Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich's new $355 million, 555-ft. Eclipse, designed to be the world's biggest, will have a military-grade missile defense system to keep the oligarch safe. My colleague Deidre Woollard first reported on initial plans for the Eclipse back in January. Now further details are emerging about the megayacht (rendering above), which when completed next summer will be 25 ft. longer than Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid's 530-ft. Platinum, currently ranked as the biggest yacht in the world. Secrecy surrounds the Eclipse, but sources tell the London Times that an antiballistic missile defense system is being installed by AST, a company with close ties to both the Blohm + Voss shipyard in Hamburg, where the yacht is being built, and the German defense ministry.

The Eclipse is also being equipped with armor plating surrounding the bridge and Abramovich's master suite, as well as bullet-proof windows. There's also a submarine that can be launched underwater and dive to a depth of 160 ft. that doubles as an escape pod, as well as two helicopter pads. Civilian ships are not allowed to carry weapons and so have to limit themselves to defense systems, but Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz gets around this by having his 482-ft. yacht registered as a Royal Saudi Navy vessel, said to be equipped with French-made Exocet missiles. Pirate attacks on luxury craft are on the rise of late. Abramovich owns three other megayachts already: the 377 ft. Pelorus, the 282 ft. Ecstasea and the 160 ft. Sussurro.

More bad news for the Queen of England - she has fallen to 12th place on Forbes' list of the world's richest royals. Earlier this month we reported that the value of her London residence, Buckingham Palace, had fallen by a whopping $100 million thanks to declining property values.

Now Elizabeth II is suffering the added indignity of languishing on the rich list, as her measly $650 million fortune puts her well behind the UAE's oil-rich rulers. In the No. 1 spot for the first time is King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, with a net worth of $35 billion, who apparently shot up the list as a result of admitting he was richer than previously thought.

At No. 2 is Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the UAE and hereditary ruler of Abu Dhabi, with a net worth of $23 billion. No. 3 is King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia, worth $21 billion. And Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, ruler of Dubai, clocks in at No. 5 with $18 billion. See the complete list here.

As it turns out, Saudi Arabia may have not one of the world's most lucrative resources (duh, oil) but two. Recent prospectors have set their sights on Saudi Arabian sands to dig for gold in addition to other precious metals. The first commercial prospector allowed to set up mines in Saudi Arabia is Ma'aden, which has already invested $5.5 billion in equipment and development costs. When it comes to digging for financial rewards, who knew sand could be so fertile?

[via Fortune]

Earlier this month, Superyacht Times reported that the Saudi Arabian Royal Yacht Al Yamamah was renamed Ocean Breeze and that she was rumored to have been presented as a gift to the King of Jordan. Just a few days later, Yachtspotter unearthed the listing for the yacht. She's for sale through Burgess for $34,450,000. The listing has some beautiful interior shots of this amazingly lavish 269-foot yacht. The yacht has accommodations for 28 in one master cabin, nine double cabins and four twin cabins. There is also room for 35 crew.

Hotel Chatter has a great story of the fabulous lives of crown princes. One of their spies was at the Four Seasons Hong Kong at the same time the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia was staying there. Apparently the Crown Prince rented out 179 rooms  (nearly half of the hotel), had 100 Mercedes-Benzes waiting for him out front of the hotel at all times and came with thousands of pieces of luggage. The Crown Prince came and went on two private 747s.  Michael Jackson needs to make friends with this guy.

Hilton International is putting on the luxe for the new Qasr al Sharq, Hilton International's first palace hotel. The hotel, which will open in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia next month is being done up with details including crystal and porcelain china, intricate mosaics and ceilings of hand-applied gold leaf. The hotel will be home to 1,200 crystal vases designed in Italy and the beds will be dressed with 600-thread count cotton linens designed in Venice and gold-embroidered duvet covers. The 46-suite hotel is shaped like a pyramid and each suite include two bedrooms, a dining room, kitchen, private health club and Jacuzzi along with chambermaid quarters. The hotel will include two restaurants: a Versace design BiCE Italian restaurant and a Moroccan Mammounia restaurant.