Incredible Yachts of the Rich and Famous

Name: Va Bene
Value: $10 million*

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Eric Clapton owns no less than four of the world’s most expensive guitars – along with one of the world’s most elite superyachts. Dubbed Va Bene, Clapton’s impressive sea vessel was built in the early 1990s by legendary designer Richard Hein. Clapton paid an estimated $10 million to buy it in 2005.

Eric Clapton - Va Bene ©Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com | @eric.clapton.historybook / Facebook.com

Va Bene is outfitted with twin Caterpillar engines capable of a top speed of 18 knots. Featuring enough cabin space for 25 passengers (including 13 crew members), Clapton actually added additional upgrades including a master suite, jet skis, and kayaks.

And with an estimated net worth hovering around $250 million, Va Bene’s $10 million price tag is a relative drop in the bucket for one of music’s most revered (and profitable) icons. In fact, Clapton consistently ranks among the top dozen richest musicians who ever lived.

Name: Andromeda
Value: $275 million

New Zealand billionaire and businessman Graeme Hart bought the 107-meter yacht, Andromeda, back when it was named Ulysses. It is an expedition yacht that was first constructed by Kleven Maritime AS. It was moved from their headquarters to Bremerhaven, where it was finished in 2015.

Graeme Hart - Andromeda @NBROnline / @SuperYachtFan / Facebook.com

It was finished by Dorries Maritime Services at the Stahlbau Nord shipyard. It has a beam of fifty-nine feet and a top speed of thirty kilometers per hour. It accommodates up to thirty guests and forty-three crewmembers. It is the second yacht of its kind for the builder, Kleven. Its broker is Fraser Yachts.

In true rags-to-riches fashion, Hart built his billion-dollar packaging empire after years working as a truck driver. Later expanding into holdings and consumer goods, Hart quickly became one of the richest men in both New Zealand and the world.

Name: Amphitrite
Value: $19.2 million*

Once owned by Johnny Depp, Harry Potter mastermind J.K. Rowling bought the gorgeous Amphitrite for a staggering $27 million back in 2015. But with its cutting edge satellite system, 12-knot cruising speed, and multiple guest rooms most believe she paid far less than its actual value.

J.K. Rowling's Yacht @ fsog_greysessed / Twitter.com @FeatureFlash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com

Rowling reportedly put the ship up for sale just a year after finalizing the purchase. With an asking price of about $19 million, prospective sailors can also charter this luxury vessel for roughly $130,000 a week. Adding that to what Rowling makes every day from her Comcast-owned “Wizarding World” section at Universal Studios makes her one insanely rich lady.

Rowling hasn’t been spotted out at sea in several months, most likely due to her latest writing efforts – including a new novel written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. She also runs and finances several philanthropic organizations that keep her relatively landlocked as of late.

Name: Trending
Value: $300 million* 

Superstar Oprah made her fortune thanks to her famous CBS talk show. And she took a large slice of those earnings to finance one very pricey purchase some years ago: a superyacht called Trending. Built by Westport, Trending is a whopping 50 meters long and gets a max speed of 24 knots. It hosts twelve guests in six cabins.

Oprah - Trending ©Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com | @Chuck Thompson / Facebook.com

The yacht is up for charter, costing $210,000 per week to rent. It was built in 2006 and refitted in 2016. The yacht has staterooms with lavish bathrooms made of onyx. It also has a Sky Lounge and a huge hot tub surrounded by sunbeds.

Oprah’s impressive investing portfolio – which spans the entertainment industry, fashion lines, and even retail – has made her not only one of the richest women in America but also one of the richest humans on planet Earth. This stunning $300 million toy is likely a drop in the bucket to this superstar billionaire.

Name: Slipstream
Value: $73 million*

Simon Cowell is worth around half a billion – thanks largely to his hit Fox show American Idol – so it makes sense that he would buy one beauty of a yacht. His custom-made yacht, Slipstream, was built by CMN Yachts. It has a deck Jacuzzi, gym, and can house twelve guests and fifteen crew. It also has a beautiful dining area with a deck overlooking the water, as well as a hotel-like master suite.

