The Yachts Behind the Names — Part II
In Part I showed just how spectacular a yacht can become when size, cost and practicality are no longer limiting factors. But a yacht doesn’t have to be one of the world’s largest to have an extraordinary story. Some are fascinating because of who owns them, while others stand out because of what they carry, how they were built or the circumstances that brought them into their owners’ hands.
For Part II, we’re looking at yachts with stories that go well beyond their length and price tag—including some owned by names you’ll almost certainly recognize.
Tilman Fertitta- Boardwalk
I almost didn’t include this megayacht, which ranks 41st among the world’s largest privately owned yachts, because its owner is not as widely known internationally as some of the names elsewhere on this list. However, Boardwalk is the newest yacht featured here, having been delivered by Lürssen in spring 2026, making it worthy of inclusion.
Billionaire Tilman Fertitta is a prominent Texas businessman, television personality and philanthropist. He built his fortune through Landry’s, the restaurant and hospitality company that owns and operates dozens of restaurants and entertainment properties. His business empire also includes Fertitta Entertainment, which owns Golden Nugget casinos in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Biloxi and elsewhere. Forbes has previously described Fertitta as the “World’s Richest Restaurateur.”
Fertitta also starred in the CNBC television series Billion Dollar Buyer, owns the Houston Rockets NBA franchise, and is the largest shareholder of Wynn Resorts. His entertainment holdings include the Kemah Boardwalk, a large waterfront entertainment complex located on Galveston Bay south of Houston.
It is the Kemah Boardwalk that provides the name for Fertitta’s yachts. The Lürssen-built Boardwalk is the sixth yacht he has owned under that name over the past two decades, with each successive vessel increasing in size and amenities. Its predecessor was a 251-foot Feadship.
The new Boardwalk, reportedly costing more than $450 million, accommodates 14 guests in seven cabins, with quarters for a crew of 48. The yacht features forward and aft helipads, a swimming pool on the forward upper deck and a larger family pool on the main deck. A substantial beach club and multiple fold-down terraces are also incorporated into the design, along with the amenities expected aboard a yacht of this size.
Power comes from Caterpillar diesel engines.
One of Boardwalk’s more unusual features is its lighting. Lürssen incorporated approximately 3,000 exterior light fixtures throughout the 117-metre yacht—about one-third more than a typical megayacht of similar size. Fertitta specifically wanted Boardwalk to look as impressive at night as it does during the day, while the extensive lighting also helps illuminate passageways around the yacht.
In 2025, Fertitta was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Italy and San Marino. In summer 2026, he brought Boardwalk to Venice as part of a coastal cruise around Italy.
Steven Spielberg- Seven Seas
The name Seven Seas was particularly fitting when Spielberg took delivery of the megayacht from Dutch custom yacht builder Oceanco in 2023. At the time, the filmmaker had seven children, giving the vessel’s name an obvious connection to his family.
The approximately $250-million yacht was delivered just two years before the 50th anniversary of Jaws, Spielberg’s 1975 blockbuster and the first film to surpass $100 million at the domestic box office. Perhaps fittingly for a yacht owned by one of Hollywood’s most famous directors, Seven Seas has a 15-foot glass wall at its infinity pool that doubles as a movie screen, allowing guests to watch films while swimming. Seven Seas accommodates up to 14 guests in seven staterooms, with additional quarters for a crew of 35. Its amenities include an aft infinity pool and a fold-down transom that creates a beach-club area, along with a second pool and whirlpool, gym, sauna, cinema, and helipad. Power comes from twin MTU diesel engines producing nearly 5,000 horsepower each. The yacht has a top speed of more than 20 knots and a cruising speed of approximately 17 knots.
Jan Koum - Moonrise
Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, Jan Koum moved to California with his mother at age 16. He worked in data security at Ernst & Young while attending university before leaving school to join Yahoo! full time. In 2009, at age 33, Koum recognized an opportunity for a messaging application for the newly launched iPhone and co-founded WhatsApp. Facebook acquired the company in 2014 for approximately $19 billion.
The first of two Feadship-built megayachts named Moonrise was delivered to Koum in 2020. The 328-foot (100-metre) yacht ranks 73rd among the world’s largest yachts and reportedly cost approximately $220 million. It has five decks and accommodates 16 guests in eight cabins, along with a crew of 32.
With a 51-foot (15.5-metre) beam, Moonrise has an unusually spacious layout for a yacht of its length. Power comes from twin MTU diesel engines producing 3,200 horsepower each. The yacht has a cruising speed of approximately 18 knots and a top speed of about 23 knots.
