Super-rich and superyachts now go hand-in-hand. Are you really a billionaire without a megayacht to flaunt? Not anymore, if we’re following the lead of tech tycoons ruling the business world and the Forbes Rich List. They own multi-million-dollar floating palaces that dominate the ranks of the world’s top luxury vessels. From Amazon co-founder Jeff Bezos, who commissioned the world’s largest sailing yacht, to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who sought the greenest, they’ve got the world talking and ships sailing (Bezos more so than Bill). These luxurious pleasure crafts aren’t just massive; they’re packed with every amenity and opulence to appease their genius / eccentric owners.
With basketball courts, spas, libraries, gaming rooms, and nightclubs, it’s a wonder they even come ashore when their world at sea has it all. These incredible superyachts are for men who could own a fleet but prefer to have it all in one (or two) luxurious vessels. Here are some favorites-
Larry Ellison – Musashi, 288 feet, $160 million.
The Oracle co-founder has an innate affinity for Japanese culture, its aesthetics, and art. This is evident in his $110 million Californian estate and the names of his yachts over the years like Ronin, Katana, the mammoth Rising Sun, and his current superyacht, Musashi. Named after one of the greatest samurais in Japanese history, the Feadship beauty replaced the $490 million Rising Sun.
From a Hiroshi Senju painting of a waterfall in the upper saloon to a Zen-style spa, even the furniture aligns with the inspiration. The minimalist yet majestic five-decker includes a convertible cinema on the main deck that doubles as a cozy lounge area. Amusingly, the two-time college dropout, who is worth $174 billion today, equips his luxury vessels with basketball courts, and to not pollute the oceans, has a basketball retriever present in a powerboat to pick the floating basketballs to try again the next day.
Charles Simonyi – Norn, 295 feet, $250 million
Hungarian-born software designer Charles Simonyi paid $60 million to reach the International Space Station on a Russian rocket in 2007 and 2009, making him the only tourist to visit space twice. He repeated another feat—buying Skat and then the Norn superyacht. After enjoying the Lürssen-built Skat for 20 years, he upgraded to the incredible Norn last year.
Would the night watchman who worked at a computer lab in the 1960s ever imagine this future? Norn, a younger Skat, has a versatile pool, open-air cinema, zero-speed stabilizers, and a dynamic positioning system—a perfect fit for the billionaire worth $7.3 billion, the mind behind Microsoft’s Word and Excel.
Gabe Newell – Tranquility, 300 feet, $250 million
A seasoned superyacht owner, this video game tycoon who developed the iconic Half-Life is worth $4.3 billion. His fleet of superyachts is valued at a staggering $1 billion (his boats are nearly 25% of his total net worth), with Tranquility soon to be surpassed by the under-construction Oceanco Project Y722, set to rival Koru in grandeur. The Harvard dropout turned Microsoft employee upgraded the motor yacht Tranquility to ensure a seamless online gaming experience, even in the world’s remotest corners.
This stunning yacht features a beach club, two helipads, a gym with a Finnish sauna, a hammam, experiential showers (with varying pressures, rain, mist, and aromatherapy modes), a plunge pool, and a massage and treatment room. His hospital-like Dapple yacht is now known as Zuckerberg’s support vessel, the $30 million Wingman.
Eric Schmidt – Whisper, 312 feet, $158 million
Even after making the winning bid for the seized Alfa Nero, Schmidt grew frustrated waiting for her fate to change. The ex-Google CEO became the new owner of the 312-foot Kismet superyacht just four days after backing out of a deal that never materialized. A $60 million discount (from the original $200 million) was a big motivator, along with the fact that Jacksonville Jaguars billionaire Shahid Khan’s yachts are known to be palatial, and this one was no exception.
With his sea-loving wife, Wendy Schmidt, owner of the 170-foot Elfje, he enjoys the opulence of the Whisper superyacht, which rivals the Alfa Nero. The five-deck vessel accommodates 16 guests across eight elegant suites. The billionaire, worth $22.2 billion, makes the most of his master suite by dipping in the Jacuzzi and hopping onto the helipad, which doubles as a basketball court, a feature favored by the former owner.
Jan Koum – Moonrise, 328 feet, $220 million
Raised in poverty, surviving on food stamps, and working as a cleaner, Jan Koum’s past is far from glamorous. Now, the WhatsApp founder’s life is a stark contrast, epitomized by his luxury superyacht, Moonrise, a vessel longer than a football field and the largest by waterline ever built in the Netherlands, glistening and sheathed in glass.
