We’ve seen plenty of big-money superyacht stories here at DMARGE — take the slew of controversy around Jeff Bezos’ $700 million passion project or the $3 billion superyacht-submarine as prime examples — but this retro yacht puts nearly every other vessel to shame thanks to its unrivalled opulence and salacious secrets…
Adnan Khashoggi — the Saudi billionaire arms dealer — was a man whose luxury tastes were as infamous as his business dealings. At the height of his wealth in the 1980s, he was one of the richest men on the planet, with an estimated net worth of US$4 billion (that’s closer to US$16 billion today, adjusted for inflation). This fortune and the tastes of the man behind it were embodied by his purchase of what was unarguably the most luxurious yacht of its time: the Nabila.
Nabila: Raising The Bar
In 1979 the Cold War reached a fever pitch and a slew of global conflicts came with it, For most, this was bad news, but for an arms dealer and his chosen shipbuilder, it provided the perfect opportunity to change the world of luxury yachting forever. Nabila — a 282-foot masterpiece launched from the Benetti shipyard in Viareggio, Italy — was named after Khashoggi’s daughter.
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Designed by the renowned Jon Bannenberg, the Nabila was an engineering marvel with suitably over-the-top aesthetics to match. It featured five decks, 11 suites all named after precious gems, a fully equipped hospital, a three-chair hair salon, and a cinema with an 800-film library. As with all superyachts, we can comfortably conclude that the Nabila was more than just a yacht; rather, it was a mobile symbol of Khashoggi’s immense (perhaps excessive…) wealth and influence.
A Glimpse Into Khashoggi’s Kingdom
Step aboard the Nabila, and you would quickly notice that the interiors were adorned with gold, diamonds, and chamois leather. One room even featured chinchilla bedspreads, while another boasted enormous marble bathtubs with golden taps. The pièce de résistance, however, was undoubtedly Khashoggi’s owner’s suite — a lavish sanctuary that boasted a tortoiseshell ceiling, an onyx-lined bathroom, and a private elevator leading to a private sun deck.
But wait, dear friends, there’s more: perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Khashoggi’s suite was a secret compartment, designed to allow discreet guests to leave the vessel being seen. If we told you that Khashoggi’s wife had her own suite at the opposite end of the ship, you’ll get a flavour of what we’re talking about here…
Nabila’s Legacy
Despite its grandeur, the yacht’s construction ultimately led to financial disaster for the Benetti shipyard. The contract, which proved ruinous for Benetti, pushed the company to the brink of bankruptcy by 1984. As Khashoggi’s fortunes similarly waned, so too did his hold on the Nabila. In 1985, after defaulting on a US$50 million loan, the yacht was seized by the Sultan of Brunei. Having once stood as a symbol of Khashoggi’s unmatched wealth, Nabila all too quickly became a cautionary tale about the dangers of overindulgence and the fleeting nature of fortune.
Nabila’s legacy lives on, not only as a benchmark for subsequent luxury yachts — from Jeff Bezos’s Koru to Larry Ellison’s Musashi — but also as a symbol of an era marked by unabashed excess. Khashoggi’s Nabila may no longer be the crown jewel of the seas, but its impact on luxury yachting is pretty much impossible to deny. A telling chapter in the history of opulence, we advise that you aspire with caution…
