You’ll have to fight Kate Hudson for a sunlounger on Sir Philip’s pleasure palace

Here are the superyachts the stars love to party on...
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3 July 2012

Some fret about the haves and the have-nots. Others fret about the haves and the have-yachts. But those lucky have-yachts still fret about the have-superyachts, and the have-superyachts fret about the have-superyachts moored next to them in the marina of their tax-haven — the ones with not one but two helipads and Gwyneth Paltrow idling on the sunlounger.

Sir Philip Green, the man behind Arcadia retail group, with an estimated worth of £3.3 billion, does not need to fret. His 206ft yacht, Lionheart, may not be the biggest on the waves but it is certainly the friendliest.

The most recent stars to be spied on Lionheart was US actress Kate Hudson and her boyfriend, Muse singer Matt Bellamy. For his recent 60th birthday party off the coast of Mexico, Sir Philip spent £6 million celebrating with Leonardo DiCaprio and other pals including Naomi Campbell and Gwynnie. Sir Philip has also tirelessly welcomed aboard Jennifer Lopez and her husband Marc Anthony, Sylvester Stallone and Simon Cowell.

Lionheart, which the tabloids have labelled Top Ship, cost an estimated £32 million. There’s also a leopard-print speedboat called Lioncub, and a smaller superyacht (109 ft) called Lionchase. Last summer Sir Philip selflessly lent it to his close friend Kate Moss for a two-week honeymoon with her new husband Jamie Hince.

Still, in a sense, all this yacht-flaunting is surprising. After the crash of 2008 diminished fortunes, the superyacht craze looked to have peaked. A typical superyacht (a vessel over 100 ft) takes up to 400,000 man hours to build and costs around £100 million. They are not cheap to run either, even for a billionaire. A full tank of diesel costs about £300,000. Roman Abramovich’s 533ft Eclipse reportedly costs €1 million a month to maintain.

In recent months, however, life on dry land has often seemed fraught, so the super-rich seem to have spent more time at sea. They feel safer that way. Abramovich’s Eclipse has an anti-missile defence system and is crewed by ex-Royal Marine commandos. There is also the mobility factor: you can sail between Monaco, Antibes and Montenegro, creating your own transnational superyacht state.

And of course, size matters. Abramovich’s Eclipse recently beat Sheikh Mohammed’s Dubai to the title of the biggest superyacht in the world. The Sheikh is apparently thinking of renovating his swimming pool to gain those crucial extra inches.

However, gadgets matter too. Media tycoon Barry Diller’s Eos has three Perspex swimming pools. The Candy brothers’ £60 million Candyscape II features a £100,000 Perspex Schimmel piano that plays itself.

Some trends are more whimsical: jet packs and big inflatable slides, so revellers can whoopsie down into the sea — and onboard beaches.

However, most important is your choice of guests. Bono, Bryan Ferry and Sir Mick Jagger have been known to have a jam on the yacht of Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft. George Osborne and Lord Mandelson were notoriously guests on the boat of Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska. Gwyneth Paltrow turns out to be a serial yacht-visitor, as at home with the Candy brothers as she is with Sir Philip. All aboard...

YACHT TRUMPS

Lionheart

Owner: Sir Philip Green, retail mogul

Size: 206ft (pah!)

Cost: approx £35 million

Features: Sir Philip’s logo everywhere, all over the swimming pool towels

Friends: Gwyneth Paltrow, Leonardo DiCaprio, Simon Cowell

Eclipse

Owner: Roman Abramovich, Russian

oil and aluminium billionaire

Size: 533ft

Cost: approx $485 million

Features: anti-missile defence system, anti-paparazzi lasers, mini-sub, two helipads, two swimming pools

Friends: Dasha Zhukova (his wife), Harvey Weinstein, Georgina Chapman

Eos

Owner: media billionaire Barry Diller and his fashion designer wife Diane von Furstenberg

Size: 271ft

Cost: approx $150 million

Features: three Perspex swimming pools, a figurehead of von Furstenberg, elegant sails

Friends: the Murdochs

Dubai

Owner: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum of Dubai

Size: 531ft

Cost: approx $350 million

Features: landing pad for a Black Hawk helicopter, submarine garage, glass spiral staircase

Friends: you’ll have to share with his two wives and 19 children

Rising Sun

Owner: David Geffen

Size: 453ft

Cost: approx $200 milion

Features: 82 rooms, wine cellar, helipad that doubles as a basketball court

Friends: Tony Blair, Tom Hanks

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