Tour of the world's most outrageous yachts

If a yacht is the ultimate status symbol, then the owners of these are at the top of the heap.

These floating palaces are super-sized, stunning and packed with a whole new world of over-the-top amenities.

To have a swimming pool, helicopter pad - that’s de rigeur,” Jill Bobrow, author of the book Outrageous Yachts and editor-at-large for Yachts International Magazine, is quoted as saying in the Herald Sun.

Here’s a look at some of the truly outrageous:

Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko:

You’ll find $37,000 bath knobs on 120 metre Av-valong with Baccarat crystal tables and a room wallpapered with white-stingray hides.

Recently chartered by Sean “P. Diddy” Combs for $790,000 a week:

Technology rules on the 60m Solemates, on which passengers use an iPad to control most everything but the steering wheel.

Hedge-fund superstar Elena Ambrosiadou:

The 88m Maltese Falcon is one of the world’s largest sailboats, it boasts a revolutionary, computer-controlled rigging system with sails that deploy at the touch of a button from three free-standing masts that rotate to tack the ship.

Inside, a striking circular stairway zips through a light-filled atrium to unite three decks with transparent floors.

Other finishing touches include a full gym, massive works of art, staterooms for up to a dozen guests and a black leather-floored dining room. Plus, there’s an onboard collection of water toys that includes four small sailboats and six sets of dive gear.

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich:

At least one super-yacht that’s got it all is the 170m Eclipse, the largest and most expensive private yacht in the world. It has a 464 square metre armour-plated master suite, two helipads, a 16m pool that transforms into a disco, a cinema, salon-spa, restaurant - and an anti-paparazzi device that ferrets out nearby cameras and shoots them with a paralysing beam of light.

Russian billionaire investor Suleiman Kerimov:

Ice is the first “green” mega-yacht. In addition to being stocked with plenty of over-the-top amenities, the 90m yacht has reduced noise, vibration and pollution thanks to an alternative propulsion technology called Azipod.

The system is powered by eight electric generators that replace the two large main engines typically found on a yacht of this size. Any exhaust that is produced by the boat passes through a soot-removal filter before expulsion, and there is a wastewater management system onboard.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.