Yacht world seduces China, Brazil’s super-rich
Russian oligarchs and their floating palaces helped keep the luxury yachting industry buoyant through the crisis, but super-rich buyers from China and Brazil are rushing to join them on the waves. Emerging market billionaires are showing a keen interest in superyachts, according to pundits at this year’s Monaco Yacht Show, the prestigious four-day global yacht gathering that wrapped up here on Saturday.
“The BRIC — Brazil, Russia, India and China — nations are much more active than they were three to four years ago,” Ellie Brade, Pacific editor at the Superyacht Group monthly magazine told AFP. China now has 115 billionaires, without counting Hong Kong, according to the Forbes rich list, second only to the United States and ahead of Russia’s 101. “Right now there is a significant and growing demand amongst wealthy Asian people, and in particular, the Chinese, to properly enjoy yachting,” said Olivier Besson, managing director of YPI Asia, an Asian joint venture run by Monaco superyacht firm YPI.
Almost all of YPI Asia’s buyers come from mainland China, Besson said, but until recently most of the boats sold there were smaller vessels. “Now, they have had a glimpse of the benefits that owning a superyacht can bring and they like what they see,” Besson said. In Monaco this week, Besson had three clients jetting in from Asia to look at 45-metre to 60-metre (196 feet) boats, among the 100-plus luxury vessels on show.
This is THE PLACE to find YOUR JAMES BOND ladies! The men who attend this event in Monaco are the top drawer of men! Trust me, you will never want to go American again. These guys speak at least 5 languages and smell and dress better than most women on the planet. If you are blonde, watch out for the Italians because they LOVE BLONDES and they will sing love songs to you. I am completely convinced that the Italians and the Latins in particular have the ability to charm just about anyone.