Man reveals eye-watering costs of maintaining his $5 million superyacht
Published on Jun 05, 2023 at 3:46 PM (UTC+4)
by Kate Bain
Last updated on Jun 08, 2023 at 11:52 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
Ever dreamt about owning a yacht?
What about a $5 million superyacht?
Well, this might change your mind.
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A superyacht owner has just revealed exactly what it costs him each year to maintain his $5 million 100-foot superyacht, and to put it frankly, it’s mind-blowing.
Tom Cruz, not the actor, took to TikTok this week to share the astronomical figures.
“First I had to buy the yacht, so I put about $2.5 million down on a $5 million purchase price, and my payments are a little over $20,000 per month,” he said.
“Then I had to find the best place to dock her and the best marina in Miami, Florida, charges about $25,000 per month.
“Then of course you’ve got to fuel her up.”
Cruz said fuel cost him about $15,000 each month.
And then it came to insurance.
Cruz said his annual premium was $62,000, but then he had to pay more for hurricane protection.
“If a storm comes barreling through Miami, I need to move my boat up north to be safe,” he said.
“So I have to rent a slip for six months during hurricane season for $8,000 a month or $48,000 per season.”


Cruz said he also had a full-time captain, full-time engineer, and a deck hand and that cost another $200,000 per year.
Then he said it cost $20,000 in general maintenance each month, which included scraping barnacles off the bottom of the hull.
But wait, there’s more.


On top of that, Cruz has warranties on both his 2600 horsepower MTU turbo diesel engines, and that costs him $40,000 per year, per engine.
“And we can’t forget about depreciation,” he said.
“A good rule of thumb is you’re going to lose five percent on the vessel every year, so on a $5 million vessel, that’s a quarter of a million dollars or about $20,000 per month that I’m losing simply for owning the boat.”
Cruz also pays one percent annual property tax, which he says works out to be about $50,000 annually.


Now, Cruz said he wants to change the color of his superyacht to matte black.
A quick paint job shouldn’t cost too much right?
Wrong.
To paint the vessel matte black, Cruz is forking out $100,000.
So, still want to own a superyacht?
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Kate is Lead Editor, overseeing coverage across automotive, tech, and lifestyle content on the site. She has more than 10 years’ experience as a journalist and news editor, having worked across a range of major publications including News Corp, Daily Mail Australia, and Sky News. Kate holds a Bachelor of Business Management from University of Queensland and a Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism from Queensland University of Technology. She has been with Supercar Blondie since 2020 and played a key role in establishing supercarblondie.com as a leading automotive news destination.