Excessive wealth, extreme emissions – and ecocide: what I learned at Europe’s big superyacht show — SkimNews
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- Monaco Yacht Show 2026 displayed 118 superyachts with a combined length of 5,508 metres and a value of €4.5bn, with the global order book now tracking 1,093 yachts over 24 metres under construction — up from 755 in 2016 but down 3.95% from last year as average size and gross tonnage continue growing.
- Oxfam's 2024 study identified 23 superyachts owned by 18 billionaires, estimating each vessel's average annual carbon footprint at 5,672 tonnes — the equivalent of 860 years of emissions for an average global citizen.
- The Walton family (Walmart heirs) own three superyachts that logged 56,000 nautical miles in a single year, producing roughly 18,000 tonnes of carbon — equivalent to the annual emissions of about 1,700 Walmart employees.
- Boardwalk V, the 76.5-metre yacht belonging to Tilman Fertitta — Trump's ambassador to Italy and owner of the Houston Rockets — is listed for €135m, down €14m from its original price, as Fertitta upgrades to a new 117-metre Boardwalk that drew protests when docked in Venice in June.
- Nixie, a 102-metre Lürssen-built yacht owned by Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky, charters at €2.4m per week with a crew of 34 and onboard amenities including a helipad and glass-bottomed infinity pool; access is restricted to direct potential clients only.
- Recreational boating including superyachts produces about 16 million tonnes of CO2 annually, with larger vessels burning more than 500 litres of diesel per hour while at anchor powering onboard "hotel loads" — and their anchors and chains devastate Posidonia seagrass habitats on the Mediterranean seabed.
Why it matters: The show arrives as the superyacht industry defends its existence during a period of widening wealth disparity — Oxfam's data showing each billionaire's yacht emits as much as 860 average citizens puts the sector's environmental cost in stark terms just as orders hit record construction levels globally. With 1,093 superyachts over 24 metres now under construction and Fertitta's €135m boat trading hands amid layoffs and austerity rhetoric across Europe, the industry faces growing scrutiny over whether private luxury at this scale can be reconciled with public climate and inequality concerns.
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