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Super yachts seem like a win-win. Parts billionaires with their money. Limits consumption of a finite asset (like land). Employees many highly skilled workers t

• jareklupinski 5y ago
  >The pandemic put new value on so-called explorer yachts, some of which can cruise for 9,000 nautical miles without needing to refuel, said Aino Grapin, chief executive officer of superyacht-interiors studio Winch Design. “Clients can enjoy life at sea for long periods of time without having to go mix with others,” she said. eh, not enjoying the phrase 'having to go mix with others'....
  • benchaney 5y ago
    Well, there is a global pandemic going on right now. Normally that would seem kind of sleazy, but these days, that is what everyone is trying to do.
• elil17 5y ago
  Why couldn't those highly skilled workers do something more useful? Like build a fishing boat, research vessel, or hospital ship?
  • timbit42 5y ago
    Because Amazon avoids taxes so there isn't money for those things.
    • elil17 5y ago
      Half the battle, I think. Taxes only do so much good when we spend them on things which are just as useless. New guns for the Navy aren't an improvement of a super yacht in my book.
      • timbit42 5y ago
        That's a separate problem.
  • bko 5y ago
    Because we don't live in a planned economy where people are assigned their profession based on usefulness as determined by some committee.
• thisisbrians 5y ago
  From a humanitarian perspective, when I think about how many unfortunate people half a billion dollars could help, I don't see a win anywhere in here. From an environmental standpoint, it's also a massively wasteful use of material resources for the exclusive and likely very infrequent benefit of a tiny handful of people. I think it's abhorrent.
• granzymes 5y ago
  This is a sailing yacht, so presumably it won't be using its engines that much (if it has engines, I know nothing about yachts).
  • whitepoplar 5y ago
    Expensive sailing yachts like this operate under power most of the time. The sails are mostly for show and are typically used when the guests "feel like it".
    • granzymes 5y ago
      Good to know. Out of curiosity, are the sails on this type of ship typically enough to power the ship on their own?
      • usrusr 5y ago
        Clearly no and clearly yes: the sails won't provide auxiliary power, the electricity required to supply the navigation instruments (and lights, and the fridge, and sail automaton and in this case perhaps a Jacuzzi drawing more power than a village). But propulsion power, in favorable conditions, sure. And there's no lower bound for propulsion anyways: on a calm day with zero current you could run the boat on Jeff Bezos pulling it on a stand-up paddle board, infinitesimally slow.
• whitepoplar 5y ago
  It's interesting to think how the most flashy and repulsive wealthy people are often better for those around them than the simple, likable, wealthy people. The former spend their money, often all of it, and support people around them in the process, even if it wasn't their intention. The likable people often just hoard their wealth and spend very little. Note that this is a general observation--I have no comment on Bezos himself.
  • alexgmcm 5y ago
    Don't most wealthy people invest their savings though? So the money is getting used, unless they are just hiding it under their mattress or something.
  • elil17 5y ago
    Is it really helping anyone to pay people to do useless work? How is building a super yacht any different than paying people to dig a hole and fill it back in? All those people would be contributing more to society at any other job.
  • Closi 5y ago
    > The likable people often just hoard their wealth and spend very little. Who? The billionaires I would consider likable are the ones who spend their money on significant charity efforts.
  • skybrian 5y ago
    Normal people save for retirement and then retire. If you’re particularly fortunate, you can retire early. It’s somewhat unusual for people to do something particularly notable in retirement. We don’t expect it, but sometimes it happens. It seems natural that people who do something interesting become more well-known than people who don’t? Retirees do spend money and that does provide jobs. They also save money, which raises demand for investments. It’s also possible to give away money, and some do. I think that exhausts the alternatives? Maybe the more interesting part is how you spend, invest, or give away money? There are boring and interesting ways to do it. The jobs created might be boring or interesting, well-paid or not.
• t0mbstone 5y ago
  They are like gold sinks in video games, but for real life!
• deleted 5y ago
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