Simon Cowell @ CoachQ118 / Twitter.com @s_bukley / Shutterstock.com

Cowell’s yacht even has an entrance foyer with a chandelier and sitting room. He was recently spotted on the sixty-meter yacht alongside his young son and his son’s mother. Cowell’s yacht costs $329 thousand per week.

In addition to his long string of memorable TV hosting roles, Cowell owes a large portion of his fortune to early-1990s TV. For example, Cowell successfully brought both Power Rangers and Teletubbies to American audiences.

Name: Wabi Sabi
Value: $26 million*

Wabi Sabi is Elton John’s superyacht, and the English singer hired an American builder, Westport, to construct the yacht in their Washington shipyard. The British rock star reportedly paid for the yacht with the earnings from his famous Coca-Cola commercials (among other profitable cross-promotions).

Elton John - Wabi Sabi ©Cubankite / Shutterstock.com | @Anthony Zois / Facebook.com

The yacht was designed by Donald Starkey, and it was built to Elton’s specifications. It is bright white, and it has been spotted in some of the most remote locations in the world. The yacht is also one of the larger yachts on this list, accommodation-wise. It can house eighteen guests in eight luxury cabins. It sports twin MTU engines with 3650 horsepower, giving the superyacht a cruising speed of 15 yachts.

The legendary British rock star has accrued an incredible fortune over the years built on his own brand of glam rock. With multiple Platinum-selling albums and more hit singles than most musicians could ever dream of, Elton John’s yacht is a reminder of just how far he’s come since his early days.

Name: Seven Seas
Value: $150 million*

Owned by illustrious Hollywood filmmaker Steven Spielberg, Seven Seas is one of the most elegant superyachts on the water. Tastefully adorned with walnut and teak interiors, the Oscar winner commissioned the yacht back in 2010, even designing its signature feature: a massive glass wall alongside the pool that doubles as a poolside movie theater screen. Just don’t try it while watching Jaws.

Steven Spielberg - ©Seven Seas Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com | @SuperYachtFan / Facebook.com

As an avid seafarer, Spielberg has reportedly begun charting Seven Seas for more than $1 million a month ahead of plans to sell it all together – to make way for a new, even bigger yacht currently being built.

In addition to his billion-dollar grossing films as a director, Spielberg’s work as a producer has rightfully secured him the distinction as one of Hollywood’s most bankable employees. For example, he produced the Transformers series for Universal – generating an entire franchise that includes toys, theme parks, and video games.

Name: Capri
Value: $17.6 million*

The “Songbird Supreme” Mariah Carey owns 192 feet of pure nautical wonder. Dubbed the Capri, this luxury superyacht comes equipped with not one, but two onboard bars – along with a Jacuzzi, a spa, Carey’s personal library, and one of the plushest master suites ever seen on the open seas.

Mariah Carey - Capri ©Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com | @MyPublicistInc / Facebook.com

With operating costs close to hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, Carey paid extra for a supercharged motor system, as well as a signature touch: a full-time chef who caters to Carey’s guests (and the diva herself) whenever the vessel is out to sea.

Carey’s vast fortune took many epic turns over the years. But the singer’s incredible voice always managed to remind audiences (and ticket buyers) that there’s simply no talent like her out there, even all these decades later.

Name: Cyan
Value: $11.5 million*

Constructed by one of the most prestigious ship-builders in the biz (the Italy-based firm Codecasa), Bono’s impressive yacht Cyan comes with a surplus of seaworthy treats. Onboard jet skis, hot tubs, and an outdoor movie theater are just a few of its luxury features.

Bono - Cyan ©G Holland / Shutterstock.com | @TheClubYacht / Twitter.com

But the U2 rock star added his own personal touch to the craft: a state-of-the-art stereo system that runs throughout the entire vessel. He also added his favorite color, blue, to the ship’s exterior – and threw in a grand piano on the deck, too.

As one of the most successful names in the music business, Bono built a massive, billion-dollar empire that began in entertainment and has since expanded to include philanthropy, foreign aid, and even feature films.

Name: Vendetta
Value: $1.3 million*

With more than 40 classic hit songs under his belt, iconic singer-songwriter Billy Joel has spent years investing in boating. He’s personally overseen the design of several of his own personal yachts – but Vendetta may be his most brilliant (and expensive) of them all.

