There has been a big fuss made because the founder of Google Larry Page bought a super yacht second hand but many say the decision should be applauded.
Larry Page is married with one child, and he has bought a 195 foot yacht with 10 bedrooms, a massive dining room, helipad, gym, and multi-level sun decks, including a deck with a cinema projector on an overhanging ceiling. This is more than enough space and entertainment for his small family and his friends so doesn’t the measured purchase simply indicate that he has more sense than money as oppose to the other way round?
Take the crew of 14 for a 195 foot yacht, if my maths are correct the 400+ foot yachts owned by Page’s competing tech-mogul billionaires will have crews of double that or more and their yachts cost upwards of 5 times the price.
Larry Page can therefore run his boat for ages before the purchase costs him as much as the larger yachts, and without even counting their running costs.
When the recession hit many Russian billionaires were forced to call of such purchases, and others to hold a fire sale of the assets they owned. If the tech bubble bursts were to burst it would surely trigger another recession, during this Larry Page will find it a lot easier to sell a 195 foot yacht for 20 million than others will find it to sell 400 foot yachts for 150 million.
On the other hand, these yachts are not usually bought to take the family out on a jaunt around the local sea. They are bought as a symbol of wealth and status. So, looking at it from this angle, Page is either trying to be the bigger man, to rise above such petty manhood measuring, subconsciously in fear that Google’s global dominance is not as secure as it once was, or his wealth and status is not as great as the likes of Paul Allen and Larry Ellison, who own yachts of 415ft and 454ft respectively, both costing over $200m.
Which is it? Does it matter? The Senses, formerly owned by New Zealand brewing heir Sir Douglas Meyer is a yacht that us mere mortals can only dream of owning.
American comedian, game show host and former anchor man on “The Tonight Show”, 
