Oil Tycoons Fund New Fleet of Megayachts

ABC News: American Drivers Fund New Fleet of Megayachts

At $70 a barrel, oil prices are keeping oil tycoons in the lap of luxury, which includes large, spacious megayachts. "The megayacht industry was virtually invented for the Arabs," said Dirk Johnson, managing partner for Churchill Yacht Partners in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "They're the ones who funded almost all the big yachts; [in the '90s] ships were built for Arab sheiks and oil money." In fact, the top end of Power and Motoryacht's current ranking of the world's 100 largest yachts is dominated by rulers from the oil-rich countries. Here are two examples of the high-end megayachts owned by oil tycoons:

• Al Salamah - 456 foot megayacht owned by Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz
• Pelorus - 377 foot megayacht owned by Roman Abramovich

And the price tag to yacht with these oil tycoons? Buyers who want to compete on this circuit need upward of $100 million to make a splash.