Let me rephrase that: ship builder HDW employed 750 people (highly qualified engineers and workers) for many months for the express purpose of building Allen’s ship.

(I still can’t think of a better way to spend excess money than feeding it back into the economy. That’s how qualified jobs are created and how, indeed, new money and wealth for others is generated. I just don’t get the anti-luxury-spending vibe lately.)

The Octopus has not one, but two submarines , and not one, but two helicopters and and heli-pads. 

It’s 63-foot (19 m) tender, custom built to berth in the ships transom is bigger than most millionaires yachts. 

I don’t live in Palau, but I see the Octopus from my living room windows every once in awhile. 

The view is better, looking out of that ship, at my house. 

You can’t buy taste. 

Nice picture of Nautili.
Too bad they were sucked up into the engines cooling system when they left anchorage.

http://www.gizmag.com/go/7030/

then I certainly should.

Granted, building and running this behemoth creates a number jobs.  But surely not as many as any number of other projects would.  And yes, hoarding cash is worse, since it does little for anyone.

I just find it excessive for anyone, even a multi-billionaire, to own a $200 million boat. 

Also, is that a baby nautilus at 11 o’clock partaking in this pagan ritual?

Maybe he should consider donating his yacht and personal sub to some scientists who will use it for something more meaningful than their own amusement.

Just like you could donate your computer to a school in the Third World.

He purchases carbon offsets for the yacht, but even so, $200 million seems grossly excessive to me.  You can buy a helluva ship for one tenth that much, and do something useful with the rest.