TOYS FOR BOYS OF THE 1%

It's not just Jeff Bezos. Super rich around the world are snapping up superyachts as sales hit a record high last year.

Huileng Tan
Mon, February 7, 2022

Jeff Bezos' superyacht "Flying Fox" anchored offshore of Yali neighborhood of Mugla, Turkey in November. Bezos' new yacht, known only as Y721, is currently being built in Alblasserdam, Netherlands.

Ali Balli/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

A record 887 superyachts were sold last year, up 77% from 2020, according to VesselsValue.


An "increased need for privacy and private isolation" is driving demand.


Supply was unable to keep pace with demand due to supply chain constraints and movement restrictions.

Super rich people who craved more privacy during the pandemic have taken to the high seas, sending the sales of superyachts to a record high last year.

One reason for the spike in multimillion superyacht sales is "the increased need for privacy and private isolation" that such vessels can provide, said Sam Tucker, head of superyachts at VesselsValue, a shipping data provider. Superyachts are generally defined as a boat at least 80 feet in length.

Low interest rates helped to provide for cheap borrowing, while the stock market boom also created more wealth, Tucker added in a report titled "2021 Superyacht Market Performance" released last month and seen by Insider.

According to a study released last March by Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute for Policy Studies, the collective wealth of 657 billionaires in the US grew by 44.6% — that's $1.3 trillion — during the pandemic.

While there was more money, there were fewer yachts to go around as shipyards were unable to significantly increase capacity due to global supply chain issues and a less efficient workforce due to pandemic movement restrictions, said VesselsValue's Tucker.

In 2021, fewer than 150 new yachts were delivered, far lower than over 350 in 2019, according to VesselsValue.

This has kept prices up in the secondhand market. Before the pandemic in 2019, a ten-year-old 60-meter Italian-built yacht could be bought for 20 million to 25 million euros ($22.9 to $28.6 million.) Today, the same vessel could fetch over 30 million euros ($34.3 million,) noted Tucker.

Superyachts are under the spotlight as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' new $500 million yacht, currently known as Y721, is reportedly so big that the historic Koningshaven Bridge in the port city of Rotterdam may have to be temporarily dismantled just so the vessel can pass.

Some Dutch residents are apparently not amused, and are planning to throw eggs at the superyacht when it passes the location.