Very few people in the world get to own a superyacht.
Some may charter a yacht and enjoy the open sea that way, but for most, the superyacht experience is something only enjoyed virtually, through photos of celebrities and notable figures enjoying their time on the waves. However, some people own wonderful yachts, and they haven’t all made their money in ways you might expect.
There’s been plenty in the news recently about superyachts belonging to oligarchs being seized, but there are still plenty of high-profile people out there who own yachts and made their fortune differently.
If you’ve ever been interested in how superyacht owners made their money, here are some examples to digest. Who knows, perhaps you might win millions of dollars playing poker one day and be able to buy your own!
Dan Bilzerian Superyacht
To start us off, we have Dan Bilzerian, a social media celebrity who makes no secret of his immense wealth. In 2021, it was reported he had purchased a $60m custom-built yacht with a movie theater and two pools. Called The Dan, his boat was spotted sailing around the coast of Croatia.
Bilzerian made his money in an unconventional way via playing poker. He is believed to earn $50m a year playing high-stakes games and once won $10.8m in a single game. A multi-million dollar trust fund set up by his Dad, Paul Bilzerian, probably helped with stake money.
The Azimut-Grande 27 of Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo is one of the world’s most famous soccer players, but at 37-years-old he is closing in on retirement. Like Bilzerian, he enjoys poker games and is often featured in lists of poker playing athletes. However, he hasn’t made his money from cards; he’s made it from soccer. He’s won titles in Spain, Italy and England and has lifted the Champions League trophy five times.
He bought the Azimut-Grande 27 for $7m in 2020, having previously chartered vessels for his breaks at sea. Buying a yacht brought him on a par with another soccer player, Messi, whom he has a rivalry with. They’re widely considered the top two players globally, and Messi has a $14m Maiora Seven C.
Leonardo del Vecchio & his 60m vessel
Most yacht owners are people in business rather than in sports or poker. The likes of Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Laurene Powell-Jobs are joined by lesser-known business personalities such as del Vecchio. His $60m vessel, named Moneikos, has an elevator and costs $4m a year to run.
Del Vecchio can certainly afford it; he’s worth upwards of $25bn. He was born in poverty in Milan in 1935 and began making spectacles in 1961. He entered a deal with designer Giorgio Armani in 1988 and has become wealthy on the back of that industry. Today he even owns a 10% stake in Italian investment bank Mediobanca.
Tom Brady $6m Wajer 77
Most readers will know exactly how Tom Brady earned his money; he’s the best quarterback, with a record number of Super Bowl wins behind him. Like Ronaldo, he is a savvy businessman with endorsements and the like, topping up his football earnings. He’s also been known to play celebrity poker, but plenty was left over for his yacht.
In 2020, he spent $6m purchasing a Wajer 77, which will sit beside his Wajer 55S at the boatyard. It is on the cusp of being a superyacht; at 77-feet, it is a single foot short of the accepted definition of a superyacht, 78-feet. I think we can forgive Tom Brady a single foot.
