Billionaire boarding school drops $17M on superyacht for science class

Kids of billionaires are trading desks for decks.Switzerland’s ultra-exclusive Institut Le Rosey, known as the “School of Kings,” has added a 94-foot solar-electric catamaran dubbed Ipharra to its extracurricular offerings for teaching marine science.The school’s former director Phillipe Gudin purchased the superyacht last month at the 2026 Monaco Yacht Show for $17 million, and insists the high-end vessel — delivered to the school this month — is worth every penny.“For us, the boat is a real platform for giving those young people an opportunity to discover something new, and perhaps to find a passion.” Gudin said at a press conference after the show.The custom-built Ipharra has six guest cabins for the 10 teens who get to call it their floating classroom.Parents, who pay nearly $200,000 a year in tuition, have to fork out another $20,000 for the two-week voyage, hosted by a full-time staff of five.And what a classroom it is.

The students are surrounded by luxury — including plush, natural linen sofas, authentic oak floors, an elegant oak dining table big enough to seat the whole class and a coffee bar wrapped in panoramic glass windows for natural light.The bedrooms are custom built with exotic Wenge wood, a dense hardwood from the endangered Millettia laurentii tree in West Africa.There’s even a retractable, state-of-the-art movie screen that transforms the yacht’s swanky salon into a floating classroom with a screen big enough for movies at night.After class, students can head to the yacht’s sprawling Ocean Lounge, where fold-down balconies create an expansive waterside beach club, making it effortless for students to dive, swim, sunbathe and socialize.There’s also a treasure trove of water toys like water skis, snorkeling kits, scuba diving gear and deep-sea fishing equipment.“Because we use the boat with students, we also wanted a large outdoor area close to the sea that would be easy to use for diving and for the sailing dinghies...