[imagesource: Andrej Sokolow / Picture Alliance via Getty Images]

We didn’t know much about the vessel that Jeff Bezos commissioned when news first broke out that he’d joined the yacht party.

What we do know is that it will be a 127-metre-long superyacht, that it will be equipped with three massive masts, and that Oceanco is building it – which will make it the largest sailing yacht ever built in the Netherlands.

Oh, and that it comes with a “support yacht” because it is so damn big, with its own helipad.

Named project Y721, it is due to be finished next month, almost two years after it was ordered.

While most of the details are still a secret, there has been a little bit more information leaked that can help us imagine what is sure to be the most identifiable boat in the world when it is launched.

Via Forbes, some hints can be found if we look at another creation from Oceanco – the Black Pearl, an award-winning, 106-metre-long, three-masted superyacht:

Although Bezos’ yacht is bound to be way, way bigger, it might share some characteristics with the Black Pearl.

I don’t think we mentioned that it will take a mere $500 million from Bezos’ total worth of around $190 billion and counting.

In fact, MarketWatch reported that he added $75 billion to his wealth last year alone, as Amazon shares spiked due to the COVID-19 lockdowns and social distancing measures fuelling a rise in online shopping.

They also reported that the pandemic has buoyed luxury boat sales in general:

While Bezos had already commissioned his superyacht a couple of years before the pandemic, other high net worth individuals set their sights on super-sized yachts in 2020 — particularly “explorer yachts” that can cruise for 9 000 nautical miles without needing to refuel.

Luxury yachts float billionaires’ boats because they offer unbound travelling, uncapped socialising, and infinite privacy.

The price on Bezos’ boat is actually quite modest compared to some of the biggest and most expensive boats in the world, according to Market Watch:

Russian businessman Roman Abramovich’s Eclipse (above) sails away with the most expensive privately-owned superyacht in the world title; it cost $1,5 billion to make.

We thought one helipad was cool, but this 533- foot (162-metre) boat has two, plus:

Two swimming pools, a mini submarine, 24 guest cabins, a dance hall and hot tubs. And then we come to security: there’s an intruder detection missile system, armor plating, bulletproof windows, and motion sensors.

Without being the most expensive, the Azzam (built for Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan of Abu Dhabi’s royal family) is the largest privately-owned superyacht in the world in terms of length:

The 591-foot-long yacht (180 metre) cost $600 million, and can accommodate 36 guests and 80 crew members, and features a huge main saloon, a special golf training room, a gym and a pool.

Then there’s something like a floating city, the Streets of Monaco superyacht, built by Yacht Island Design:

The $1 billion, 508-foot-long (155-metre) vessel made to mimic the streets of the French city of Monaco features scaled-down landmarks like the Hotel de Paris and Monaco Casino, plus a racetrack, an atrium, mini waterfall, and more laid out across its four decks.

My pockets are aching at the mere thought of it all, but since the world’s richest people added $1,8 trillion to their collective fortune (again, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index) last year, they definitely don’t feel the same sting.

[sources:marketwatch&forbes]