In this month’s article, we take a deep dive into some of the latest luxury yacht news stories from around the world.
Underwater living room makes luxurious gigayacht seriously special
Meet the Inspire. As reported by the New York Post, she’s a 454-foot-long vessel and the latest masterpiece from Dutch firm Sinot Yacht Architecture and Design Press, known and loved for their extraordinary designs. She features six decks, can house 22 guests plus 52 crew, and wowed attendees at the 2024 Monaco Yacht Show.
Other features include a theatre seating forty, an entire wellness centre, a winter garden, balconies that cleverly fold outwards, a restaurant, a beach deck, 3000 square foot owner’s deck, a pool and – best of all – an underwater living room called the Nemo Lounge, a glass-walled space sitting 16 feet below the surface from which you get remarkable views of sea creatures, the sea bed and the surrounding ocean. The cost for all this uber-luxury? She comes in at a mere snip: £330,000,000.
Luxury yacht owners help Lebanese refugees to safety
There are very few flights out of Lebanon as Israeli attacks continue. So far more than 300,000 people have fled. Some are turning to luxury yachts as a means of escape from the fighting, which has left 25% of the population homeless. With some flights now costing over $2000 thanks to high demand, private yacht and boat companies are offering people places on sea routes to safety from Dbayeh to Ayia Napa on Cyprus, and from Tripoli to Mersin in Turkey.
Grupo Vidanta enters the luxury yacht cruising world
Grupo Vidanta runs a string of luxury resort hotels across Mexico. Now they’re expanding into cruising with a stunning adults-only mega yacht called Elegant, which will sail the Caribbean and Mediterranean seas from 2025.
The 500-foot yacht, recently refurbished by architects Rockwell Group and SMC Design, offers 149 staterooms and suites, six public decks, several swimming pools and Jacuzzis, 13 restaurants and lounges, a full-service spa and more, making it a one-of-a-kind luxury cruising vessel with the exclusivity of a private yacht.
Tennis legend and yacht lover Nadal retires
Tennis legend Rafael Nadal is retiring. The winner of 22 Grand Slams with numerous world record achievements under his belt, he comes from a humble background. Until he turned 21 the tennis legend lived in a shared apartment building with his family. Now he’s the proud owner of a £33 million mansion in the Dominican Republic and a lavish yacht, the ‘Great White’, an 80 Sunreef Power catamaran costing a cool £5 million.
More world-class sports stars and their yachts
David Beckham, whose personal wealth is estimated to be around £360 million alongside his wife, upgraded his luxury yacht in early 2024 to a Riva 130 Bellissima costing a staggering £16 million, replacing his original 100-foot yacht, a Riva 90’ Argo worth around £5m. His new ‘modern classic superyacht’ is built from glass, steel and carbon fibre with a Jacuzzi, swim platform and alfresco lounge.
The martial artist and boxer Conor McGregor is the proud owner of a futuristic Lamborghini Tecnomar 63 yacht with a dashboard inspired by the car maker’s Sián FKP 37 limited production mid-engine hybrid sports car, their first hybrid production vehicle. McGregor’s yacht also has cool Y-shaped headlamps. Taking things to another level entirely, ex-Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich’s yacht is apparently worth £1.5 billion, and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos’s vessel is valued at £400m.
Nissan’s disgraced CEO must return his luxury yacht
Former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn was arrested in Japan in 2018 for misappropriating company funds and violating securities law. He posted bail and fled to Lebanon. Now efforts are underway to recover damages from Ghosn, and it looks like his luxury yacht will be taken away.
The British Virgin Islands high court says some of the missing money went to a company based in the islands, Beauty Yachts Ltd., which turned out to be a California shell company owned by the disgraced executive’s son. The money was spent on a luxury yacht registered to Ghosn’s wife. The 121-foot Custom Line Navetta 37 yacht from Ferretti has seven bathrooms, five main cabins and four crew cabins, and it will be given back to its rightful owner, Nissan.
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