INDIAN millionaires are expected to overtake Russian oligarchs in their spending on luxury yachts, according to a new study of the world’s richest people. The Wealth Report, released last week by Citi Private Bank and Knight Frank, the estate agent, showed that 64% of I ndi a n mil l io na ire s who responded planned to “significantly increase” their spending on private jets and yachts over the next five years.
By contrast, the Russians, led by the Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich, whose 536ft Eclipse is the world’s largest yacht, had few plans to add to their fleets.
Many wealthy I ndi a ns aspire to emulate Vijay Mallya, 55, the tycoon whose 311ft Indian Empress is berthed in Valencia. Reports of the starstudded parties held on board the yacht by the boss of Kingfisher brewing f illI ndia’s gossip-hungry magazines. “The upper middle classes, who have speedboats already, are planning to buy luxury yachts,” said Nelson D’Mello, chief executive of Infinity Yachts, a Mumbai company.
Anju Dutta of Marine Solutions, a Mumbai yacht broker, said: “We’ve sold to businessmen, bankers, entrepreneurs.”
India now boasts 55 dollar billionaires, compared with Britain’s 33, Russia’s 101 and China’ s115 , a cc o rdi ng to Forbes magazine’s 2011 rankings. As economic confidence grows, wealthy Indiansare becoming brasher, with status s y mbols t hat reve r set he country’s former Gandhian ideals of austerity.
“The consumption and flamboyance of India’s wealthy can be seen as an announcement of their arrival to the West,” said Chandan Mitra, a political analyst. “Until 15 years ago I ndi a had ad e pr i ve d a nd closed economy and then liberalisation began. People have now been unshackled, embracing all the desires that they had nursed for decades.
“There is a general trend across emerging markets that when people make money, they want to show it off.”
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