Inside The Superyachts Of America’s Richest People

Forbes

For the first time ever, Forbes dug into how many superyachts are owned by America’s 400 richest people and how much they’re truly worth. Turns out it’s a bigger share of all superyachts around the world, even though they are not necessarily the most valuable.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/giacomotognini/2024/10/04/inside-the-superyachts-of-americas-richest-people/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes,

00:02inside the superyachts of America's richest people.

00:07Sometimes the trappings

00:08of a multi-billion dollar fortune get old.

00:11Forbes 400 member Shahid Khan

00:13of auto parts supplier firm Flex and Gate

00:16decided in 2020 that his superyacht, called Kismet,

00:19needed an update.

00:21So he splurged nearly $390 million

00:24on building a new 400-foot superyacht,

00:26also named Kismet, which was delivered in April.

00:30The new floating pad features fireplaces,

00:33floor-to-ceiling glass windows,

00:35and a bow shaped like a jaguar,

00:37presumably a nod to Khan's Jacksonville NFL team.

00:41Plus, it has all the usual yacht trimmings,

00:43from a helipad to a mosaic-lined swimming pool.

00:47But first, Khan had to make room.

00:50Last September, he sold his previous yacht,

00:52again also named Kismet,

00:54for $159 million to Eric Schmidt,

00:57the former Google CEO.

01:00Schmidt had been in the market for a new boat

01:02after his planned $67 million purchase

01:05of the 269-foot Alpha Nero fell through,

01:09reportedly due to concerns that the yacht's alleged owner,

01:12a sanctioned Russian oligarch,

01:14would sue to regain control.

01:17The yacht, which had been frozen by US authorities in 2022,

01:21and was sitting idle in the island nation

01:23of Antigua and Barbuda,

01:24eventually sold in July for $40 million

01:27to an unnamed buyer.

01:29Schmidt aren't the only American billionaires

01:31with a passion for yachts.

01:33While the largest and most valuable yachts in the world

01:37are owned by Middle Eastern royals and Russian oligarchs,

01:40in fact, all 17 of the longest yachts

01:43are owned by individuals from these two groups,

01:45Americans own the most,

01:47with roughly one out of four of all superyachts,

01:51commonly defined as those larger than 40 meters or 131 feet,

01:55belonging to an American.

01:58That's three times as many as Russians,

02:00the second-largest yacht owners,

02:02according to industry publication Superyacht Times.

02:06For the first time ever,

02:08Forbes has compiled a list of all of the yachts

02:10owned by America's 400 richest people.

02:13Collectively, Forbes estimates that 40 members

02:15of the Forbes 400 own at least 60 yachts

02:19worth more than $6 billion,

02:21according to yacht valuation experts Vessels Value.

02:25Some own multiple,

02:26while others focus on one extravagant build,

02:29which can cost in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

02:33These ships range from the modest,

02:35like Igor Lenikoff's 118-foot, $2 million Rusalka,

02:40to the grandiose, such as David Geffen's Rising Sun.

02:44The Rising Sun is the 18th largest yacht in the world

02:47at 453 feet, and the biggest one owned by an American.

02:52It comes with a basketball court

02:53that converts to a helipad,

02:55and has hosted celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio

02:58and fellow billionaire Oprah Winfrey.

03:01The most valuable American-owned yacht

03:03is Jeff Bezos' Kourou,

03:05a custom-built, 417-foot sailing yacht

03:08that's worth an estimated $500 million.

03:12While Geffen owns the biggest, and Bezos the most valuable,

03:15it's Gabe Newell, the co-founder of video game company Valve,

03:19who owns the most.

03:21His six ships, plus several submarines,

03:24and, through his maritime research organization, Inkfish,

03:27make up the largest fleet among America's richest people.

03:31Newell is not the only American

03:32whose love of floating mansions

03:34seems to stem at least in part

03:36from a passion to better understand the ocean.

03:39Ex-Google CEO Schmidt bought the Falkor II,

03:42a $75 million research vessel

03:45owned through the nonprofit Schmidt Ocean Institute in 2021.

03:49Ray Dalio, founder of the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates,

03:53owns the $82 million Ocean Explorer,

03:56a souped-up research vessel

03:58that has its own TV show on National Geographic.

04:02Sometimes, owning a superyacht can be a liability,

04:04or worse, deadly, as the August tragedy

04:07involving one-time billionaire Michael Lynch's yacht,

04:10Bayesian, illustrates.

04:12Lynch and six others perished

04:14when the yacht sank off the coast of Italy.

04:17That same month, Lorene Powell Jobs'

04:20256-foot, $81 million yacht Venus

04:23collided with Lady Mora,

04:25a yacht owned by Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego.

04:30Fortunately, no one was hurt.

04:32In early 2020, hedge fund billionaire Daniel Loeb's

04:35197-foot, $45 million yacht Samadhi

04:40damaged a coral reef in Belize,

04:42spurring an apology from Loeb,

04:44who committed to working with a local conservation group

04:46to restore the reef.

04:48For full coverage, and to see our whole list

04:51of the superyachts of America's richest people,

04:53check out Giacomo Tognini and Steven Pastis' piece

04:57on Forbes.com.

04:59This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

05:02Thanks for tuning in.

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