Gawker
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geeks gone wild
Who's Saying 'Fly Me' to Eric Schmidt?
How does Eric Schmidt do it? The computer nerd runs Google, has Obama's ear, parks his jet fleet in a NASA hangar, and has a rocking girlfriend. Is she the reason he flies so much? More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by MisterHippity: Owen, I don't know if it was intentional or not, but your headline recalls this 1970s advertising campaign for National... 4 Responses | Other threads
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geeks gone wild
Googlers' Pilots Are Real Boobs
The Google Jet really is a party plane. Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin travel the world on a Boeing 767 they bought and tricked out. But who flies it for them? A wild bunch. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by fugazi: To be fair - they give you the rubber gloves in ice bars (if you didn't bring your own). Pragmatically... 6 Responses | Other threads
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party plane
Why Larry and Sergey bought a fighter jet
Larry, Sergey, and Eric have a fighter jet, and you don't. They also have a sweet place to park it: Moffett Field, the airstrip closest to the heart of Silicon Valley. Even Oracle CEO Larry Ellison has to get chauffeured down to San Jose to board his private plane. Remind us, how did the Googlers get such a sweet deal? More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by dotcomburnout: Might as well use Moffett for something, it is a ghost town. Charge them and all the other guys... 1 Responses | Other threads
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Googlers in Space
Larry and Sergey yanked party plane from space mission
Nasa may be regretting a sweetheart deal it cut with Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. In exchange for a 90-year lease on land at Nasa's Ames Research Center adjacent to Google's headquarters, the space agency made a side agreement with Page and Brin to let them park their fleet of private jets at Nasa's Moffett Field. The only requirement: That the Googlers loan out their planes for space research missions as needed. But it turns out that for Larry and Sergey, partying with politicians is more important than studying space. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by YMMV: This would be some laughable and ridiculous reporting if it weren't a serious topic. could "Owen Thomas" be any... 1 Responses | Other threads
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larry and sergey
Google party plane watches spaceship go down in flames
It's good to be the Googlers. Part of Larry Page and Sergey Brin's sweetheart deal to park their fleet of private jets at Nasa's Ames Research Center involves letting the space agency use their Gulfstream V for so-called "scientific experiments." What that really means: Getting a front-row seat for some really bitchin' real-time space porn. A European space freighter, full of trash from the International Space Station, was sent down from orbit to burn up in the atmosphere early this morning over the Pacific Ocean. A Gulfstream owned by H211 LLC, the flight-operating company through which Larry and Sergey own their party planes, participated in observing the event. "It was decided to postpone the reentry by three weeks so that the reentry would happen at nighttime for best viewing conditions," two researchers wrote in an article on Space.com. That raises one key question. More » -
spy photos
Larry and Sergey brought wives to watch Google satellite launch
Google helped pay for this weekend's launch of a satellite which will take high-resolution imagery for its Google Earth service, and founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin were on hand to watch the rocket lift off at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Serious business, right? Not when you see our spy photos of the billionaires. Brin wore bright orange Crocs and Page wore a red windbreaker. More tellingly, Brin brought Anne Wojcicki, his pregnant wife, and Page brought his wife Lucy. Both women also dressed informally. Wojcicki carried a plastic water bottle — funny, I thought Larry and Sergey had gotten rid of those at the Googleplex. It all looked like a lark for the billionaire couples, rather than a visit to a high-security military installation — paid for by Google's shareholders and U.S. taxpayers. At least Larry and Sergey seem to have flown their on their own dime — the photos show a Gulfstream V, one of the models in the Googlers' fleet of party planes. Admit it, you all wish you were Larry and Sergey, Crocs and all.
The photos: More » -
google
Bill "Bubba" Clinton breaks Google party plane
Eric Schmidt, Larry Page and Sergey Brin graciously lent their plush Boeing 767, otherwise known as the Google party plane (photographed in Newark last week), to former president Bill Clinton for a media tour of Africa. However, on a runway in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, en route to Rwanda, the takeoff was aborted and the plane grounded, forcing Clinton to ride on Jon Bon Jovi's old 707 commandeered for the press gaggle in New Jersey. My guess? Clinton just couldn't lay off the injera and tej and the plane blew a gasket. [Industry Standard]
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By Jackson WestComment by Tango404: @Ted Dziuba: hahaha Isn't Clinton making 500K for each speech? and make around ~20MM per year - he should get his... more » | Other threads
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space travel
Google thanks NASA for allowing them to use Moffett Field
It's the 50th anniversary of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, better known as NASA, and Google's rolled out a commemorative logo. The graphic features the Voyager spacecraft, Mars and moon landing vehicles and the Mercury rocket. Not featured? Any of the aircraft in Larry and Sergey's party-plane fleet, which are parked at NASA's Moffett Field and allowed to take off and land from the publicly owned facility increasingly known for private privilege.
