Superyacht Owner Profile: Bob Book

You might think the best part of my job as a superyacht journalist is getting to live like a billionaire on superyachts all the time, right? Well, the truth is, I’m don’t even get to live like a mere millionaire on any of the yachts I write about. And I’m totally cool with that for a couple reasons. First, I’m super grateful for the chance to tour some the largest and most opulent superyacht in the world on a gloriously regular basis. And visiting many of state-of-the-art shipyards where the world’s largest superyachts are built (and being able to share those stories with you all) is amazing too.

But when it comes to the best perks of my job writing about superyachts, nothing compares to getting to interview successful and talented people who make the superyacht community so unique—innovative entrepreneurs, celebrities, gifted craftsman, royalty, athletes, and artists, etc.—I’ve had a chance to meet over the years. But I gotta tell you. My interview with Bob Book, the owner of Book Ends(a 164-foot long superyacht built by Heesen), is on a whole other level.

We just hit if off from the beginning. He made fun of me. I made fun of him. And then we launched into a wonderful, wide-ranging discussion about everything from how he made his first million to what owning a superyacht really means to him and his family. So, if you ever wondered what the owner of a large yacht is like, you’re in for a treat. Most yacht owners are a bit media shy. And I know I speak for Bob when I say…he’s been called many things. But shy is not one them!

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BS: Can I just jump right in and ask, how did we both end up here in Ft Lauderdale onboard your 164-foot yacht Book Ends? It’s the direct of the result of your business success, right?

BB: I didn’t even dream this big! For me growing up in New York City, the only boat ride we had was on the Staten Island Ferry. But things worked out and we fell in love with boating, it’s great for family. I’ve gone places that I never would’ve gone to and I’ve met people I never would’ve met. I do my best thinking out here. Not with you, but…

BS: Well, I’m not really a thinking man, Bob! But I’d really love to know how you got started in yachting.

BB: We discovered boating on my honeymoon in Acapulco. We rented an 18 footer and we fell in love. I bought my first boat when we got home. It was the ugliest 25-footer you’ve ever seen. But, I remember going down the Hudson and tearing up as we went past the Statue of Liberty. I’m second-generation American. My grandparents came to this country in steerage and they never thought they would make it. The first thing they saw was the Statue of Liberty. Here I was on my own 25-foot-long boat. It was big.

BS: And then your boats got bigger and bigger, right?

BB: Yes. My first Heesen was a 47-meter full displacement steel boat. It was a great boat, but it wasn’t too fast. I like speed, I have fast cars, I have fast tenders.

I had made many trips to the shipyard and know a lot of the guys at Heesen and told me about this 50 meter that they were starting to build. It was a semi-displacement aluminum, and the spec said it would do 23 knots, so I went to see it. I had some reservations about aluminum, but I was blown away by the quality of their hulls. I know a lot about aluminum being in the aviation business, so I was running my hand along and watching, pretending like I knew what the hell a weld is. Jewish guys don’t know anything about welding, I’ll tell you that right now.

BS: Neither do the Irish Catholic guys from Boston! Ok, lets get serious. How did you make enough money to be able to afford these yachts?

BB: I met Lee Iacocca when I was 27. You’re going to love this. I had a little company, a little executive search firm, and we were doing pretty well. I said, ‘Guys, it’s time we had company cars.’ We went out to a Ford dealership, we bought three new Fords. They were white, they had blue vinyl top, blue vinyl seats inside.

I was so proud. I said to my guys, I said, ‘You know what? We’re very important customers to Ford.’ I mean, how many people go out and buy three cars at one time? That’s why I say ignorance is a blessing, right?

I said, ‘I’m going to write a letter to their the VP of personnel.’ That was my thing, introducing our search firm and the following up with call early in the morning. I get the VP of personnel on the phone and I said, “Hi, I’m Bob Book and I’d love to have an exploratory meeting to see how we might be of service and benefit to Ford.”

Guy says to me. I never forgot this. “Who the f&^% are you? You think you’re important to Ford because you bought three cars from us? Do you think I need some guy from New York coming out here to do my recruiting?”

I was so taken aback. You know what I did? I apologized and he just hung up on me. Now I’m in my new Ford driving home and I’m getting angrier by the minute and I said, “I need to find out who’s running Ford.”

It was the late 70’s. So I called Lee Iacocca the next morning. And he picks up!

“Iacocca,” he says.

I say. “Iacocca. This is Book. I don’t want to be interrupted for the next five minutes.” Then I gave him the story about what happened, and he said, ‘I’m going to be at the Ford Motor suite tomorrow at the Waldorf Towers in New York. Come and see me at two o’clock. Does that work for you?’

I didn’t know what I wanted to get from the meeting. I figured I’ll find out when I get there. But I was nervous. So I called my dad out of desperation. I told him I’m sitting in the lobby, I just had a vodka, and he gave me the best, the best advice I ever got.

He just said. “People will see you the way you see yourself.”

BS: Wow.

BB: People will see you the way you see yourself…I go up to the towers, it’s like The Wizard of Oz. I’m walking down this long hall and there’s two big doors there. Iacocca opens the door. He’s got a black polo shirt on, very relaxed, big cigar. He says, “You must be Bob. Come on in, sit down.”

Then I said, “I was really pissed off when I called you. I’m not ready for this meeting. It’s like asking me to hold Willie Mays’ glove. I’m not ready. I sort of bull$%&^$@ my way into this.”

BS: Wow.

BB: He said to me, “Believe me, you’re ready. Just sit there for a minute. I want you to meet somebody.” He calls in the VP of personnel, and says “This is Bob Book. He owns three of our cars. You owe him an apology.” And the guy apologized to me for how he was on the phone.

Then Iacocca says, “Do you accept his apology?” And then I was feeling pretty good. I said, “I accept it reluctantly.”

He says, “I don’t blame you.” Then he says to the guy, “Now you get out.” Then he spoke to me for 20 minutes. He says, “Let’s stay in touch. Thank you for buying those three cars. There’s nothing more important than a customer. I’m sure your company does great work. If we have a high level search, I will call you directly to make sure you get it.”

A few weeks later, he got fired.

BS: Isn’t that amazing?

BB: Yeah. But I’m not up to the punchline yet. He gets fired. But he is still using the Ford Tower. So I go to see him again. This time he’s kind of shaky. I see that we’re all human, and I’m say, “Lee, that’s the dumbest thing Henry Ford ever did. He’ll regret it for the rest of his life.”

Then he joins Chrysler. And calls me up. “I want you to do some consulting work for me here at Chrysler,” he says. Suddenly, I’m 28 years old and working with all these senior level executives. And that was only the beginning.”

Of course, that was only one of many stories he shared with me. And he’s gone on to build numerous successful companies including the private jet maintenance juggernaut Jet Support Services Inc. And while he still busy with JSSI and other and other ventures. It’s obvious he and his wife Amy really love the time they spend on Book Ends

In fact, they’re not only inspiration to anyone who aspires to live the superyacht life. They’re the perfect example of superyacht owners who do it right.