Jeff Bezos's new yacht is expected to be a larger version of the Black Pearl, and will have three huge masts, but no helipad. Courtesy Oceanco
Jeff Bezos's new yacht is expected to be a larger version of the Black Pearl, and will have three huge masts, but no helipad. Courtesy Oceanco
Jeff Bezos's new yacht is expected to be a larger version of the Black Pearl, and will have three huge masts, but no helipad. Courtesy Oceanco
Jeff Bezos's new yacht is expected to be a larger version of the Black Pearl, and will have three huge masts, but no helipad. Courtesy Oceanco

Lifestyle

Jeff Bezos has bought a superyacht so large, it needs its own 'support yacht'

The world's richest man has splashed out $500 million on a new 127-metre cruiser

Sarah Maisey

May 13, 2021

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Jeff Bezos, the owner of Amazon and the world's richest man, has splashed out a cool $500 million on a 127-metre superyacht.

For those who like random comparisons, that is the equivalent of four-and-a-quarter blue whales swimming single file, or almost two A380 aircraft, parked nose to tail. Stood on end, it will be the same height as the Great Pyramid of Giza.

While the exact details are a closely guarded secret, according to Bloomberg, the superyacht, known as Y721, is being built by Dutch specialists Oceanco, and has three decks and three huge masts.

It is thought it will be a larger version of the existing Black Pearl yacht, and has taken two years to construct. It is expected to be completed in June. The Black Pearl is presently the largest and most technologically advanced sailing yacht in the world, but is expected to be bested once Y721 takes to the water.

Jeff Bezos, Amazon chief executive, is the world's richest man, a title he has held since 2018. AP
Jeff Bezos, Amazon chief executive, is the world's richest man, a title he has held since 2018. AP

Despite the impressive stats, and huge price tag, thanks to the positioning of the masts, one thing that Y721 is missing is a helipad. Bezos and his partner, helicopter pilot Lauren Sanchez, resolved this inconvenience by buying a second support yacht on which helicopters will be able to land before being transported to the main vessel. The second, smaller yacht is not thought to be included in the half-a-billion-dollar price tag.

With a personal fortune estimated at $191 billion, Bezos can certainly afford the new purchase, having watched his wealth grow by $75bn during the pandemic, according to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index. As health restrictions bit, and people were confined to their homes, vast numbers switched to online shopping in 2020, with Amazon one of the biggest beneficiaries of the newly adopted habits. During the same period, the value of Amazon stock gained 75 per cent.

While Bezos’s new boat may be impressive, it is certainly not the biggest.

Nor is it the most expensive. The History Supreme, owned by Robert Kuok, cost a reported $4.8bn, thanks to the 10,000 kilograms of gold and platinum that adorn the dining area, deck, rails, staircases and even anchor. The master bedroom has an entire wall made from meteorite rocks and a 68kg, 24-carat gold Aquavista Panoramic Wall Aquarium. It also has a statue made from the bones of a Tyrannosaurus rex.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

The%20specs
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Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills

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