An American billionaire who stepped ashore from a $50 million superyacht in Sicily reportedly left the restaurant staff with just a €5 tip after an evening of seafood, VIP treatment and five-star service. The luxury vessel, named Loewe, had been anchored off San Leone, the seaside district of Agrigento on Sicily’s southern coast, where its imposing 55-meter hull attracted plenty of attention from bathers and small boats. The Maltese-flagged vessel was reportedly carrying the billionaire and his entourage during the otherwise discreet Mediterranean visit. Local Sicilian newspaper La Sicilia identified the guest only as American billionaire “Smith,” describing him as a prominent entrepreneur in the credit and mortgage business with stakes in the publishing group behind The Economist.
The group reportedly arrived at an unnamed waterfront restaurant aboard one of Loewe’s tenders, where the staff went out of their way to keep the high-profile guests away from curious onlookers. Management arranged special treatment and a relatively secluded table, while the party settled in for a meal centered on Sicilian seafood specialties. According to La Sicilia, Smith appeared highly satisfied when the bill was settled, seemingly praising the restaurant’s setting, cooking and table service, although the report contains no direct quotation from him.
The evening then took an unexpected turn when the entire dining-room team was reportedly left with a single €5 (less than $6) banknote to divide among themselves before the guests returned to the yacht. La Sicilia described the gratuity as a miserly tip that left a bitter taste among the waiters, particularly after the effort put into making the billionaire’s visit as comfortable and private as possible.
A floating Italian resort
At 55 meters, or about 180 feet, Loewe is considerably more than transportation for a wealthy charter guest, with the Tankoa T55 Sportiva conceived as a sleek floating retreat that combines Italian craftsmanship with an aerodynamic, almost automotive-inspired exterior. Designed by Luca Dini, the aluminum yacht has an 8.75-meter beam, a 2.4-meter draft and 499 GT of interior volume, while twin MAN engines allow her to cruise at 15 knots and reach a top speed of 16.5 knots.
She can cover around 3,800 nautical miles and carries up to 12 guests in six en-suite staterooms, consisting of five doubles and one twin, supported by a 10-person crew. Stabilizers that work both underway and at anchor are particularly useful on a yacht designed to spend long periods offshore, and they would have helped make anchoring outside San Leone more comfortable.
The yacht’s 2.4-meter draft also helps explain why a tender was used, since the local marina generally accommodates much smaller vessels and parts of the harbor entrance are reportedly only around two meters deep.
Inside, Loewe is designed around the idea of bringing the comforts of a luxury resort directly onto the water, with the private-deck Master Suite offering its own terrace and hot tub overlooking the sea. The remaining five guest cabins sit on the lower deck, while floor-to-ceiling glazing and contemporary interiors create a bright, open atmosphere throughout the yacht.
Guests can move between a sundeck pool, a foredeck hot tub and the beach club, where a flexible pool can be transformed into extra deck space for entertaining. A full wellness center adds a sauna, hammam, gym and massage room, while the distinctive Nemo windows allow guests to look beneath the waterline without leaving the yacht. The experience is rounded out by a range of water toys and equipment, making Loewe as much a private resort for Mediterranean cruising as it is a superyacht.
The price of a week aboard Loewe
A week aboard Loewe starts at €400,000 (about $465,000), a rate that places the 55-meter yacht firmly in the upper tier of Mediterranean chartering. The figure covers the yacht and its crew, while provisions, fuel, berthing, taxes and other expenses are generally handled separately. Charterers may also be asked to provide an Advance Provisioning Allowance, typically around 30 to 35 percent of the base rate, to cover those onboard expenses, with any remaining balance returned at the end of the charter.
For a yacht of this caliber, the weekly rate offers a useful glimpse into the level of luxury surrounding its guests, from the private Master Suite terrace and multiple pools to the wellness center and beach club. Against that backdrop, the €5 left at the San Leone restaurant makes for an unexpectedly memorable footnote to an otherwise lavish Mediterranean evening
Loewe itself has also had its share of glamorous encounters, including a 2025 Monaco event celebrating a collaboration between Loewe Technology and Jacob & Co. The event featured just 10 pairs of jeweled headphones, including a €99,000 ($115,000) Noir Rainbow version set with 15.97 carats of colored sapphires and a €119,000 ($139,000) Ice Diamond model containing 12.47 carats of diamonds.
Football star Kylian Mbappé reportedly boarded the yacht, tested the headphones and praised them, while other reports associated David Guetta and figures from the luxury industry with the gathering. Yet it was not the yacht’s glittering parties or eye-watering charter price that made headlines in Sicily this time. Instead, it was the humble €5 note left behind by a billionaire for the waitstaff that became the memorable part of the evening
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