[Lifestyle] Lifestyles of the super rich and famous

[FazzNoth]

Imagine you’re one of the richest dudes in the world looking for a new adventure and a little notoriety. You’ve already built a huge company, attracting a stir about working conditions. Then you shot yourself and a few others towards the edge of space, joining the 21st century version of that race.

Now your heart’s set on setting sail in the world’s largest yacht. The last time someone built such a large boat was over 50 years ago, so the seas aren’t awash with competitors.

You pick a Dutch company near Rotterdam to build the vessel. You’ve decided to erect all the boat’s onboard rigging —the masts, etc. — before you push off. Others planning such a mission might wait to clear land obstacles before raising their rigging.

There are two issues. The first is ”De Hef,” a 100-year-old decommissioned vertical lift bridge that would need to be “deconstructed” to let your 417-foot cruiser pass. The second is a brigade of egg-throwers organizing themselves on Facebook.

Who knows what compels figures like Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to hatch such schemes? Perhaps the challenge of a new project to create a big new splash?

The yachting spectacle is producing headlines in Rotterdam, which celebrates De Hef as a landmark. Nobody uses the Koningshaven Bridge to cross the river anymore.

There’s little dispute that the shipbuilders would have to pay for the de- and re-construction of the bridge if the deal goes through. Reports have quoted officials as saying that no permits have been requested, suggesting they’ll cross that bridge — or go under it — when they get there. Others have celebrated the idea of new jobs.

The steel span is 95 years old, so no one’s ­suggested that such a monument be junked after it’s taken down. And a few weeks after De Hef is reerected, any bad feelings over its temporary disappearance will likely vanish.

Perhaps the yacht will be used for a new top tier for Amazon Prime shoppers, who’d rate a little ride for their loyalty. Who knew that what started as a reading habit would lead to such grandeur?

Or that it took a sweat to choose a way to stand out from other wealth?

The yacht venture pushes forward the new meaning of “disposable income.” Holdings of Mr. Bezos and his competitors (Gates, Zuckerberg, Buffett, etc.) serve in today’s financial world as an illustration of the widening realm of the super-rich. In this world, the value of your holdings— and the “capital gains” involved — define why uber-wealth grows so much faster than mere income.

Tomorrow’s new headliners will likely mark themselves more by the ventures on which they spend their money than by the homes, planes, and yachts they already own. There will be a challenge to get to a new frontier of philanthropy faster than before.

Nobody — including Mr. Bezos — can afford to be sidelined now. Nobody of such fame and notoriety will want to miss any charitable egg toss. Chalk it up to duty.

The writer (dukeofdanforth@gmail.com) is a founder of the Aspen Daily News and his column appears here on Sundays.

https://www.aspendailynews.com/opinion/lifestyles-of-the-super-rich-and-famous/article_3e21da0c-86ea-11ec-a2fb-c7918c1ceeb8.html