The co-founder of Facebook, is a man who believes in big numbers. That is not only true for his nearly $222 billion net worth, but also for his ever-increasing carbon footprint. Did anyone make a rule that the bigger the man, the bigger his footprint? Mark Zuckerberg is perhaps treating that as an unsaid billionaire perk, because according to YachtCO2Tracker, the 40-year-old who gifted himself the $300 million superyacht Launchpad has been stretching her legs far more than what one would call reasonable.
According to the Yacht CO₂ Tracker, the Meta CEO, who now commands a formidable fleet, Launchpad cruised so extensively across the Atlantic and Mediterranean it has had a signifying environmental impact, releasing 1,170 tons of CO₂. Just a bunch of big numbers, aren’t they? Except these numbers are startling. In a single day, the yacht’s exhaust equals the annual carbon footprint of roughly 800 average Americans, compressed into just 24 hours. In fuel terms, one could refill 250 American family cars, from empty to full, for an entire year.
And this is not even leisure use. This is just one month, the time Launchpad and her former support vessel Wingman (sold and renamed Kalm), along with the newest toy, the $100 million U81 (now renamed Wingman), would have burned sailing toward refits and repairs from the Mediterranean. If one considers how much the fleet was used for summer travel, the numbers become even higher and far more startling.
The Zuckerberg clan, including Mark’s wife Priscilla and their three daughters, made the most of summer and cruised from Svalbard in Norway, to gorgeous Greece, to the French Riviera, before heading to the superyacht spa at La Ciotat for maintenance. After that, the yachts had to return home, and the 387-foot Feadship began her Atlantic crossing, the result of which is reflected in the staggering fuel and CO₂ data above. I suppose when people say tech tycoons leave a mark with everything they do, this is perhaps what they meant.
Launchpad is a goliath that sleeps 26 guests in 13 cabins and is stuffed with luxurious amenities. But according to the pulse of our story, this is not about her helipad, swimming pool, deck-level jacuzzi, spa, sauna, gym, or the observation lounge. Her fuel tanks are the real headline, and they hold about 423,000 liters. Under all that gloss sits a brute powertrain. Launchpad is driven by four MTU 20V 4000 M93 diesel engines, each producing roughly 5,230 horsepower, which can push this 5,528-GT Feadship to a top speed of 24 knots and a cruising speed of about 16 knots, with a maximum range of roughly 6,000 nautical miles at an economical 14 knots.
For a yacht this large, that top speed is aggressive. Many 300–325-foot megayachts sit closer to 17–18.5 knots at the top end, like the 302-foot Aquarius at about 17 knots, or the 315-foot Vava II with a service speed of 18.5 knots, which underlines just how overpowered Launchpad really is when all four engines are being employed. Technically, the ship can manage an impressive range of about 6,000 nautical miles at economical speed, meaning she can cross oceans without stopping. Still, they must have wanted a speedy journey, because the BlueSky post credits her with burning around 449,500 liters in the October-to-November window, which is already more than a full tank. The stop at Gibraltar was likely to refuel before heading full-speed back home. Launchpad must have been desperate to leave after spending roughly two-and-a-half months in and around the yard.
The superyacht haven at La Ciotat must have primed and polished Launchpad for ultimate performance. A six-deck Feadship of this scale can be serviced easily thanks to the giant 4,300-ton Atlas shiplift, which leads directly to the 656-foot dry dock, designed specifically for 260–394-foot superyachts. Why Zuckerberg sent his luxury asset to this superyacht spa is clear, Launchpad can be fully hauled out, hull completely exposed, stabilizers serviced, and all underwater works completed in one go. Of course, at a considerable cost, not only to him, but also to the planet.
For us lesser mortals who do not own anything as grand as the $300 million Launchpad, the only way to replicate this kind of consumption would be to drive an average American car for 2.9 million miles, enough road to circle the Earth 116 times in just 32 days. Sounds exhausting. I would much rather be a billionaire on a mighty superyacht.
