When it comes to his personal fortune, John Malone prefers to put his billions into land and charitable foundations rather than toys.
There is one toy, however, that he does enjoy: Barry Diller's yacht.
In an exclusive, highly personal interview with CNBC's David Faber last week, Malone gushed over Diller's yacht, calling it a great example of the executive's management skills. The 305-foot sailing yacht, called EOS, is by most measures the largest sailing yacht in the world.
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"It's gorgeous. It's fabulous," Malone told Faber. "And better than a fabulous crew, which only Barry could organize, the harmonious elements of it. We would be hopeless. We can't have two employees without fighting. So I don't know how he does it."
In the highly personal interview, Malone, the billionaire cable magnate and chairman of Liberty Global, talked about his personal wealth and about being the largest landowner in America, with more than 2 million acres.
Malone said his main goal in buying land is preservation, and he hopes to buy more. He said his properties, which include timberland and ranches, are also a steady business and good protection against inflation.
"The conservation of lands is important," he said. "That was a virus that I got from Ted Turner."