Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNWI) do own yachts for tax reasons, but not because they are a modern replacement for palaces.
Most of the world runs residency-based taxation. As in, if you stay over 183 days somewhere you become a taxable base. The US is the outlier, as it taxes you regardless of where you live, based on citizenship.
That difference produces two entirely distinct wealth architectures.
European UHNWI have a structural incentive to stay mobile. Not being in one place too long is itself a tax strategy. Yachts happen to serve that lifestyle perfectly - flag-registered in favourable jurisdictions, moving between anchorages, never accumulating residency days (and benefiting from things like Cypriot 2 month stay non-dom status). The tax regime does not cause yacht ownership, but it makes yachts a remarkably efficient asset class for people whose wealth depends on being nowhere in particular.
This is why European UHNWI do a yearly circuit - Wimbledon one week, Cannes another, the WEF, the Biennale. The social calendar is not separate from the tax strategy. They are the same thing. This also mirrors the itinerant courts of the past, where the aristocracy would move around from one part of the kingdom to another throughout the year, according to king's mood.
American UHNWI face the opposite constraint. Citizenship-based taxation means mobility cannot solve the problem. So they optimise differently - dynasty trusts, LLCs, state domicile arbitrage. They are not less sophisticated. The same economic incentive just produces a completely different behavioural output when the underlying regime changes.
You see proximity?
Yes, proximity. That's all it takes for your wife or girlfriend to do something contrary to your marital vows or promises. And vice versa.
While factors like status and looks compel attraction, proximity operationalises it. It sets it in motion.
In proximity, conversations happen. Gestures are made. Assistance is rendered. Compliments flow. Familiarity grows. And with this, what once existed as a mere inkling magnifies into feeling and desire.
This is why your girlfriend gets into the university and suddenly becomes "busy" all the time. She is crushing on someone, talking to someone with whom she now shares proximity.
Because attraction is not destiny. It is simply two people, in the same place, at the same time, finding each other sufficiently safe to risk vulnerability. Human beings are always looking to take that risk. Emotion merely supplies the excuse.
But what is the message in all of this?
The message is simple and straightforward: principles are easy when proximity is absent.
"I trust my woman."
"I don't check my woman's phone."
"She can have as many male friends as she likes."
These convictions are often made in the comfort of distance, before life introduces that co-worker, classmate, business partner, a neighbour, gym instructor, or the FRIENDLY superior at Work.
The real threat to a relationship is rarely attraction in isolation. Attraction is common. Proximity is what gives attraction the opportunity to negotiate with conscience.
This is why wise men do not merely manage feelings; they manage circumstances.
Because loyalty is easier maintained at a distance than it is tested in constant proximity.
Check that f*cking phone early enough. Tell her you see her conversation with a particular colleague and it's too personal. Look for the signs. And make your warnings early.
But then, I have said enough.
Good luck. Or, congratulations.
A lot of these people saying “I would adopt a Down Syndrome baby in a heartbeat” would not last a day taking care of a severely physically and intellectually disabled adult.
Henry Nowak's father says the 'contrast' in the police's treatment of his son and his murderer is 'unbearable' in a statement after Nowak's killer was sentenced to 21 years in prison.
'His murderer was afforded decency. He was believed'!
Ein Freund aus Italien war eine Woche beruflich in Deutschland und fragte mich vorhin, warum die deutschen Frauen fast alle wie Männer herumlaufen, weite Klamotten, klobige Schuhe, ungeschminkt und die Gesichter meist lang gezogen, wenig "sexy" eben, das kenne er aus Italien nicht.
Ich habe ihm versucht zu erklären woran dies liegt, inklusive der Märchengeschichte der Frau Erfandes und so.
Hat er zwar dann verstanden und laut gelacht, bei ihm zuhause würden sich die meisten Frauen schämen so vor die Tür zu gehen wie es in Deutschland üblich ist.
@BowTiedBull Yes i agree. Its like an upgrade from economy to business, but not much of an upgrade from business to first class. Paid off home and couple of mills give you peace.
Once upon a time, my little family was made up of 5...alive.
I was 36 when this pic was taken, a week before my 10th wedding anniversary.
All of my kids died before my 10th anniversary.
Today I am 47& I am the only one left alive in this photo.
The last BlueBird in the convoy is on the move.
BlueBird 9 has officially left our Texas facilities and is heading to Cape Canaveral to reunite with BlueBirds 8 and 10.
Next stop: the launch pad.🚀 🚀 🚀 🚀 🚀 🚀 🚀 🚀 🚀 🚀
Built in Texas. Broadband from space. Designed to connect directly to everyday smartphones. 🌎📶📱
#ASTSpaceMobile #Broadband #ConnectingtheUnconnected #BlueBirds