Congratulations, we hear that you've become a billionaire. No, no we don’t care how
you made your money. You were smart to get out of bitcoins when you did. But we here
at the Infographics Institute have some suggestions on how you should spend your loot. Of course,
no billionaire’s life is complete without owning a megayacht.
Don’t worry if you can’t swim or don’t like sailing, traveling on a superyacht is
just like being in a luxurious mini mansion. The mansion just happens to be on water. Forget
about not knowing anything about decorating either, you don’t have to have good taste,
you’re rich!
There’s actually no official definition for superyacht. Many yacht enthusiasts would
disagree saying that a “superyacht” or "megayacht" is a yacht of at least 79 feet
(24 meters) or more in length. If the boat is really long, let’s say over 328 feet
(100 meters) you could even call it a "giga-yacht". Others argue that rather than size, a superyacht
is determined by the level of luxurious comfort, the rich furnishings and the high level of
services the yacht crew provides to guests who are lucky enough to be onboard. As it
turns out, all the boats in this video meet both definitions.
Let’s take a look at some amazing superyachts that may help you to decide what you’d like
to purchase.
First up is The World Is Not Enough.
Apparently the owners love a certain franchise of spy movies. The World Is Not Enough is
among the top five fastest yachts in the world. This sleek 139 feet (42.4 meters) long vessel
was designed to be extremely aerodynamic; it has a v shaped hull to slice through the
water. Four powerful engines give The World Is Not
Enough a top speed of an impressive 70 knots (77 mph, 124 kph) and a cruising speed of
45 knots (52 mph, 83 kph).
Yet, the boat was also designed to minimize engine vibration and noise levels. You’ll
notice this is a common feature among superyachts; billionaires don’t like noise to disturb
their vacations. If they’re inside, they want to forget that they are on a boat.
As for the interior, 10 lucky guests can stay in 5 luxurious cabins supported by an 8 person
crew. The yacht has a fancy saloon with an atrium, two bars, one on the main deck and
another on the skydeck. The decks are made from rare teak wood and there are polished
marble columns in the palatial master suite. Skylights and designer furniture abound throughout
the ship. If you’re thinking that the World Is Not
Enough is a little on the small side, you may want to consider a boat like the Azzam
which at 590 feet (180 metres) in length, is the largest private motor yacht in the
world. We’ve done the math and for reference, it’s about as long as 1.75 professional
soccer pitches.
Though not a particularly fast vessel--the Azzam tops out at 32 knots (37 mph, 59 kph),
the fact that this gigayacht has its own mini submarine and missile defense system makes
up for it. It also has multiple helipads, two swimming pools, a cinema and a disco.
The grand salon on the main deck is 95 feet long by 60 feet wide (29x18 meters), with
no pillars dividing the space.
The Azzam boasts amazing views from its many windows which are made from bullet proof glass.
Furthermore, the master suite is lined with armour plating and is also bulletproof. The
Azzam provides space for 36 guests in 18 spacious cabins supported by a crew of 60 in 30 cabins.
If you’re wondering why the need for such security, the Azzam is owned by the president
of the United Arab Emirates. Sadly, we have no idea what the interior of Azzam looks like,
security has never allowed pictures to be taken inside.
If sophistication and classic elegance is more your style, perhaps you’d be interested
in purchasing a superyacht like Tis.
The yacht is 364 foot (111 meters) with 6 decks. The decor on the Tis is modeled after
Versailles with the furniture inspired by the antiques of Louis XIV to XVIII. Decorating
the polished wooden floors are plush, colorful Parisian salon style rugs. A stunning double
staircase leads up to the informal saloon on the owners’ deck. Three chandeliers grace
the dining room. A helipad doubles as an outdoor dance-floor or cinema. But if the weather
is terrible outdoors, there’s an indoor cinema too--with comfy reclining chairs.
The Tis boasts a few other staircases. The central staircase allows you to make a statement
entrance. It has marble steps, handrails in gilded wrought iron and winds up through a
stunning atrium that soars 49 feet (15 metres) overhead. However, if you don’t feel like
taking the stairs, there’s an adjacent stylish glass elevator with cushioned velvet seating
in case you need to sit down. Each guest room on the TIS is themed, inspired
by a particular city or region the owner has visited, such as New York or London. The boat
also has a spa, gym, tea room, beauty salon and massage room.
Then there’s the Octopus which we would describe as having a luxury minimalist style.
Measuring at 414 feet (126 m), the Octopus was the largest personal yacht in the world
when it was built in 2004. It has a cruising speed of 17 knots (20 mph, 31 kph), and a
top speed of 20 knots (23 mph, 37 kph).
The yacht is equipped with a movie theater, basketball court, and recording studio. The
requisite pool is glass bottomed so it seems like you’re swimming into the depths. Also,
poolside, there is a full bar. The Octopus has accommodations for 26 guests in opulent
41 suites. 60 full time staff members share 28 cabins.
On the main deck are two helipads, a twin pad, and multiple hangers in the stern. The
Octopus also holds 7 tenders aboard, including a 63-foot (19 m) tender in the transom plus
a landing craft.
