This billionaire wears a $140 watch but just bought a $400 million yacht

Despite owning one of the world’s most expensive private yachts, Stephen Schwarzman has developed an unexpected reputation for his choice of wristwatch. Instead of wearing highly complicated luxury watches costing tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, the Blackstone chairman is frequently spotted wearing colourful Swatch watches that cost about $140.

That modest habit sits in sharp contrast with his newest acquisition: Destiny, a custom-built 101.2-metre superyacht estimated to cost around $400 million, recently delivered by Dutch shipbuilder Feadship after several years of construction. The vessel was previously known only as Project 1014 and has now left the Netherlands, making a brief stop in the United Kingdom before continuing towards Gibraltar, according to Boat International.

Destiny’s delivery places it among the small group of privately owned superyachts measuring more than 100 metres, a category reserved for some of the world’s wealthiest individuals. The yacht features a glass-bottom pool, a touch-and-go helipad, a spa, sauna, gym, beach club and a design that pairs a deep navy hull with a white superstructure and brass detailing.

Schwarzman co-founded Blackstone with Peter Peterson in 1985 with just $400,000 in seed capital. The firm now manages around $1.4 trillion in assets, making Destiny’s price tag roughly 1,000 times the company’s original starting capital, even as its co-founder keeps his taste in watches notably restrained.