Back in the days of Aristotle Onassis, the Greek shipping multimillionaire, yachts were the exclusive domain of rich, powerful and mighty men, and I don't mean this in any sexist way because this is still the truth. Most of the people who own yachts and who keep them as the ultimate status symbols tend to be men. I'm sure that the situation will change at some point in the future but currently it is a male-dominated domain.
With that said, the question that is begging to be asked is whether this is still the case. Are yachts still the exclusive way tycoons show off the fact that they are extremely wealthy?
This is no longer the case. This can be a good thing. Why? Well, this just shows you that conspicuous consumption is on its way out. As more and more people in the United States and elsewhere become millionaires, it is rather interesting to note that the typical profile of the North American millionaire has changed drastically.
Back in the day, you can expect that person to wear a captain’s hat and enjoy the best life has to offer by getting out in the open sea in his own yacht. Whether that yacht leased, owned outright or is being financed with some sort of financial institution doesn't really matter. Back in in those days, having a yacht is the ultimate status symbol.
Interestingly, back in those days, all sorts of conspicuous consumption were the fad because it all boiled down to public displays of status. We’ve gone through quite a generational shift since then. Nowadays, you don’t have to wear your wealth on your sleeve.
Well, that's no longer the case because now, there are so many ways you can communicate to the world in a fairly tasteful way your elevated net worth. You don't necessarily have to bang a gong and wear ten pounds of gold chain around your neck, ride around a yacht and a gold-plated Mercedes Benz or BMW w to let people know that you have a lot of bacon coming in every single year.
In many cases, people broaden their high-level economic status based on their travels. You only need to open your Facebook timeline to see people hopping from country to country.
Just because somebody travels from country to country doesn't necessarily mean they're loaded. There are all sorts of impoverished college students backpacking throughout Europe and they are the last people you would confuse for multimillionaires.
Instead, the dead giveaway is the snapshots of the hotels they stay in. If you notice that there's a pattern of five-star hotels, then chances are that friend of yours who keeps posting their travel pictures is actually worth quite a bit of money.
This is why yachts are not as popular as they were before, but this doesn't mean that there is no demand for them. It also doesn’t mean that yachts do not deliver a truly amazing experience.
So, do yourself a big favor. If you're looking to treat yourself to the very best life has to offer, you might want to consider a little yachting adventure.