American billionaire enjoys Scots heatwave but no sign of Trump as £75m superyacht sails into Stornoway

HE could afford to holiday anywhere in the world and not worry about the cost.

But one of the planet’s richest men has decided to have a seaside break around Scotland this summer – albeit in a £75 million boat.

James Simons, whose net worth is estimated to be £15 billion, has been turning heads after his superyacht Archimedes was spotted in Oban, Stornoway and Stromness in recent days. The 222ft boat can take 12 guests in six cabins and has a crew of 18.

Mr Simons, 80, treasures his 10-year-old vessel and the crew could be seen cleaning the gleaming blue hull.

The arrival of the rich American’s plaything came just days before US President Donald Trump – whose mother came from Stornoway – arrived in Scotland.

However the superyacht’s owner is certainly not a fan of the president.

Mr Simons was a major donor to Hillary Clinton’s bid for the White House.

“It’s terrible that we have a president remotely like our current president.

“We’ve had some doozies, but never of this calibre,” Mr Simons said last year.

The businessman lives with his wife Marilyn in a large house in East Setauket, Long Island, New York.

He also owns a £50 million G650 private jet.

Mr Simons shuns the limelight and rarely gives interviews.

His superyacht is actually 165ft shorter and six years older than the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry MV Loch Seaforth – the pride of CalMac’s fleet – which runs on the Stornoway to Ullapool route.

But the MV Seaforth “only” cost £42m, can carry 700 passengers and 143 cars, and is capable of 19 knots.

The Bermuda-registered Archimedes has a top speed of 16 knots.

A spokesman for the Stornoway Port Authority said the superyacht would return again this week. “We don’t know anything else,” he said.