Billionaire David Geffen deleted his Instagram after being slammed for a post about how he's self-isolating on his $590 million superyacht

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Billionaire David Geffen deleted his Instagram after being slammed for a post about how he's self-isolating on his $590 million superyacht
david geffen

AP Photo/Jason DeCrow

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Billionaires are self-isolating on superyachts, and they're not afraid to show it.

On Saturday, David Geffen shared on Instagram that he was "isolated in the Grenadines avoiding the virus," with photos of his $590 million super yacht, Rising Sun. Rising Sun has famously hosted celebrities from Oprah to Barack Obama to Jeff Bezos.

"Sunset last night," one photo was captioned. "I'm hoping everyone is saying safe."

But people on the internet didn't take kindly to the tone-deaf nature of Geffen's post. In fact, the backlash was so swift that Geffen has since deleted his Instagram altogether.

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The response to Geffen's post is just the latest example of celebrities and ultra-wealthy people being criticized and called out for posting photos from their mansions and sharing "uplifting" singing videos as people around the world deal with issues like mass layoffs and loss of income during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Business Insider previously reported that billionaires were flocking to charter superyachts so they can escape the coronavirus pandemic. Yachts are generally assumed to be cleaner than standard cruise ships because of rigorous maintenance routines, but they can be pricey to charter. Some go for $120,000 a week plus crew costs, while others can set you back as much as $600,000 a week.

Meanwhile, cruise ships around the world are still being rejected from ports as passengers become sick, and commercial airline travel has fallen so steeply that the industry is looking for a bail out. Private plane use, however, is on the rise.

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