Who Owns the Biggest Yacht in the World?

From James Bond to Succession, mega yachts have captured the imagination in popular culture. But who owns the biggest yacht in the real world?

The answer is the Al Nahyan family of the United Arab Emirates. Their yacht – the Azzam – stretches 180 meters (592 feet) from bow to stern, making it the longest private motor yacht ever built. Originally commissioned by the late Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Azzam has held the top spot since its launch in 2013. It cost an estimated $600 million and took roughly 6 million man-hours to complete.

But the story doesn’t end with one name and one boat. The world of mega yachts is a strange, opaque universe of shell companies, offshore trusts, and eye-watering running costs. Below, we’ll break down everything about the Azzam, clarify the confusing length-vs.-volume debate, and rank the ten largest yachts afloat today. We’ll also look at the Western billionaires – Bezos, Brin, Gates – who are rapidly entering the mega yacht arms race, and cover something most yacht listicles skip entirely: how much fuel these floating palaces actually burn.

The Biggest Yacht in the World: Azzam

The Azzam was built by German shipyard Lürssen and delivered in 2013. Its exterior was designed by Italian firm Nauta Yachts, while French decorator Christophe Leoni handled the interior. At 180 meters, it’s longer than many cruise ships – and considerably faster.

What makes the Azzam truly unusual isn’t just its length – it’s its speed. The yacht runs on a combined propulsion system of two gas turbines and two diesel engines, producing roughly 94,000 horsepower. That setup drives a water-jet system rather than traditional propellers, giving the Azzam a top speed of 32 knots. For a vessel this size, that’s remarkable. Most mega yachts over 100 meters top out around 20–25 knots.

The water-jet system also allows for a shallower draft. That means the Azzam can access harbors and anchorages that would be off-limits to similarly sized vessels with deeper keels. It accommodates 36 guests served by a crew of around 80. The interior details remain closely guarded – no official photos have ever been released.

Who Owns the Azzam?

The Azzam was originally commissioned for Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, then President of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi. After Sheikh Khalifa’s death in May 2022, ownership is widely reported to have transferred to Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the current UAE President.

That said, pinning down who “owns” a yacht at this level is rarely straightforward. Vessels of this caliber are almost never registered under a person’s name. Instead, they’re held through layers of shell companies, trusts, and offshore entities – sometimes across multiple jurisdictions. This is standard practice in the mega yacht world, driven by a mix of privacy concerns, tax planning (or evasion), and security considerations.

What we can say with confidence is that the Azzam is linked to the Al Nahyan family of Abu Dhabi, one of the wealthiest ruling families on the planet. Multiple industry sources – including SuperYachtFan and Boat International – attribute ownership to this family.

Biggest by Length vs. Biggest by Volume

Rankings of the world’s largest yachts can be confusing because “biggest” means different things depending on the metric.

Length overall (LOA) measures the yacht from the tip of the bow to the stern. By this metric, the Azzam wins at 180 meters. The headlines most commonly cite LOA and it is what most people mean when they say “biggest yacht.”

Gross tonnage (GT) measures the total enclosed internal volume of the vessel – not its weight, despite the name. By this metric, the Dilbar holds the record at 15,917 GT, even though it’s “only” 156 meters long. The Dilbar is simply a wider, more voluminous ship. Its interior includes a 180-cubic-meter swimming pool – the largest ever installed on a yacht.

German authorities seized the Dilbar in 2022 under EU sanctions against its owner, Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov. Since then, it sits at the Blohm+Voss shipyard in Hamburg, its future uncertain.

So why does the distinction matter? A yacht can be the “longest” without being the most spacious inside. If you care about usable living space, gross tonnage is the better indicator. If you care about sheer visual scale dockside, length is what counts.

The 10 Largest Yachts in the World

Here’s how the top 10 stack up by length as of 2026:

One name dominates this list: Lürssen. The German shipyard built six of the top ten and has delivered 15 of the 25 largest yachts in the world. No other builder comes close.

The top 10 is also overwhelmingly Middle Eastern. Royal families from the UAE, Oman, and Saudi Arabia account for most entries, with the notable exceptions of Russian oligarchs Abramovich and Usmanov.

What’s Coming Next: REV Ocean

The Azzam‘s reign as the longest yacht may be nearing its end. REV Ocean, a 194.9-meter vessel under construction at the Vard shipyard in Romania, should be delivered in late 2026. If completed on schedule, it would surpass the Azzam by nearly 15 meters.

REV Ocean is a hybrid project – part research vessel, part superyacht. Norwegian billionaire Kjell Inge Røkke seems to be the owner of this vessel for deep-sea scientific research that also offers luxury accommodations. At roughly 19,000 GT, it would also surpass the Dilbar as the largest yacht by volume.