Koum’s second Moonrise was completed by Feadship in 2025. At 331 feet (101 metres), it is only slightly longer than its predecessor and has a similar exterior profile and the same interior designer. Many of the changes Koum requested are less apparent at first glance.
The second Moonrise features a dedicated private owner’s deck, a private cinema on the bridge deck and accommodation for 14 guests in seven suites. Each suite is larger than those aboard the first Moonrise.
The yacht was engineered to provide a quieter and smoother experience both underway and at anchor. Its technical features include a redesigned anchor-handling system and propellers optimized to reduce underwater noise.
One of the most noticeable differences between Koum’s two Moonrise yachts is something that is no longer there. The first Moonrise carried five large satellite domes, while the 2025 yacht has none. Feadship integrated Starlink receivers directly into the superstructure, making the new Moonrise the first Feadship to eliminate the traditional communications domes entirely.
The yacht also operates with a dedicated support vessel, the 224-foot (68-metre) megayacht catamaran Nebula, which was built in 2022. With a beam of approximately 51 feet (15.5 metres), Nebula has an enclosed helicopter hangar large enough to accommodate the aircraft without folding its rotor blades. The enclosed arrangement also protects the helicopter from salt spray.
A helipad at the stern provides additional deck space, while the vessel carries three tenders and several personal watercraft. One of the tenders is a 40-foot (12.3-metre) catamaran. Nebula also incorporates extensive crew accommodation and amenities designed to support the Moonrise operation.
David and Victoria Beckham- Seven
Not to be confused with the megayacht Seven Seas featured earlier in this article, David and Victoria Beckham’s 130-foot (40-metre) Riva 130 Bellissima is also named Seven. It is the couple’s second yacht to carry the name, following their smaller 90-foot (27-metre) Riva Argo 90.
The name Seven has several connections to the Beckham family. Seven is the middle name of their only daughter, Harper Seven Beckham, and was also David Beckham’s jersey number for much of his football career, most notably during his years with Manchester United in England.
Victoria Beckham is a fashion designer, singer and television personality who rose to international fame in the 1990s as “Posh Spice” in the British pop group the Spice Girls.
Built by Italian yacht builder Riva, part of the Ferretti Group, Seven is reportedly worth more than $20 million. The yacht is constructed with carbon fibre and steel and accommodates up to 10 guests in five suites.
The three-deck yacht features a spacious flybridge with a whirlpool and a transom beach club with direct access to the water. Power comes from twin MTU diesel engines, giving Seven a cruising speed of more than 20 knots.
Eric Clapton - Va Bene
#/media/File:EricClaptonVaBene.jpg)
British singer-songwriter and guitarist Eric Clapton is one of the most influential figures in rock and blues and the only person to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times. He is also a longtime superyacht owner and Ferrari enthusiast.
Clapton joined the British rock group the Yardbirds at age 18, during the period when the band produced hits including For Your Love and Heart Full of Soul. He went on to co-found the rock supergroup Cream in 1966, followed by Blind Faith in 1968 and Derek and the Dominos in 1970, before beginning his solo career.
Among Clapton’s best-known songs is Layla, released in 1970 and inspired in part by his unrequited love for Pattie Boyd, the wife of his close friend and former Beatle George Harrison. Clapton and Boyd eventually married in 1979. Another of his best-known songs, Tears in Heaven, was written following the tragic death of his four-year-old son, Conor, in 1991.
Clapton also played the lead guitar solo on George Harrison’s While My Guitar Gently Weeps, which appeared on The Beatles’ 1968 album The Beatles, commonly known as the White Album.
The superyacht Va Bene was delivered in 1992 by Dutch builder Kees Cornelissen and sold to former racing driver and Formula One team owner Bernie Ecclestone in 1997. Clapton purchased the yacht in 2005 and subsequently had it refitted in 2007–2008 and again in 2023.
Va Bene accommodates up to 12 guests in six staterooms, including a full-beam master suite with a private study and a VIP suite. The yacht also provides accommodation for 13 crew members.
Twin Caterpillar diesel engines producing nearly 3,500 horsepower each give Va Bene a top speed of approximately 16 knots and a cruising speed of about 14 knots.
The yacht carries a 32-foot (10-metre) Intrepid tender powered by twin 250-horsepower outboard engines, along with two RIBs, a pair of Sea-Doo PWCs and an assortment of watersports equipment.
The yachts featured in Part II add another collection of extraordinary vessels to the stories behind some of the world’s best-known owners. But there are plenty more stories still to tell. Part III will feature yachts connected to names including Larry Ellison, Tiger Woods and Elvis Presley, along with several other owners whose vessels are every bit as intriguing as the people behind them.
Comments