though he no longer has any role in constructing the 1,776-foot tower. Today, an unrelated Wall Street Journal article fills us in on what he's been doing with the big gift from taxpayers: He's trading in his old yacht (above) and building himself a bigger, better one: More

Ruth Madoff's Possible Escape Route: Foiled! | Bernie Madoff's 55-foot yacht and 24-foot speedboat were both seized today in Florida. [NYT]

The financial crisis isn't just spoiling Dasha Zhukova's dreams of a lavish wedding. The girlfriend of billionaire Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich now has to contend with the fact that she may not be able to sunbathe aboard the world's largest yacht next summer. Abramovich is thinking about backing out of a deal to buy a $355 million boat named the Eclipse, which, if it's ever finished, would be the largest yacht ever constructed. (Abramovich had planned to equip the 530-foot vessel with three helipads and its own submarine.) One possible contingency plan? Drop Roman and get together with Ron Perelman. He's still going ahead with plans to build a giant, new boat and it will be finished this spring, just in time for the summer season. [Luxist]

Ron Perelman: Just as Carefree as Before | A source close to Ron Perelman says the billionaire financier is not selling off his 190-foot yacht for $67 million because he's experiencing any financial difficulties. Just like Carl Icahn indicated a couple of months ago, it's because he's planning to upgrade to an even bigger boat, which he plans to unveil at a star-studded party at the Cannes Film Festival in May! Please pass along the good news to Daniel Benedict and Andrew Saffir if you see them! [NYO]