The billionaire, worth $16 billion, also owns a $40 million support vessel, Nebula, featuring the largest private hangar space. Koum has a penchant for large yachts, as the under-construction 330-foot Feadship Project 1013 is rumored to be his fifth luxury vessel.
Evan Spiegel – Bliss, 347 feet, $200 million
The CEO of Snap became a billionaire at the age of 25 and a superyacht owner at 31, possibly the youngest person in history to commission a $200 million superyacht. Unlike other tech tycoons, the 34-year-old, who takes just $1 in salary compensation from Snap, comes from a wealthy family. There is no rags-to-riches tale here, but rather a straightforward path that took the father of three from private schools to Stanford University, where he and his friends turned Snapchat into a social media powerhouse.
What followed was immense wealth (he is worth $2.7 billion), and a stunning vessel featuring three swimming pools, a well-appointed spa for his beautiful wife, Miranda Kerr, and accommodations for 18 guests in 9 staterooms.
Mark Zuckerberg- Launchpad, 387 feet, $300 million
Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin’s loss (sanctioned and sans a superyacht) became Meta boss’s gain when he bought the world’s largest-volume Dutch-built superyacht, Launchpad. The world’s third richest man, worth $177 billion, didn’t stop there, even purchasing a $30 million shadow vessel, Wingman.
For his 40th birthday, Father’s Day, and other gatherings, he filled the 13 cabins with his large family, putting the crew of 49 to work. The Feadship-built megayacht became the center of attention at the Island of Elba, surpassing the stunning Italian landscapes and beaches. Tired of the constant attention, the toughest CEO of Silicon Valley turned off the transponders for three months in the Mediterranean.
Jeff Bezos – Koru, 417 feet – $500 million
When the Oceanco goliath was delivered in April 2023 to one of the world’s richest men, worth $192 billion, the world stopped to take notice. It was due to the stature of his ship, a massive 3,493 GT vessel with triple masts standing 230 feet tall. With masts so tall, the Koru yacht once required the historic Koningshaven Bridge to be dismantled, causing quite a stir before sailing out of controversy. What followed made even more headlines, Jeff Bezos’s sweet proposal to his ladylove, Lauren Sanchez, a string of celebrations attended by the world’s elite (Oprah, Bill Gates, Kris Jenner), and a seemingly unending summer sojourn that explored every beautiful nook and corner of the Mediterranean.
If the centibillionaire could teach the world a thing or two about making money, he could certainly write a book on the magnificent Mediterranean, having spent ample time there. Over the past year, the superyacht, accompanied by its $75 million helicopter-holding support vessel, Abeona, has undergone refits to prepare for another long stint in the summer.
The list does end here, but the below vessels are worth mentioning –
Bill Gates – Breakthrough, 390 feet, $645 million
One tech centibillionaire who came very close to redefining how superyachts are perceived and function was Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. The businessman, worth $137 billion, commissioned Feadship’s $645 million superyacht Breakthrough, which embodied his personal style and interests.
From a multi-level townhouse and libraries to hydrogen power, it was a pioneering vessel that the tycoon ultimately did not take delivery of. With cutting-edge features like balconies that slide out from the tweendeck (a space located between two main decks of a ship )and disappear at the touch of a button and a heat recycling system that warms towel bars and bathroom floors, there’s a touch of Bill in every detail. The 390-foot yacht boasting hydrogen-fuel technology bears similarities to the 68-year-old’s Xanadu home, which also houses humongous libraries and is technologically advanced.
Laurene Powell Jobs – Venus, 256 feet, $140 million
The elegant and avant-garde Venus superyacht was commissioned by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who was deeply involved in the design of his luxury vessel but tragically passed away before its completion. Now owned by his widow Laurene Powell Jobs, the Philippe Starck-designed Feadship beauty came into the spotlight after a collision with the $250 million superyacht Lady Moura. Although inherited by Steve Jobs’ widow and not included in the list above, the spectacular yacht is certainly a marvel worth mentioning.
Unlike private jets owned by the high-net-worth individuals above, superyachts offer a glimpse into their personal tastes, styles, and preferences. The fact that they spend millions to make these luxury vessels all-encompassing only hints that, for these billionaires, the journey is just as important as the destination.
