Farhad Heydari September 18, 2006

 

Mark Twain once wrote, "There is no unhappiness like the misery of sighting land again after a cheerful, careless voyage." Larry Ellison, Paul Allen and Rupert Murdoch can empathize. They've parted with a large chunk of their earnings in order to stay happily adrift for days on end.

These men own some of the world's most technologically advanced ships, featuring helipads, cinemas, missile detection systems and music studios. Most of them are built to order. And all of these tricked-out floating palaces -- like Ellison's, which features a landing ship that can carry a SUV -- are priced out of this world.

Any sensible owner of a mega-yacht has to factor in staffing costs. As Diane Byrne, executive editor of Power & Motoryacht magazine, said, "It's common to see anywhere from a dozen to a few dozen hands, plus a captain, running a mega-yacht. Yachts are comprised of complex systems and generally require several well-trained people to take care of not just those items but everything from cleanup to serving meals."

See our slideshow of fabulous yachts of notable people.

And as always, overhead costs are an issue. "The rule of thumb is that owners need to set aside at least 10% of the purchase price each year to maintain their yachts-and they can easily spend $50 million or more just to build one. If an owner commissions a yacht in the size range of Octopus or Pelorus, the cost is more than $100 million," said Byrne, referring to Paul Allen's and Roman Abramovich's weekend boats.

These two men own the most jaw-dropping ships on our list. Paul Allen's Octopus has a glass-bottomed floor for sealife watching, while Abramovich's Pelorus (one of Greek mythology's Spartoi) is reportedly staffed by ex-commandos. Both men like to entertain; Allen enjoys the Cannes Film Festival, and Abramovich enjoys hosting his soccer team.

All of these ships tend to stand out in port, and are obsessively tracked by "yacht-watchers" around the globe. Whether it's the basketball court on Larry Ellison's Rising Sun, or the elevator on Tiger Woods' Privacy, many of them have utterly unique features. We're partial to Joe Vittoria's open-air cinema, as well as Leslie Wexner's dolphin cam.

See our slideshow of fabulous yachts of notable people.

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