A total of 120 superyachts worth billions will be attending the 2025 Monaco Yacht Show, but it will be Bill Gates's 390-foot-long megayacht that sips hydrogen chilled to −423°F that will steal the thunder from them all and wow the 30,000 visitors

All eyes in Monaco this September will be on one yacht. While 120 superyachts worth billions prepare to flood Port Hercule for the world’s most glamorous showcase, Bill Gates’ hydrogen-powered megayacht Breakthrough is already being tipped to steal the thunder of them all.

The 2025 Monaco Yacht Show, running from September 24 to 27, will welcome more than 30,000 visitors and over 560 exhibitors. Organizers say nearly half of this year’s fleet will be unveiled as world premieres, the highest number since the event began in 1991, a milestone Gaëlle Tallarida calls both “a historic record” and “the global benchmark” for superyachting.

At nearly 390 feet, Breakthrough will be the largest yacht in attendance and is already being hailed as the first hydrogen fuel-cell superyacht in the world. Many industry experts predict it as the main draw of the show, a vessel that not only dwarfs others in scale but also redefines what luxury on the water can mean in an era increasingly shaped by environmental responsibility.

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The numbers are staggering. With a gross tonnage of 7,247 GT, Breakthrough carries a towering five decks above the waterline and two more below. Fourteen slide-out balconies, seven opening platforms, and an owner’s suite spread across a secluded four-level townhouse-by-the-sea give it a residential scale. Among the showstopping amenities are an underwater “Nemo” lounge with windows into the sea and a 27-foot pool whose glass floor can rise and transform the space.

Bill Gates and his daughter Jennifer. Image – Facebook / Bill Gates

Its design brilliance is matched by its pioneering powertrain. ABB integrated a 3-megawatt hydrogen fuel-cell system into its Onboard DC Grid, paired with 3.2-megawatt Azipod propulsion units. This allows the yacht to supply its full hotel load with zero emissions, cruise through harbors at 10 knots without burning fossil fuels, and remain at anchor for a week in silent, emission-free mode.

Breakthrough being refueled with liquid hydrogen at the port of Amsterdam

Cryogenic liquid hydrogen stored at –423 °F feeds the system, while a methanol-to-hydrogen reformer adds flexibility. For extended voyages, HVO-capable MTU generators serve as backup. “The brief was to build the greenest and most environmentally advanced yacht ever built, without compromise… the best yacht ever built,” says Jamie Edmiston, CEO of brokerage house Edmiston.

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After You superyacht designed by the late Giorgio Armani

While Breakthrough dominates the headlines, a wave of premieres will ensure no shortage of spectacle. Admiral’s 236-foot After You, shaped by the late Giorgio Armani, promises to turn heads with its champagne-hued hull. Damen’s 197-foot Xplorer, Perini Navi’s sailing beauty Katana at 197 feet, Vitters’ glass-infused Magic at 145 feet, and Feadship’s ice-ready Valor at nearly 262 feet are just a few of the names adding to the intrigue.

Moored along the Côte d’Azur ahead of the show, Gates’ groundbreaking yacht has already ignited curiosity among locals and visitors alike. When the marina fills with more than a hundred extraordinary vessels this September, Breakthrough is poised not just to steal the thunder, but to change the conversation about the future of yachting itself.