Portofino-Harbour-Berth

The Real Cost of Celebrity Mega Yachts

Turn the key of a 71-meter-plus yacht and 10 minutes later you will have spent $540 on fuel, according to research by yachting Web site Superyachts.com . Cruise to Porto Cervo in Sardinia in your 50-meter boat, and a berth in the marina will cost you over €2,500 a day, according to Swiss yacht management company Floating Life.

Owning a super yacht is obviously an expensive hobby. Super-yacht prices range from around $3.5 million for a 30-meter boat to more than $135 million for a 71-meter-plus mega yacht. But few people realize how the running costs can mount up.

Operating a yacht costs approximately 10% of the initial value of the boat every year, according to Tork Buckley, the Côte d’Azur-based editor of The Yacht Report. But this does not take into account unanticipated expenses, breakdown, berthing and accessories, which can easily raise costs by another 10%.

We found this handy infographic at Towergate that breaks it down:

Kimberly Varney

The Estate Brand

An estate brand is both an ideology and a physical manifestation of aesthetic, design and service. It represents the intended reputation or expectations of the home.

Kimberly Varney

How to Handle Household Staff?

Recently, Ms. Baibakova made headlines not for her influence on the art world, but for her disctinct opinions on household staff.

Kimberly Varney

Stocking America’s Kitchen // Williams – Sonoma

There are few people who have touched so many lives as my former employer W. Howard Lester. 20 years before I met Mr. Lester, I was enamored by his brand. When the Williams-Sonoma catalog came each month, I oogled the products, fantasized over the perfectly styled kitchens, and dreamed that one day I would make perfect spritzer cookies with my very own amazing Danish cookie press.