The World of Superyachts

Multimillion-dollar yachts have never been more in demand. Here are some of the world’s most beautiful

By Jared Paul Stern

When the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s eye-pop-ping 414-ft. superyacht Octopus sold this past August for $278 million, it served as a punctuation mark for one of the most tumultuous times for the segment. As Bloomberg reported, “The sale comes amid a record-hot market for the world’s largest luxury vessels. A surge in personal wealth due to buoyant markets and a newfound interest in private, socially distanced leisure among the ultra-rich are driving unprecedented numbers of sales of both new and used superyachts.”

Bloomberg noted that 219 superyachts were sold in the first quarter of 2021, more than double the number during the same period in 2020, according to ship valuation service Vessels Value. “Would be buyers who once preferred to dabble in renting, or chartering, before springing for a purchase are now diving right in and buying,” they reported. “Smaller starter yachts are being bypassed for 100-footers. And the sometimes sleepy secondhand market is suddenly pulsing as clients unwilling to wait a few years for a custom build prowl for deals.”

As Denison Yachts’ Bob Denison explained to DuPont Registry, part of the boom in sales is also attributable to the fact that “Yachting’s competitive industries, such as skiing and higher-end vacation experiences like cruises, are still being affected by extended lockdowns, which have created a special opportunity for our industry.”