The moral rot of the superyacht

These ostentatious, teak-and-aluminum eyesores are the manifestation of extreme privilege and immorally-begotten wealth — any system in which $700 million yachts and poverty coexist is inherently rotten. And while putting the squeeze on Russia’s uber-wealthy might not be enough to make Putin retreat from his objectives in Ukraine, it does in small part ensure that the most powerful members of Russian society don’t get to motor off into the sunset while their poorer and powerless compatriots are left to endure the internationally-imposed consequences.

Indeed, if superyachts stand for anything beyond the poor taste of billionaires, they’re proof of the moral rot of the uber-rich. Beyond the absurd price tag, “a superyacht with a permanent crew, helicopter pad, submarines, and pools emits about 7,020 tons of CO2 a year,” according to The Conversation’s calculations, “making it by the far worst asset to own from an environmental standpoint.” (By contrast, the average annual carbon footprint for a person in the United States is 16 tons).

As even superyacht designer Jon Bannenberg used to say, nobody needs a superyacht. But now is as good a time as any for people to realize: Nobody needs an oligarch, either.