It is not uncommon for the richest people in the world to present themselves with luxury yachts . Billionares, such as Paul Allen, Roman Abramovich, many of the Saudi royal family, are all quite keen of long and well-equipped marine vehicles. These yachts are large and self-contained, providing all the services one can find in a modern house, but wherever his or her owner desires to travel.
I have always thought, that buying a large yacht was just another way to enjoy enormous wealth, but now I think that at least some of the buyers have plans beyond tanning and having good time in different parts of the world. By trying to put myself in billionair's shoes (unfortunately, only in my dreams), I thought about what I would do, if I had more money that I could possibly spend in 100 years.
The idea is that if someone becomes exceptionally reach, he or she would probably do anything to preserve their precious life and to retain their wealth. While the second part is usually achieved by careful and diverse investment, the first requires usually good bodyguards to protect from criminals and general villains. However, it is hard to protect oneself from natural disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes and other extreme weather conditions, and from large scale catastrophes, caused by humans. This is where a moving (floating, actually) independent house would come very handy. By having a shelter which can quickly escape to safer waters if there is danger, the rockefellers of our times protect themselves and their closest family and allies from at least some of the hazards of the unpredictable world.
So, next time when you read about a sheik, who had just spent another $100,000,000 on a 150 meters long yacht, don't think he is completely mad.