As if the news of 25-year-old Brian McCarthy, son of the millionaire president of Marriott International, winning $107 million in the Mega Millions jackpot wasn’t enough to incite an eye roll or two, CNN International reports that the ‘gigayacht’ is on the rise for the super rich.
“For the billionaire who has everything, sometimes a superyacht just isn’t enough,” reports CNN. “Gigayachts” are the ultimate status symbol, communicating power, eminence and a seemingly limitless supply of cash. Once the rich become the super rich, it’s all about being the biggest and the best – “There’s definitely a ‘mine is bigger than yours’ syndrome in this industry and there is a desire to have the best. That’s the great thing about these yachts,” said Jonathan Beckett, CEO of Burgess Yachts, one of the world’s leading yacht brokers. Buyers of gigayachts are accustomed to surrounding themselves with the most opulent and exceptional possessions, and as owners seek bigger and better yachts, the term ‘gigayacht’ is becoming more and more prevalent. Although there is no standard definition for what qualifies a boat as a “gigayacht,” SuperYacht World editor Paul Ashton says, “A gigayacht I would say is anything that is over 220 feet (67 meters) where the majority of the yacht is customized and bespoke.”
So who currently owns the world’s most expensive yacht? CNN names Roman Abramovich’s “Eclipse,” believed to be between $540 million and $1.1 billion. However, a couple of weeks ago, we reported on “History Supreme,” the $4.8 billion precious-metal-encrusted superyacht (by Ashton’s standards) designed by Stuart Hughes. We’re assuming History Supreme wasn’t named because the buyer hasn’t been officially identified.
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