Money doesn't just talk anymore. It floats. Specifically, it floats in the form of 400-foot steel hulls, helipads, and diesel engines that burn through more fuel in an afternoon than most families use in a decade.
The phrase "have and have yachts" isn't just a clever pun on the old Hemingway-era class divide. It’s basically the defining metric of the 1%. In the 1920s, a 100-foot boat made you a king. Today? That’s practically a tender for the real titans. If you’re hanging out in Monaco or St. Barth’s, a 150-footer is basically the entry-level economy class of the high seas.
We’re seeing a massive shift in how the ultra-wealthy signal status. It’s no longer about owning a private jet; everyone has a Gulfstream now. The real flex is the yacht. But even within that world, there’s a brutal hierarchy. There are the "haves"—people with a nice 80-foot Sunseeker—and then there are the "have yachts"—the billionaires whose vessels require a crew of 50 just to keep the silver polished and the stabilizers running.
The Brutal Math of the Superyacht Tier List
Most people see a big boat and think "wealth." But the industry looks at it differently. You’ve got different tiers that separate the merely rich from the untouchable.
First, you have the "production" boats. These are built in factories, kinda like high-end cars. Think brands like Azimut or Princess. They’re beautiful, sure. But they aren't unique. If you pull into a marina in Portofino with one of these, there’s a decent chance someone else is parked right next to you in the exact same model. For the "have yachts" crowd, this is a nightmare.
Then you move into the custom world. This is where Lürssen, Feadship, and Oceanco live. These aren't just boats; they are bespoke engineering marvels. When Jeff Bezos commissioned Koru, he wasn't just buying a boat; he was engaging in a multi-year construction project that cost upwards of $500 million.
The maintenance alone is staggering. The rule of thumb in the industry is that you’ll spend 10% of the purchase price every single year just to keep the thing floating. If your boat costs $200 million, you’re writing a $20 million check every year for fuel, crew salaries, insurance, and dockage.
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Think about that. $20 million. Every year. Just to exist.
Why "Have and Have Yachts" is Becoming a Political Lightning Rod
It’s not all champagne and sun decks. The "have and have yachts" divide has become a visual representation of global inequality that is getting harder to ignore.
During the pandemic, the yacht market didn't just grow; it exploded. While the rest of the world was masking up and staying home, the billionaire class realized that a superyacht is essentially a floating, virus-proof fortress. You can move your entire life to the middle of the ocean, bring your chef, your doctor, and your security team, and wait out a global crisis in total luxury.
This led to a backlog in shipyards that still hasn't fully cleared. If you want a custom 100-meter yacht today, you’re looking at a waitlist that stretches years into the future.
But this visibility comes with a price. Climate activists have started targeting these vessels. We’ve seen groups like Futuro Vegetal spray-painting megayachts in Ibiza. To the activists, these boats are the ultimate symbol of carbon decadence. A single large yacht can emit as much CO2 as thousands of cars.
The industry is trying to pivot. We’re seeing more "green" tech—hybrid propulsion, hydrogen fuel cells, and "eco-friendly" hulls. But honestly? It’s a tough sell. You can’t really call a 5,000-ton steel palace "environmentally friendly," no matter how many solar panels you stick on the roof.
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The Shadow Economy of the Yachting World
Behind the "have and have yachts" lifestyle is a massive, invisible workforce. For every billionaire sipping Rosé on the aft deck, there are twenty 22-year-olds in the hull scrubbing bilges and folding toilet paper into perfect triangles.
The crew life is intense. It’s high-pay but zero-freedom. You live in a bunk the size of a coffin. You work 16-hour days. You see the world, but mostly through a porthole while you're polishing stainless steel.
There’s also the broker side of things. Firms like Burgess or Fraser Yachts act as the gatekeepers. They don’t just sell boats; they manage lives. They handle the "berth wars"—the cutthroat competition to get a parking spot in the right harbor during the Monaco Grand Prix. Sometimes, a dock space for a single week can cost more than a mid-sized house in the Midwest.
Real Examples of the Divide
Let’s look at the actual boats that define the "have yachts" category.
- Azzam: Currently the longest private yacht in the world at 180 meters (about 590 feet). It’s owned by the royal family of Abu Dhabi. It has its own missile defense system. That’s not a boat; it’s a sovereign territory.
- Eclipse: Owned by Roman Abramovich. It famously has an "anti-paparazzi" laser system that scans for camera sensors and fires a beam of light into the lens to ruin the photo.
- Sailing Yacht A: It looks like a spaceship from a sci-fi movie. It has an underwater observation pod in the keel.
Contrast these with a "standard" luxury yacht—maybe a 100-foot Ferretti. The Ferretti owner is incredibly wealthy by any normal standard. They have millions in the bank. But compared to the owner of Eclipse, they are basically a "have-not."
That’s the weirdest part of this whole world. The ladder never ends. No matter how big your boat is, there is always someone with a bigger one, a faster one, or one with a second helicopter pad just for their "support vessel."
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The "Support Vessel" Trend: The Ultimate Flex
Speaking of support vessels, this is the newest way to tell who is truly in the "have yachts" tier.
A support vessel is a second, slightly less fancy boat that follows your main yacht around. Why? Because your main yacht is too full of marble statues and grand pianos to fit the "toys." The support vessel carries the jet skis, the submarines, the inflatable slides, and the backup fuel.
It’s essentially a floating garage. If you have to buy a second $30 million boat just to hold your jet skis because your $200 million boat is too crowded, you have officially reached the peak of the "have yachts" mountain.
Navigating the Industry: What it Actually Takes
If you’re looking at this world and wondering how people actually get into it without being a tech founder or an oil tycoon, the reality is... they mostly don't.
But there is a "middle ground" that is growing: fractional ownership and high-end chartering.
Chartering is how most of the "haves" experience the "have yacht" life. You don't own the boat; you rent it for a week. A decent 150-footer might rent for $250,000 to $500,000 a week, plus expenses (fuel, food, tips). It’s a way to live the dream without the $20 million annual headache of ownership.
Actionable Insights for the Aspiring (or Curious)
If you're fascinated by the "have and have yachts" lifestyle or looking to dip a toe in, here’s the reality check:
- Understand the "All-In" Cost: Never buy a yacht based on the sticker price. Calculate the "10% Rule" immediately. If you can't afford to set 10% of the boat's value on fire every year, you can't afford the boat.
- Charter Before You Buy: Many people think they want a yacht until they spend a week on one and realize they get seasick or hate being in a confined space with a crew. Spend the $100k on a charter first.
- Focus on the Crew, Not the Hull: A mediocre boat with an incredible crew is a 5-star experience. A mega-mansion on water with a disgruntled, poorly managed crew is a nightmare. The "have yachts" crowd knows that the Captain is the most important hire they will ever make.
- Look at Refits: The smartest money in the yachting world often buys 10-year-old "pedigree" hulls (like a Feadship) and spends millions on a total interior refit. You get the world-class engineering of a top-tier shipyard without the five-year wait for a new build.
- The Exit Strategy: Yachts are depreciating assets. They are holes in the water you throw money into. Always have a clear understanding of the resale market for specific brands. Heesen and Lürssen hold value; obscure custom builds often don't.
The gap between the "haves" and the "have yachts" isn't just about footage. It's about the difference between owning a luxury item and owning a self-sustaining, floating ecosystem. It's a world where "too much" is never quite enough, and the horizon is always moving.