New England megadealer Herb Chambers is adding to his superyacht collection.
And his latest acquisition has quite a backstory.
Chambers was the winning bidder for the 152-foot Lady May from the bankruptcy estate of federally indicted Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui, according to a court filing this month in Connecticut. He agreed to pay $24 million for the vessel, which sleeps 10 people and features a rotating living room.
Guo is scheduled to go on trial in the U.S. next year on charges that he defrauded investors of more than $1 billion, and the Chinese government has accused him of fraud, blackmail and bribery. He has close ties to Steve Bannon, who was an adviser to former President Donald Trump.
Bannon was arrested aboard the Lady May in 2020 on fraud charges, and a New York federal judge fined Guo $134 million last year for attempting to hide the yacht from U.S. debt collectors. Herb Chambers Yachting was one of 10 bidders for the Lady May. The trustee for Guo's bankruptcy case said the offer "represents the highest and best bid obtained after an extensive marketing campaign" and that Chambers' wealth created "no concerns" about his ability to close the deal this month.
Chambers, who has bought and sold dozens of yachts over his lifetime, is worth $2.4 billion, according to Forbes. Herb Chambers Cos. ranks 29th on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups in the U.S.
