The road to success: either "be the first, be the best, or cheat." I was on the transom of a mega yacht at Atlantis on Paradise Island and a tourist walking along the dock asked me how he can get one for himself. I shrugged, I wouldn't know, I only worked on it and said "work hard, I guess." He said that he works in IT, works his butt off, and does ok but will never have that type of wealth. But my assertion isn't quite the truth. It is more simple than my first statement. "Buy low and sell high." It helps coming from wealth however most of the Americans who own yachts are self made often coming from middle class or lower families. They started the process of buying low and selling high in the 60s and 70s. Most of the people I've met who own a yacht share a characteristic, they are passionate about making the deal. It is almost like they aren't passionate about making money but rather getting something below its market value and selling it above its market value.