--- title: "AI Billionaires Are So Greedy That They’re Supercharging Sales of Yachts and Private Jets" description: "Riding the AI boom, thousands of newly minted tech billionaires are driving insatiable demand for luxury travel." date: "2026-08-17" modified: "2026-08-17" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/future-society/ai-billionaires-sales-yachts-private-jets-luxury-travel" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" --- # AI Billionaires Are So Greedy That They’re Supercharging Sales of Yachts and Private Jets ![A photo of a super yacht.]() *Shutterstock* Working class consumers around the world are tightening their belts, driven by runaway fuel prices, global inflation, and a wrath of new import tariffs introduced by US president Donald Trump. In the US, retail sales [plunged 0.6 percent]() between May and July, blowing an expected 0.1 percent drop out of the water. In such a depressing financial environment, one class of consumer seems to be having a heyday: the ultra-rich in general, and the billionaires buoyed by the AI boom in particular. According [to the *Financial Times*](), the number of billionaires in the US rose 13 percent from April 2025 to 2026, minting some 3,302 individuals with net worths over ten digits. Of them, over 1,000 are based in the US. Of course, there's no use in having billions of dollars if you're going to stay shuttered away in a gaudy McMansion like some Old Moneyed hermit. As such, the nouveau riche tech billionaires are spending big time on travel toys like luxury cars, state-of-the-art superyachts, and the latest and greatest in private jets. As Toby Edwards, co-chief executive of luxury aerospace company FlyVictor told the *FT*, the "private aviation golden standard of yesteryears, sipping champagne on crisp linen \[tablecloths\], has largely gone out the window with this cohort." Instead, Edwards notes they want bizarre-but-subtle luxuries like "specific types of water" and "health-conscious catering." "They're flying privately for efficiency and discretion," Edwards explained, "not to impress socially." Of course, the AI boom isn't just raising the boats of the top percentile. As economist Mark Zandi observed in a [June post]() on social media, Americans across the top 20 percent of the US income distribution — individuals earning $175,000 or more per year — accounted for nearly [60 percent]() of outlays in the first three months of 2026, a financial category that includes consumer spending, charitable donations, and debt payments. "The emergence of the AI super-wealthy has opened up a whole new wave of demand for those companies providing access to private jets, yachts and supercars," Paul Charles, a luxury travel consultant told the *FT*. "The notion of the discerning client is rather outdated and so companies now have to adapt to cater to a new generation of luxury-focused traveller, created by this AI wealth." **More on tech billionaires:** *[Young People Hate AI CEOs So Passionately That It's Almost Hard to Believe]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()