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By Jackson WestComment by dotcomburnout: Geez - who cares really? Half the hangars at Moffett are condemned anyway. Maybe NASA can make some... more » | Other threads
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wedding announcements
Gavin Newsom selects Jennifer Siebel as gubernatorial running mate
San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom is running for higher office again, so it was time for another wedding. The latest bride is actress Jennifer Siebel. Larry Page and Sergey Brin were happy to lend the Google party plane to ferry guests from the Bay Area, so apparently no hard feelings about that whole San Francisco-wide Wi-Fi thing. More »
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By Jackson WestComment by bernielomax: wasn't this douche banging a 19 year old just a few months ago? you know what they say about dudes... more » | Other threads
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schadenfreude
Googlers stranded at the airport during company trip to Disneyland
A tipster writes from the San Jose airport:Google has taken over san jose airport as they all go to disneyland for their company trip. Everyone is in love with them. Best moment...all flights are currently delayed so naturally the quick thinking googlera are buzzing gate agents trying to jump on other flights. Thankfully the airlines are not allowing googlera to change their group assigned tickets. I LOVE watching googlers argue in earnest only to be denied by the polite agent who lets escape a wry smile after each denial, much to the pleasure of nearby nongooglers. What ... Sergey's plane is too busy running NASA experiments to help out?
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Comment by dalejo: @cowsandmilk: It took me a lot less time to mark up my ballot, stuff it in envelope, put a couple... more » | Other threads
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party plane
Three questions for the Google party plane posse
We know TechCrunch's Michael Arrington didn't make it onto the Google jet back from Davos, but who did? Arrington claims that Lotus founder Mitch Kapor, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and tech publisher Tim O'Reilly made it onto the flight but doesn't serve us up with a passenger manifest. More »
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Comment by BobDope: They need 2 Google party planes, that way if one goes down they don't get in a Lynyrd Skynyrd kind... more » | Other threads
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michael arrington
Self-important blogger fails to catch ride on Google party plane
TechCrunch's Michael Arrington tried and failed to score a ride from Davos back to California on the Google plane. No surprise, since the plane — owned by Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Eric Schmidt, not the company they run — only seats 25 people.I've heard that Tim O'Reilly, Mitch Kapor, Reid Hoffman and Mark Zuckerberg will be on that flight. Basically, every Davos attendee from the Bay Area except me managed to hitch a ride back with Google.
Mike, they did you a favor: Could you ever claim to cover Google as an independent journalist if its founders put you on that flight? Have some dignity. Instead of whining about having to ride Swiss back, as you did, Jason Calacanis would have chartered his own jet. (Photo by Brian Solis)
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Comment by Fetterman_07: Those names are respected business guys. Those guys actually start companies. Arrington covers companies. Plus Arrington has no friends. People... more » | Other threads
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google jet
Google Jet boldly goes where no jet has gone before
The Google founders' Gulfstream V party plane — quick plane-spotting tip: the Gulfstream V has six windows; the IV only has five — took off on a scientific mission to study the Quadrantid meteor shower Thursday. Larry, Sergey and Eric, you may remember, got permission to park their jets at NASA's Moffett Field for the bargain basement price of $1.3 million plus allowing NASA to use the planes for "science missions." This is the first one we know about. Wait, just how many jets do they have? More »
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Comment by Wdeal: I believe SUNNFUN is right about the window count. Its the G550 that has an additional window -- the G550 has... more » | Other threads
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mine is bigger
Saudi Prince buys world's biggest plane — are Google boys next?
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia is purchasing a custom Airbus A380. The biggest passenger plane in the world — 6,000 sq. ft. — will cost more than $400 million once it is outfitted with all the accoutrements necessary to fly one of the richest men in the world. The prince already owns a custom Boeing 747, previously the biggest private plane in the world, and has a fortune worth around $20 billion. Don't count out Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, though. The Google boys are worth around $20 billion each and also have an affinity for custom jets. More »
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Comment by dalejo: They are just as green as Al Gore. All you have to do is buy carbon credits and then... more » | Other threads
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party plane
Google CEO sells a jet — and eyes two more
Google CEO Eric Schmidt has apparently sold a Gulfstream V jet recently listed for sale on Aviationbusinessindex.com. Could Schmidt at last be shrinking the grotesquely conspicuous fleet he owns with Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin? Hardly. Sources in the private-jet industry tell Valleywag that he's buying another Gulfstream V to replace that one. And, more incredibly, he's said to be have his eye on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, possibly through the auspices of the International Lease Finance Corp. ILFC has ordered 74 hard-to-get Dreamliners for delivery starting in 2010. If Schmidt, Page, and Brin get their hands on one, they'll be flying the 787 long before some of the largest airlines in the world.
