Okay, well, they are doing it for him, but he’s paying for it. His new super yacht, which is being built in the Netherlands is nearing completion, but it will not be able to make it’s exit out to sea, because it’s too big to fit under a bridge.
The yacht set him back $450 million, the equivalent price of a happy meal for me and you. Am I jealous? Maybe a little. Am I mad? No, not really. People are up in arms about this, but I think it’s fine. Building a massive yacht like this, while the epitome of overarching hedonism, helped the Netherland’s employment factor. Dismantling a bridge is no easy task either. We can covet Bezos’ treasures, and we could even say he could spend his fortune on less…uhm…frivolous things, but we should also consider his contribution to employment, the way he changed the game for internet commerce, and his many humanitarian efforts. I know, I know. He has become annoyingly rich. It’s irritating, certainly, but we are seeing the fruits of his many years of labor. It’s easy to see his wealth and not know that he once worked 10-20 years with no weekends off, fourteen-to-fifteen-hour days, etc.
Trust me, I’m not a huge Jeff Bezos fan, but him buying this yacht is like us treating ourselves to a fancy dinner. Sometimes you splurge on yourself a bit. When we do it, it doesn’t make headlines. Likely, because it’s on a much lesser scale, but it’s equivalent. Anyway, I’m not dead set on defending any of his actions, but I am interested on getting the pulse of the public on this one. Anyone care to weigh in?
The Data Resource 