VANDERBILT TENDER

nyone who has had the opportunity to visit to Istanbul’s Rahmi M Koç museum has probably realised that American history is right at home within those thick walls on the waters of the Golden Horn. The dynasties of the Fords, the Carnegies and the Vanderbilts, to name just three, are well represented in the celebrated museum founded by the Turkish industrialist Rahmi M. Koç, himself a member of a notable family, and honourary president of an industrial and services group that grosses 22 billion Euros anually, and accounts for 9 per cent of Turkey’s exports. The magnate’s passion for classic yachts is well known among boat enthusiasts. His propensity to buy boats – not to say hoard – is such that it is even difficult to keep track of them. Rahmi Koç himself, when asked “How many boats do you own?” always replies evasively.