Check out the photos of the event and the winners in the following link. The market for large luxury yachts which has an annual turnover of several billion Euros, since 2001 is continuously growing, barely affected by the financial crisis of 2008. The number of single operations (315 units) regarding the sale of large that have taken place in 2014 to date today has surpassed EUR 2,400 million, representing a 15% increase on the same period in 2013.
On this website you can find all kinds of really updated information and data of this industry. As in other sectors of the luxury industry, are the Persian Gulf Countries, Russia and China those that have got more growth in terms of purchases of such exclusive superyatchs. Chinese billionaires not only buy large yachts, but also the are buying companies that make these boats.
Wang Jianlin, chairman of Dalian Wanda Group and China’s richest man, bought a 92% stake in Sunseeker, one of the leading superyatch building companies in the world, for a 325 million pounds price , and so far has invested over 100 million pounds in working capital for the company. Wang Jianlin is very well known in Spain because of his purchase of the ‘España Building’ in the centre of Madrid , in addition to several skyscrapers in central London.
Russian billionaires have also been major players in this exclusive club of high luxury. Thus in 2004, the well known Russian businessman Roman Abramovich, among other things owner of Chelsea FC occupied many headlines for his purchase for a price of $ 300 million (€ 254 million) of ‘Pelorus’ one of the world’s largest the luxury yachts of 115 meters long. Four years ago Abramovich bought ‘Eclipse’ world second large yacht.
Andrey Melnichenko, is another Russian billionaire owner of a huge yacht called ‘A’ remembering his name and that of his wife. This yacht a Philippe Starck design , 394 feet in length has been travelling around the world and even in a local newspaper of Honolulu echoes the appearance of such as gigantic yacht in the capital of Hawaii.
Russia now accounts for 7% of the world’s superyacht fleet, not a far distance from the Persian Gulf countries (8% of the fleet). The complicated situation in Russia due to the civil war taking place in Ukraine, that has resulted on a battery of mutual sanctions between Russia and the USA and the EU could affect the industry, and is a cause of major concern among managers of shipping companies.
Keep in mind that the list of vetted people whose financial assets have been frozen in the West include many names related to political and business elite close to the Kremlin, some of the, potential buyers of superyachts. Also the effects of the wave of protests in Hong Kong caused some concern in the industry to the case where China could be affected by the West with similar penalties to those the Russian oligarchs.