Prince buys £300m boat as austerity hits home

A senior member of Saudi Arabia’s royal family bought one of the world’s most expensive yachts for £300 million shortly before his country launched an austerity drive at home.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the deputy crown prince and the power behind the Saudi economic reform programme, was on holiday in the south of France when he spied the 134-metre Serene. He bought it on the spot after sending an aide to make an offer — with the Russian owner moving out on the same day, according to The New York Times.