Last but not least, the Octopus has two submarines, one is called Pagoo. It can dive for up to
eight hours and accommodate 10 people. The other is Octo ROV, which can be remotely controlled
and dive up to 8,843 feet (2,695 m). Google Earth actually borrowed the ROV for their
project “Explore the Ocean” project).
Can’t decide what kind of superyacht you would like to buy? Why not get two like a
Russian billionaire did? He has a yacht for sailing and also a slightly
smaller motorized yacht. Sailing Yacht A has 8 decks. It’s 468-foot (143 m) long with
three 328 foot (100 meter) masts-- that’s taller than Big Ben (322 feet, 98 m)! It can
travel at up to 21 knots (24 mph, 39 kph) and its cruising speed is 16 knots (18 mph,
29 kph). In addition to several helipads, a submarine,
several luxury tender boats, and elevators to help guests move around the gigayacht,
Sailing Yacht A features three separate spa pools with current-generating technology and
a glass underwater observation area located in the keel.
We’re pretty sure Sailing Yacht A has some fancy furnishings, but unfortunately we don’t
know for sure. The intensely private owner hasn’t allowed the media on the boat. However,
for a distance, a photographer managed to snap a picture of a chair in the shape of
a giant head near what appeared to be a bar and dining area.
The owner’s second boat Motor Yacht A is a little smaller at 394 feet (120 m) and was
designed to look like a surfacing submarine. Powered by two diesel engines, the yacht has
a top speed of 23 knots (26 mph, 42 kph) and a cruising speed of 19.5 knots (22.4 mph,
36 kph). Motor Yacht A’s decor is dominated by mirrors,
baccarat crystal and unique animal skin wall coverings such as a bedroom covered in white
stingray hide. The master suite has serious security--it’s opened via fingerprint. Many
of the electronics onboard such as the 60 inch TV in the master bedroom hang from the
ceiling and retract via remote control when not in use. The boat has 3 pools, a giant
helipad and a disco. The cavernous garage which housed three tenders can also be used
as party space. All over the yacht are patches of grass for the owner’s dog.
Frankly we could go on and on describing various yachts, but really they are all kinda the
same. Shout out to whomever just slammed their jewel encrusted, gold plated laptop in shock.
While researching this story we nosy, underpaid and judgy writers at the Infographics Institute
were curious to find out exactly what cool or interesting things billionaires filled
their boats with. But we realized that everyone puts similar type stuff into their similar
type yachts. Designer furniture, chandeliers, baby grand
pianos, top line electronics with hand painted murals or high end artwork on their walls.
Decks are made from rare wood, there's gold or platinum plated trim, stairs and counters
are made from exotic marble--clearly the owners aren’t shopping at Ikea.
While amenities vary from yacht to yacht the types of amenities are the same too. Pools,
sometimes multiple pools--gotta have both saltwater and infinity, jacuzzis, spas, elevators,
huge grand salons, movie theatres, gaming rooms complete with ping pong and pool tables,
discos, basically anything you may find in a five star hotel. That includes an impeccably
trained crew, whose job it is to fulfill any whim you might have day or night.
Yawn. I’m not saying that any of the Infographics staff would turn down a chance to stay aboard
a superyacht, of course we wouldn’t! But a big discussion ensued as to what we would
put on our superyachts if we were rich enough to own one.
Obviously whatever you get is for the purpose of impressing other billionaires. It totally
is! Hear us out: ultimately owning a superyacht is for impressing other people who own superyachts
or are capable of owning superyachts.
Sure it's fun to vacation on one, but really superyachts are for sailing to the French
Riviera or off the coast of Italy and holding fancy parties while being moored in the harbor.
You invite your wealthy and A-list friends over to impress them. Perhap you mount some
of your family’s expensive art collection aboard so your friends can admire your Picasso
or Degas over cocktails. Or you hire a pop star to entertain your guests, such as Lenny
Kravitz performing at the Motor Yatch A’s owner’s third wedding anniversary bash in
2008.
You impress your wealthy friends with your superyacht. Then they become inspired to go
purchase superyachts of their own so they can outdo you and each other. The circle of
life continues.
After much debate we narrowed the list of things Infographic writers would have on their
superyachts to a top five. Aside from the usual fancy stuff, we think if you’re buying
a superyacht, you should have:
5) A go kart racing track that loops the length of the ship
4) A zoo- basically creating a Noah’s Ark 3) A huge aquarium with sharks with lasers
attached to their heads 2) Indoor ski slope
1) A treasure room for swimming through gold coins like a certain wealthy duck.
Hopefully we’ve given you a lot to think about as you undertake your search to own
the perfect superyacht. We’d love it if you sent us invitations to the launch party.
Pretty please? And now that you've reached the end of our
video, why not keep the watch party going?! You ever wonder if you could spend a billion
dollars in one day? Click here to see how we did it:
Super rich and worried about an apocalypse? Have your butler click here so you may see
what your counterparts are doing to plan for cataclysmic events.