There’s also Somnio, a 222-meter “yacht liner” currently under construction. However, Somnio is classified differently – it’s a residential vessel with individually owned apartments, more akin to a floating condominium than a private yacht. As a result, most industry registries won’t include it in traditional yacht rankings.

How Much Fuel Does the Biggest Yacht in the World Burn?

This is the part most yacht lists skip. The environmental footprint of mega yachts is staggering.

The Azzam‘s propulsion system – two gas turbines plus two diesel engines producing ~94,000 HP – is built for speed, not efficiency. Industry estimates for superyachts over 100 meters (328 feet) suggest fuel consumption of 500 or more litres (130+ gallons) per hour at cruising speed. At top speed, that figure climbs dramatically. The Azzam pushing 32 knots would burn through diesel at a rate most people would find difficult to comprehend.

Carbon Footprint and Running Costs

A Transport & Environment study found that superyachts are among the most carbon-intensive assets per passenger on the planet. A single large superyacht of 5,000+ GT can emit over 6,500 tonnes of CO₂ per year – more than several hundred average European homes combined. The largest mega yachts, like the third-longest Eclipse, emit over 22,000 tonnes per year. Per passenger mile, no form of transport comes close to the carbon intensity of a mega yacht at full throttle.

The financial costs are equally striking. Fuel alone can run $5–10 million per year for the largest vessels. The common industry rule of thumb puts total annual running costs – crew, fuel, maintenance, insurance, berthing – at roughly 10% of the yacht’s build value. For the Azzam, that’s approximately $60 million per year just to keep it operational. A crew of 80 needs to be paid, housed, and fed year-round, whether the owner is aboard or not.

The Biggest Yachts Owned by American Billionaires

While Middle Eastern royals and two Russian oligarchs dominate the top-10-by-length list , Western billionaires – particularly from the tech sector – have been entering the mega yacht world aggressively in recent years.

• Jeff Bezos – Koru (127 m / 417 ft): Built by Oceanco and delivered in 2023, the Koru is the world’s largest sailing yacht. A 75-meter support vessel, Abeona, carries the even bigger yacht’s helicopter, tenders, and toys. The build was famously secretive – Bezos kept nearly every detail private throughout construction.
• Sergey Brin – Dragonfly (142 m / 466 ft): The Google co-founder took delivery of Dragonfly from Lürssen in 2024. It’s part of what Brin reportedly calls his “Fly Fleet” – a group of yachts that includes the smaller Butterfly. Features include a helicopter hangar, a beach club, and a diesel-electric propulsion system that’s more efficient than conventional setups.
• Bill Gates – linked to Breakthrough (119 m / 389 ft): Built by Feadship, Breakthrough has been reported as the world’s first hydrogen-fuel-cell superyacht. It reportedly includes a hospital, cinema, and a swimming pool with a movable glass bottom.
• Tilman Fertitta – Boardwalk (117 m / 384 ft): The American restaurant and casino billionaire (and current US Ambassador to Italy) has a 117-meter Lürssen due for delivery in 2026. It will feature two pools, two helipads, and a putting green.
• Larry Ellison: The Oracle co-founder is a serial yacht owner. He previously owned the 138-meter (452-foot) Rising Sun, which he later sold to entertainment mogul David Geffen.

The trend is clear. Tech billionaires – Bezos, Brin, Gates, Ellison, and reportedly Mark Zuckerberg – have overtaken the old-money shipping magnates and industrialists who once dominated Western yacht ownership, with the global superyacht market hitting $61.4 billion in 2025.

What It’s Like on a Yacht (Even If It’s Not 600 Feet Long)

While reading about $600 million mega yachts is fascinating, you don’t need a sovereign wealth fund to experience life on the water. The magic of being on a yacht isn’t really about the helicopter hangar or the missile-defense system. It’s about the open deck, the wind, the coastline sliding past, and the feeling that the rest of the world has temporarily stopped.

A yacht tour on BoatBooker can deliver exactly that. Whether it’s a sunset cruise along the Amalfi Coast, a catamaran day trip in the Caribbean, or a private charter in Dubai, the core experience – being on the water, away from everything – scales beautifully. You don’t need 180 meters. Even a pontoon boat on a quiet lake has a version of that same feeling.

Frequently Asked Questions about Mega Yachts

Would you like to own a mega yacht? Or would you rather chill on a more modest vessel? Also, if you spotted anything in this post that’s out of date (yacht ownership changes faster than most articles can keep up), drop a note in the comments so we can keep it accurate.

Joris Zantvoort