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By Owen ThomasComment by Owen Thomas: @Wdeal: Thanks! I've updated with the link to the cached version on Yahoo. more » | Other threads
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confirmed
The New York Times confirms the news, first reported on Valleywag last week, that Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin and CEO Eric Schmidt are buying a Boeing 757 to add to their growing fleet of jetliners. [Bits] -
google
Eric Schmidt's outsized reading habits
Recently, Google CEO Eric Schmidt was spotted purchasing "Mine's Bigger," the book about the yacht obsessions of Kleiner Perkins founder Tom Perkins. Sure, Perkins's firm invested in the search behemoth. But why would Schmidt purchase a book detailing the methods Perkins used to ensure that he had the most spectacular yacht in the world? He hardly needs lessons on oneupmanship. After all, Schmidt already owns a stake in the Google founders' party plane, believed to be the world's largest private jet. And he's likely helping Larry and Sergey add to their fleet. One can only marvel at how deep Schmidt's inferiority complex must run, if he feels he needs to take tips from Perkins. After the jump, the full nerdspotting episode: More »
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Comment by cv: Joatmon is correct. If you search Google "private 747" you will immediately see that there is at least one order... more » | Other threads
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mine is bigger
"Eat your heart out Larry and Sergey." — Reporter Mary Anne Ostrom, describing the Airbus A380 which landed earlier today at San Francisco International Airport. The humongous jet can carry as many as 800 people — 16 times the passenger capacity of the Google founders' party plane. [San Jose Mercury News]
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By Owen ThomasComment by Anonymous: Yeah, but is there any hammock on that Airbus A380? more » | Other threads
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larry and sergey
Google guys get yet another jet
How many planes does one man need? Or, more precisely, three men? Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin already own, with CEO Eric Schmidt, an extensively remodeled 767, pictured here in New Zealand. Schmidt, by himself, owns at least one Gulfstream V (some reports say he has two). But we now hear that the Google trio are buying a 757. While smaller than the widebody 767, the 757 is still a commercial airliner, considerably bigger than most private jets. So why would Page, Brin, and Schmidt need four planes between them? More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by Trackback: Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have apparently broadened their research agreement with NASA, extending it to cover a... more » | Other threads
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picture of the day
The Google Jet cockpit
This picture is the closest you will ever get to the controls of the Google founders' Party Plane. Snapped three years ago, it shows the cockpit of the then-Qantas-owned 767 waiting on the runway in Australia before a flight. While Sergey Brin and Larry Page redecorated the rest of the plane we suspect the cockpit remains unaltered, save for cosmetic decorations. Perhaps they changed the color scheme to a white background with primary colors? Anyway, we hope all those buttons and screens don't distract the pilots too much. After all, someone needs to keep the ride smooth enough for Larry to make out with his girlfriend.
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Comment by brian s.: Where's the dedicated Google Maps screen? How will the pilots know where to go? more » | Other threads
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google jet
Party plane parking pass: $1.3M
Who told you first that the Google founders' party plane, pictured here in New Zealand, was parked at NASA's Moffett Field? Turns out they've found a permanent home there for the low, low price of $1.3 million dollars and the right for NASA to use the plane for "science missions." The winners in this? Google founders and owners of the plane Larry Page and Sergey Brin, obviously, who now have a short seven-minute jaunt before taking off for Greenland or other exotic locations. Losers? Every other private-plane owning tech mogul out there who has to muddle through traffic on 101 and security lines at SFO or SJC. Oh, and the people of Mountain View and other surrounding areas, who didn't realize they were buying their multi-million dollar bungalow underneath a flightpath. Complains one community activist: "If they are doing it just because they are rich and popular, it is not O.K."
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Comment by cv: @sample032: Indeed Palo Alto does have a "ghetto ass airport for small planes". However, the Boeing 767 is not a small... more » | Other threads
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larry and sergey
Arriba! Googlers' party plane lands in Seville
We've got the answer on what Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are doing in Seville, the recent destination of their converted 767 airliner, the Google Jet. They're attending a massive company get-together, Be Connected 2007, in the Spanish city, along with Google CEO Eric Schmidt. According to this Spanish blog, more than 3,000 people are attending, including a big contingent, tipsters say, from Google's Zurich office. "The restaurants are packed with Googler," reports a besieged Sevillero. They're being entertained with free meals — no change from the ordinary, pampered life of a Googler there — as well as performance by French music group Gipsy Kings. The conference runs through tomorrow.
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By Owen ThomasComment by crasher: That's very funny, the GipsyKings are so old.Bamboleo !!! Bamboleo !!! googler on vacation. For sure they are cheaper than... more » | Other threads
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larry and sergey
Google Jet en route to Spain?
If Wednesday's sighting of the Google Jet — the converted 767 privately owned by company founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin — was accurate, we may know where they Google duo are headed next. Commenter smpte tips us that the plane, operated by TAG Aviation, took off from Moffet Field earlier today and is, at this moment, flying over Maine en route to Seville, Spain. Anyone know what kind of Andalusian adventure Page, Brin, or both might be up to? Let us know.
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By Owen ThomasComment by Struebeck: It's a sales conference in seville. duh. more » | Other threads
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google
Sergey's an officer in the mile-high club
The Wall Street Journal blesses us with an investigative report on the Google founders' private plane. Aviation designer Leslie Jennings reports on the project to remodel an old 767 for Sergey Brin and Larry Page's personal use. More »
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By Nick DouglasComment by eknirb: GoogleAir. I can see it now. If Hooters can do it, Google can. more » | Other threads
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