Billy Joel - Vendetta ©Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com | @sailingmotoryachts / Facebook.com

Designed in the style of a classic 1920s Motoryacht, this sleek craft is perfect for quick getaways and joy rides on the open sea. Its cockpit-style hull conceals an unusually spacious cabin below. And thanks to its resin-infused hull it can hit max speeds topping 40 knots.

Now in his 70s, Joel initially emerged into the music scene in the 1970s as one of the most genuine and easygoing voices on the radio. Audiences instantly connected to his irony-free ballads of American life. Several best-selling albums later, he owns an entire empire fueled by his classic music.

Name: Sarita
Value: $20 million*

In an attempt to streamline his luxurious lifestyle (and costs), Oscar-winning actor Nicolas Cage decided to sell off one of his most prized possessions: his luxury superyacht, Sarita. With enough space to comfortably house a dozen passengers, Sarita’s standout feature was undoubtedly its ornate, wood-carved dining room.

Nicolas Cage's Yacht @ boatint / Twitter.com @Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com

After reportedly paying somewhere around $20 million for this slice of maritime heaven, it’s believed that Cage sold it off for an undisclosed sum – though it recently wound up back on the market for closer to $29 million.

Transitioning between huge Hollywood hits like Con Air and more ambitious art-house fare like Adaptation, Cage’s uncanny all-or-nothing style of acting has seen incredible highs and equally amazing lows. But make no mistake: Cage is one of the hardest-working actors in the business, consistently acting in multiple films a year.

Name: SeaFair
Value: $4 million*

The soccer legend and his wife (former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham) own one beauty of a yacht. Equipped with its own onboard gym, the SeaFair is a bit on the smaller side compared to other celebrity vessels out there. But the Beckhams pumped millions of dollars into renovating it over the years, supercharging its luxury features.

David Beckham - SeaFair ©Cubankite / Shutterstock.com | @Dean Drexler / Facebook.com

Nicknamed “The Sophisticated Lady,” the Beckham’s boat can comfortably accommodate up to 8 couples. The couple reportedly sacrificed additional cabin space in order to make way for their onboard art gallery – a truly unique feature at sea.

Beckham carved out a singular, iconic status as one of the most interesting sports stars in the world following a string of championship wins in the UK. But he turned his success on the soccer field into international dollars with memorable film and TV deals, as well as video game licensing contracts to use his likeness.

Name: Necker Belle
Value: $6.6 million*

Hailed as one of the best-refitted superyachts in the world by the World Superyacht Awards back in 2010, Richard Branson’s Necker Belle is a standout in the water for all kinds of reasons. He laid down more than $6 million to buy it and spent two years renovating it into a work of nautical brilliance.

Richard Branson - Necker Belle ©Jaguar PS / Shutterstock.com | @Capitan Darren Fry / Facebook.com

For example, the Necker Belle’s powerful engine makes it one of the faster yachts in the world (Branson once clocked it clearing a top speed of 20 knots). Up until recently, Branson was offering limited-time charters at $60,000 a week as part of Virgin’s Limited Edition collection.

The Virgin founder and CEO has long been hailed as one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the modern world. With a literal arsenal of vehicles at his disposal (including a potential lunar module for spaceflight), Necker Belle still manages to stand out as one of the slickest toys in Branson’s fleet.

Name: Privacy
Value: $20 million*

Doubling as his second home, Tiger Woods paid an estimated $20 million for his super-charged nautical wonder, the aptly-named Privacy. At 155 feet in length, Privacy is designed for smaller parties of 15 or 20 passengers (as opposed to massive gatherings). But its spacious rooms, including 5 guest rooms, more than make up for its relatively sleeker size.

Tiger Woods' Yacht @ joshlpeter11 / Twitter.com @DebbyWong / Shutterstock.com

Woods has been known to live aboard the Privacy while on the road for his golf tours and matches. While that certainly saves on hotel costs, it’s probably just a small dent of the reported $2 million in years operational costs it takes to keep Privacy in working order.

Woods quickly ascended to the top of the sports world (and many Wheaties boxes) after multiple back-to-back wins on the PGA Tour. An iconic sports figure who consistently performed well under immense pressure, Woods continues to challenge the golf world even all these years and championship wins later.