Superyachts the latest toy coveted by the uber-rich

Singapore

THE ultra-rich may own super cars and sports franchises, but luxury yachts - costing the equivalent of entire office blocks in New York or London - are quietly gliding into the picture, cementing their status as the toys and status symbols to have among this set.

Wealth-X, a curator of research and information on ultra-high net worth individuals - that is, those with net assets of US$30 million or more - has done the tracking to know who owns what, what these "toys" are worth and the luxe features they have been kitted out with. Take, for example, the extremely deep-pocketed Roman Abramovich, who bought over Chelsea Football Club about a decade ago for £140 million and has since spent another £2 billion on the club in wages, transfers and a new training ground. The Russian oligarch owns the Eclipse, a 162-metre long, US$1 billion vessel that lays claim to the top spot on a list of the 10 most expensive luxury yachts in the world, said Wealth-X.