Few billionaires have been spared from the horrors of the financial meltdown (just today it was reported that Warren Buffett has seen his net worth decline by more than $9 billion), but for many, it's vital not to relinquish the most significant status symbol: the luxury yacht. Global yachting company Edmiston & Co. is still receiving new commissions and is currently making 30 superyachts for new owners. So why are big flashy yachts, which cost millions to operate, still in demand? It's the Russians' fault, of course!

Says one broker,

"[Russians] are addicted. Every time they've finished one boat, it's never quite right and they start on the next. They are more likely to shed a few houses than cancel their order for another one. And in a divorce the yacht is the one item the man always keeps."

One such boat has become a tabloid superstar in its own right: Queen K, which belongs to Russia's richest man Oleg Deripaska, has been in the headlines daily for having hosted illicit meetings with British politicians. Deripaska, however, is reportedly less upset about the scandal than the fact his precious vessel has been disdainfully described in the press as a "vodka palace," when it's worth around $150 million.

Unless you're an international power-broker, you probably won't get to judge for yourself the "Ivan the Terrible" taste Deripaska's interior decorator described him as having, but the recession is prompting other yacht owners to offer rentals. So if you're mulling a vacation, the average for a week in the Med is about $1 million—and who knows, if the Dow slips a bit further, maybe you'll be able to haggle down a few hundred grand.

Superyachts, megayachts, gigayachts: where the seriously rich play and plot [UK Times]