Billionaires find the bigger the boat the better

updated 8:51 p.m. ET March 18, 2006

As the fortunes of the world’s wealthiest have grown, so, too, have their floating palaces. Twenty years ago a 150-foot boat would have made its owner the envy of the sea- faring set. Now it wouldn’t even get a ranking on the world’s 100 largest yachts list, according to Power & Motor-yacht magazine.

Limited Brands billionaire Leslie Wexner kicked off the yacht wars in 1997 when he launched the 316-foot Limitless, at the time 110 feet longer than any other boat.

Since then a competitive sport has emerged in waterlines.

To play, you need to spend up to $300 million, and perhaps buy more than one vessel (Russian Roman Abramovich owns three). Rumor has it Larry Ellison ordered his Rising Sun be built a few feet longer than Paul Allen’s Octopus — just to stick it to his Microsoft rival (Ellison’s folks deny this story).

BILLIONAIRE BOATS Click the name below to see that billionaire's yacht. Larry Ellison Paul Allen Roman Abramovich Prince Alwaleed Wayne Huizenga Dennis Washington Alex Shnaider Jim Pattison

(MSNBC is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC.)

“Yachts are the closest a commoner can get to sovereignty,” explains U.S. billionaire Charles Simonyi, who spends six months a year on his 233-foot Skat.

A boat owner should be prepared to spend 10% of the purchase price each year on fuel, cleaning, system maintenance and crew salaries. Plus there are dockage and registration fees, taxes, insurance and the cost of a good maritime attorney. But if you have to ask about any of these outlays, you can’t afford them.

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