Pity The Poor Yacht Maker?

About a month ago, I read an article in a business magazine about a guy named Dennis Jones and his boat, and some thoughts are still lingering.

Dennis Jones is a billionaire, retired from owning a pharmaceutical company.  He annually donates over $2 million to various charities.

His boat, the D'Natalin IV, is a 164-foot superyacht.  Jones recently spent $34 million to have it built by Christensen Yachts of Vancouver, Washington.

The D'Natalin IV

The article explained that Christensen had fallen on hard times and, even with two other superyachts under construction, the company was on the brink of failure -- that is, until Jones' order came riding to the rescue.  When Jones learned of this situation, he declared himself a Romney-esque job creator whose opulent lifestyle had saved Christensen Yachts.  He said other ultra-rich guys should do what he did -- buy a yacht or a space shuttle or a caviar company or something, and provide some jobs.

That's where I had to get off.  I have no problem with Dennis Jones being a billionaire.  I have no problem with him buying himself a big-ass yacht.  It's his money.  I have no problem with the Christensen company being a yacht builder.  We all have to do something.

I do have a slight problem with Dennis Jones indulging himself to the max with one of the world's most unnecessary luxury items, then wrapping himself in the cloak of altruism and claiming some sort of glorious do-gooder status for "saving" a yacht maker.  For his $34 million, he could have made a bunch of charitable donations, or education endowments, or saved lots of jobs at numerous companies engaged in something with a bit more societal value.

And I also have a slight problem with a yacht maker whose business plan apparently requires that it be constructing three or more multi-million-dollar superyachts at all times, or else go out of business.  There's an ass for every seat, but honestly, how big is the market?  How many 150-foot yachts need to be built every year?