The Disgusting Things You Probably Didnt Know About Superyachts

The rich and famous are circumnavigating in style.The era of stealth wealth seems to be over. Ostentatiousness has overpowered quiet luxury, and the proof is aboard superyachts that are ferrying the rich and famous around the world. On water, as on land and air, there’s a flashier way to cruise, and the popularity is growing among the billionaires. Related: Onboard the 184-Foot Superyacht That Feels Like a Spaceship 1 OF 6 The Number Is Rising A superyacht, which is more than 99 feet, is the length of two semi-trucks, and a gigayacht at 295 feet is a football field long. Still significantly smaller than a mega cruise ship, but cruise ships carry hundreds of passengers, while superyachts are designed for just a couple of guests.Currently, there are 5,400 superyachts and 100 gigayachts in the world. Altogether, the number exceeds 6,000, and the number has quadrupled in the last three decades.Decades ago, the yachts were smaller, their owners older and more conservative. Now the design is grander, and the young billionaires are willing to bend the mould with new technologies. Superyacht sales boomed after the pandemic, and in 2022, 1,024 new superyachts were built or ordered, and the number climbed to 1,203 the next year. There still seems to be demand, and business is booming.Russian owners have declined since sanctions, and the U.S. has overtaken Russia as the country with the largest number of superyacht owners. It’s not hard to believe, given that there are more than 700 billionaires in the U.S. 2 OF 6 Celebrities Infamously Own Many of Them Before tech bros and celebrities were spotted owning superyachts, Russian oligarchs sustained the boat business. Owners still use shell companies to buy these boats and register them in tax havens, and symbolize capitalism at its worst. But bad press hasn’t stopped celebrities from getting their own giants of the sea.The list of celebrity superyachts is long. Mark Zuckerberg owns a 387-foot superyacht called Launchpad. F1 champion Max Verstappen owns a $15 million yacht called Unleash the Lion. Steven Spielberg has the 358-foot Seven Seas. Other celebrities who made headlines due to their big boats include Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael Nadal, Nicole Kidman, and Jackie Chan. 3 OF 6 The Cost Is Staggering A gigayacht is currently the most expensive asset that someone can own. Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos owns a 417-foot-long gigayacht called Koru, estimated to be worth half a billion. Bezos proposed to now wife Lauren Sanchez on this yacht, and it was also spotted in Venice for their wedding. It is believed to be the largest sailing yacht in the world and requires $23 million per year to maintain. It is longer than a football field and over 20 stories tall.But its price tag might not be the highest. A superyacht called Dilbar costs somewhere around $800 million, and may be one of the most expensive in the world. It belonged to Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov and was seized by the E.U., and now remains docked in Germany, allegedly costing $56,000 per day to maintain. This 512-foot superyacht has two helipads, an 82-foot swimming pool, a garden, and 12 luxury suites (it can accommodate over 90 crew members). The electric cables on the yacht are spread across 1,100 kilometers and have a 30,000 KW power plant (which can theoretically power more than 15,000 households). 4 OF 6 They Are Not as Discreet as the Rich Would Like It’s definitely not very easy to know who owns which water palace and where it’s parked, because the whole industry revolves around secrecy. But as much as the wealthy want to keep things private aboard their vessels, they are regularly spotted at top yachting destinations (Monaco, Spain, France, to name a few). And once it becomes known who it belongs to, they will be photographed by the water paparazzi. So much so that Jeff Bezos wants to sell his mammoth boat because it attracts too much attention. The unflattering news reports do not help.In 2022, Bezos drew the wrath of the Dutch after it was revealed that a historic bridge in Rotterdam had to be dismantled partially to let his megayacht pass. It ended up not happening after citizens and politicians revolted against it, and a group promised to throw eggs at the passing vessel. Last year, his wedding to Sanchez also outraged people—not just locals in Venice but also around the world. The celebration with superyachts and private charters brought the city to a halt and gave the world another reason to hate the rich for their tone-deaf celebrations. But it wasn’t just the tech oligarch; Hollywood celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, Sydney Sweeney, and Kim Kardashian also descended on the city. Ultrarich are scrutinized for their excesses, and it doesn’t help when it is insinuated that they are unwilling to step in to help the average Joe. Earlier this month, a small skiff in Alaska was in trouble and radioed Mark Zuckerberg’s Launchpad to help rescue it, but the calls were ignored, and a tour boat helped instead. 5 OF 6 Hospitality Brands Also Own Superyachts You don’t need to be a billionaire to experience the white-glove service on a superyacht. Hospitality brands are dipping their feet in the luxury waters. Aman at Sea is bringing a 47-suite yacht to the Caribbean and Mediterranean next year. Ritz-Carlton has crafted its hotel experience for the sea with three yachts: 624-foot Evrima, 790-foot Ilma, and 794-foot Luminara. Four Seasons Yachts also takes you to the Mediterranean and the Caribbean for three to 18 nights depending on the itinerary.It’s not as private as having your own cruise, but considerably cheaper than the millions that you may have to spend for your own playground and definitely more intimate than a full-size passenger cruise. 6 OF 6 Superyacht Are Environmentally Deadly Aside from tax evasion, the super-rich are known for their carbon footprint. A billionaire emits more carbon in 90 minutes than an average individual in a lifetime, Oxfam claims. Their investments, private jets, and superyachts are to be blamed. The Conversation called the superyacht the worst asset for the environment, noting, “a superyacht with a permanent crew, helicopter pad, submarines and pools emits about 7,020 tons of CO2 a year.” That’s roughly as much as 2,600 people would produce in a year. An average person emits 2.4 to 4 tons of carbon dioxide annually.The annual emissions of 300 superyachts are 285,000 tons, as much as a small nation like Tonga. A French sociologist called superyachts a form of “ecocide,” something that’s causing great and lasting harm. Cue the meme: me, drinking from a paper straw. Meanwhile, the megarich…Related: They Feel so Guilty About Climate Change, They Won’t Travel Far From Home