How the World’s Wealthiest People Travel

A ship that carries yachts over water so that the super rich get to attend events they don't even want to attend, causing prices to skyrocket and carbon emissions to go nuts, while the average middle class person gets criticized for using their heater in August is truly the pinnacle of irony

Literally having a boat haul your boat to the boating convention so you can all go inside a building and think about how people are admiring your boat

just when I think I have a sense of what luxury is or how the wealthy live, I hear phrases like “WWII simulating private yachts for bored rich kids” and then I realize that I know nothing

I’m a superyacht paint expert in South FL, I can confirm everything you said about the yachts is correct. The yachting industry is the most unique, bc money usually isn’t a problem. The limitations of physics, is the only thing holding them back.

I bought a Costco canoe this summer so you can say I’m part of the ultra-exclusive maritime community

This video reminded me of a book called "The Velvet Rope Economy." It details how businesses from Disney World to Healthcare have changed their models to squeeze as much money out of the wealthy as possible while reducing quality of service for the vast majority of customers.

It's insane that, even as I have an income multiple times that of the median American, I'm still only considered "Middle Class", and that I have more in common with a homeless person than I do with a multimillionaire, let alone billionaires. The scale of the inequality is absolutely inconceivable, and our society is falling apart at the seams, stretched too thin because of the constant upward transfer of wealth.

I think the yacht parking really makes an important point here. People don't really understand just how obscenely wealthy the wealthy really are. But the idea that they spend more than most people make in a year for a single night of parking their yacht at a dock is disgusting.

The ultra wealthy's travel being inconvienced by the super wealthy is devastating. I'll think about them next time I'm stuck in the middle seat while flying coach

The most dead I ever felt inside was working as a private Jet mechanic. Thanks Wendover for bringing all those old memory's back to the surface.

You forgot to mention their trips to Epstien Island

There are absolutely junior versions of this. I used to hang locally on the fringes of a couple groups that had different price level versions of this. One group was investors and venture capitalists who liked really expensive resorts and restaurants. They lived all over the US, and got together regularly. The other was young professionals who were all local, and took a monthly trip to more normal destinations. To play along, you have to be financially successful, obviously, but you’re also always have to be “on”. It’s like being on a corporate retreat when you are supposed to be relaxing with friends. The people who do this are either characters or just have really good interpersonal skills.

I legitimately thought all the yachts traveled through the oceans on their own power. I had no idea a yacht ferry even existed

Imagine Bezos' girlfriend watching this and realizing that he told her he was working at the office when those 2 planes were actually in Hawaii...

One of the things I've learned about the super rich simply from living right by Palm Beach island is that things are never what they seem. As an example, people have this idea of Palm Beach island being so glorious and pristine. But there's a dark secret to that place. You see, here in south Florida, feral cats have been roaming for decades. So long that they are now an integral part of the urban ecosystem. But Palm Beach Island has no appreciation for these cats so they constantly are getting rid of them. And by doing so are removing the one thing that combats their dark secret. A massive, disgusting rat problem. I've worked with a bunch of pest control companies over the years and the stories they tell about some of these mega mansions and mansions being infested with rats is crazy.

What's interesting about ultra-wealthy spending is they don't always spend to pursue a specific thing or experience, but more so because they want "one of a kind" experiences and to feel special because they can do it. Even if you're ultra wealthy, you won't really feel rich until you've blown a ton of money on something you don't need like a yacht just because you can. Without that feeling, being wealthy probably feels surprisingly empty.

I always knew that billionaires were living very unsustainably, but this is just grotesque

"I simply cannot afford to pay my workers a penny above the minimum wage", "Now please excuse me whilst I park my ship inside another ship, to save me the inconvenience of having to sail it"

Please Wendover, please make more content on the economics of wealthy people. For some reason I am super intrigued

I just want to be able to afford to raise a family in a decent house and car, with access to healthy food and healthcare. It's becoming harder all the time and I can't help but feel like a lot of the money that used to be available to people like me is going now to support this sort of lifestyle.