Laura Dekker was born on 20 September 1995, in Whangarei, New Zealand, of Dutch and German descent. Laura is a sailor, best known for being the youngest person to sail around the world solo. Her trip took almost two years, and this effort has helped put her net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Laura Dekker? As of mid-2016, sources estimate a net worth that is at $500,000, mostly earned after her solo circumnavigation success. She’s been featured in news all over the world, and has written a book about her experience. She’s also appeared in numerous events, and as she continues her career her wealth will likely increase.
Laura Dekker Net Worth $500,000
Laura spent a lot of her early life at sea, often joining her father in sailing to various countries. She eventually learned to sail on her own and was given several boats to use. During her teens, she started to take more adventurous trips, for example joining her father in a 24-hour sailing race. She also went on a 6-week sailing tour accompanied only by her dog. The success of her trip prompted her to take a loan from her father to buy her own Hurley 700 boat which she used to cruise the Netherlands during a summer vacation.
In 2008, Dekker started plans for a round-the-world tour, and her father eased her into the open ocean by giving her the goal of sailing to England. The solo trip alarmed local authorities because of her age, but she was able to complete the trip.
The following year, Laura announced through a national newspaper named “Algemeen Dagblad” that she would be travelling around the world in a span of two years. Her father supported the plan, and both of them made the necessary preparations for long distance solo sailing. The plan was to make 26 stops during the trip with some locations having support teams. She also continued her education through self-learning modules from the Wereldschool institution and started her trip in August 2010.
The local authorities first objected her trip because of her age and the fact that she was still under parental custody. The issue would go on and gain international attention, but eventually the Dutch court decided that the issue would be up to her parents and released supervision in July 2010. She then started sailing from the Netherlands the following month, and her first stop would be to Portugal. However this was not part of the solo circumnavigation as her father accompanied her to help prepare the boat. Her trip would finally begin from Lisbon.
She departed from Portugal and arrived at Lanzarote a few days later, staying there because of the hurricane season, and then departing in November to Cape Verde. She sailed to Sint Maarten in December, reaching Simpson Bay Lagoon after 17 days. Afterwards, she would depart in January towards the Carribean, visiting various islands such as Dominica and Bonaire. She then took a short flight back home to speak at various events, as her popularity was increasing significantly. In April 2011, she was able to sail through the Panama Canal, and near the end of the month she reached the Galapagos Islands, then departing towards Hiva Oa which took 18 days in the open sea. In June, she went on a seven day journey to Tahiti, and on to reach Vava’u, Tonga. In the middle of July she reached Fiji, and in early August she headed towards Australia through one of the toughest parts of her journey. She departed from Darwin on 25 September and then reached South Africa by November 12. She continued her passage through South Africa, eventually passing around the Cape of Good Hope and reaching Cape Town by 12 December. She finally reached home on 21 January 2012, completing her journey.
For her personal life, it is known that she married Daniel Thielman in May 2015.
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