Whilst not fitting the term “Luxury real estate,” in the traditional sense of the word, i.e. on land, the current crop of giga-yachts or mega-yachts certainly fall under my definition of the word. Massive, spectacularly-outfitted floating mansions in fact. Conspicuous over consumption? Absolutely. Insanely expensive? Oh yes. Most of the final prices are carefully kept secret. Either that, or no one actually knows how much they cost. Introducing “A” – the most recent member of the giga-yacht club, and to put things in perspective, the fuel tank is 757,000 liters. Diesel fuel costs around €1.40 per liter currently, so it would cost just over €1 million to fill the fuel tank. $1.4 million US just to fill the tank. That amount of fuel will last 15.5 days at cruising speed. So the cost of building the ship becomes a little academic when the running costs are taken into consideration. I am exaggerating slightly as I have no doubt they are not paying retail for the fuel, but you get the idea. Seeing as the owner also owns one of the largest coal companies in the world, I very much doubt the cost of fuel is an issue.
“A” is 118 meters long, and from whichever angle you see her is perfect, not a poor line in sight. I understand there are three swimming pools aboard, an owner’s suite, 6 guest suites and accommodations for 42 staff, which includes 5 guest’s staff. “A” was built by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, in Germany, and was previously designated “SF-99”, then “Sigma,” when the design went over 99 meters. The design was by Phillipe Starck, and has come in for some considerable criticism. You either love her, or hate her. The absence of any protuberances was one of his goals, and as you see from the photos, everything blends perfectly.
It is difficult to estimate the final cost of “A” but conservatively – 150 million Euros? The owner is Andrey Melnichenko, a Russian energy billionaire and financier. Mr. Melnichenko owns some pretty luxurious real estate on the Cote D’Azur, but I am also hearing a rumour that he is in fact the mystery buyer of La Leapolda. Unconfirmed as yet. She certainly is a beautiful piece of design and engineering, and here are some more photos from all sides.
Found on blog.luxuryproperty.com. Read more on Wikipedia A
