The global increase in wealth has caused at least one sector of the luxury market to expand in size: yachts.
And when industry officials say the industry is expanding, they’re speaking literally.
It used to be that a “big” yacht was considered to be in the neighborhood of 150 feet, but over the past five years, with buyers having money to spend on convenience and glitz, it’s not unusual to see christenings of “super yachts” that exceed 250 feet or, in some exceptional cases, 500 feet.
“Yachts are getting more luxurious and becoming expressions of the owner’s personality,” said Robert van Tol, operational director with Super Yacht Builders Association (SYBAss). “What in the past was an amenity is nowadays almost standard.”
Super yachts can carry anything from luxury cars to helicopters, but things can get even more extravagant than that, industry officials said.
The 590-foot Azzam, for example, is reportedly the largest yacht in the world. Owned by United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, it carries a submarine and its own missile defense system.
The ship also is outfitted with “anti-paparazzi lights” on multiple decks that are designed to guard against photographers. One set costs about $15,000, including installation. Some 10 to 15 light sets are needed to be effective depending on the yacht.
“The super-rich don’t want to necessarily be visible to news photographers,” said Luc Khaldoun, head of client advisory for OneOcean Ventures, a yacht consultancy based in the U.K. “When you flash anti-paparazzi lights from a yacht, it’s impossible for photographers to get a clear shot, even with high-end equipment.”
Although the Azzam is an anomaly in terms of its capabilities, yachts over 250 feet are growing more common, including some that include sports fishing vessels that travel alongside them.
“Russian entrepreneurs started the super-yacht trend, but now I see clients from Central America, the U.S. and the Middle East, which has always been a market that buys large yachts,” Khaldoun told Private Wealth.