#superyachts

#superyachts

Over New Year's Eve, St Barths hosted the largest-ever gathering of 100-metre-plus superyachts ever recorded at a single event - 13 in total - surpassing even Monaco, and had hundreds of vessels lining the island's iconic harbors. Jeff Bezos' $500 million Koru, WhatsApp founder Jan Koum's 100.75 metre Feadship named Moonrise, and Google co-founder Sergey Brin's Lürssen flagship were parked in the vicinity, with US tech billionaires contributing greatly to the unprecedented concentration of megayachts in the Caribbean's waters.

Size doesn't always matter, but it absolutely does in the rarefied world of superyachts. Palaces at sea have long been a status symbol for the masters of the universe, a place to live a life of excess and network, far removed from the prying eyes of ordinary people. As the rich get richer - the world's 10 richest people are $500 billion wealthier this year - their boats are getting longer.

Kevin Koenig, a journalist at The Wall Street Journal, took a closer look at this curious phenomenon. He spoke to several billionaires who have taken to working in 'floating offices', including Jimmy John Liautaud, the proprietor of the sandwich chain Jimmy John's. Liautaud is something of a workaholic, as he finds time to work whether he is - and that includes any superyacht he happens to be stationed on. And he's not alone.