Largest Private Mega Yachts of the World's Richest Billionaires

The largest and most luxurious of yachts are the private mega yachts of the world's richest billionaires.

Mega yachts are the envy of the sea. Some of these classy ladies are larger than a football stadium with rooms for lounging like hotel lobbies. Others cost more than a private island. All of them come with additional "amenities" on board, such as an extra sailboat or two, jet skis, cinema, tennis or basketball court, sauna, salon, Jacuzzis, swimming pools, and helicopter pads--though the details of each of these floating private residences are sometimes kept a secret from the public.

The world's largest mega yachts, also termed super yachts or giga yachts, is a privately owned vessel. Who owns these beauties? For the most part, mega yachts are owned by extremely affluent individuals (billionaires) who purchase or commission them for pleasure cruising, partying, or as status symbols. As such, private mega yachts are constructed to stand out and be admired. The more gargantuan, lavish, and ostentatious the vessel, the more attention the mega yacht draws as a measure of her owner's success.

And as the wealth of singular individuals around the world balloons to staggering heights, so have mega yachts. Paul Allen's yacht Octopus was the largest yacht in the world in 2003. At 414 feet, Octopus was equipped with a full basketball court and music studio, and was the venue for extravagant parties such as Paul Allen's 2005 New Year's Eve bash with performing artists Johnny Cash and Usher. Since then, Octopus has been topped by Oracle CEO Larry Ellison's yacht Rising Sun, at 452 feet, which was then topped by Al Salamah. Al Salamah is owned by Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, the Defense Minister of Saudi Arabia. Al Salamah is 456 feet long. Then in 2007 came the mega yacht Al Said, an Arabian-owned yacht measuring an estimated 508 feet. Still under construction is Eclipse, which is owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and will launch in 2009. Eclipse is estimated to be between 508 and 550 feet.

However, size is not the only distinguishing factor for a mega yacht. Dubbed the "ugliest yacht in the world" by the Wall Street Journal, A is a 394 foot mega yacht designed to look like a submarine. A is owned by Andrei Melnichenko, a 36-year-old Russian banker and oil tycoon. Another mega yacht is Ice. At 295 feet, Ice is thought to be the most environmentally friendly yacht on the big blue. Ice, formerly known as Air, is owned by Suleiman Kerimov. Suleiman Kerimov is another Russian billionaire. Still under construction is a yacht known only as project "Hull 6154", also owned by a Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin, said to be the most technologically advanced (and most expensive) yacht in the world.

However, the world's wealthiest entrepreneurs are not the only owners of mega yachts. Mega yachts are also commissioned or purchased to represent the wealth of a country's head of state or royal family. These gorgeous beauties include vessels such as the mega yacht Dubai and the mega yacht Prince Abdul Aziz. The mega yacht Dubai, formerly known under its project name "Golden Star", is 531 ft and rumored to have cost over $300 million. Dubai is owned by the country it represents for the personal use of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, ruler of Dubai. These two beauties are just a few examples of the "royal yacht" class.

The ownership cost for a mega yacht is estimated to be 10% of the mega yacht's original purchase value--each year. Of course, that's often the point of owning one. Nothing else shows that a person (or country) is prosperous than an elegant, luxurious, mammoth-sized floating mansion capable of going anywhere in the world and stopping for admiration in any port large enough to harbor her.