Now I understand why the truly wealthy invest in yachts. Imagine sailing deep into the Pacific, far from the noise of the world, with nothing but the endless ocean and the sound of the waves. A private meeting on deck, a glass of fine cognac in hand, and a Cuban cigar slowly burning. No distractions, no rush just peace, privacy, freedom, and the luxury of time.
Before they died, late Access Bank co-founder Herbert Wigwe and the wife, Chizoba, bought a yacht, which was a shiny toy for them.
The yacht was named after their first daughter, Otutochi, who ironically is the person today managing the vast wealth that the parents left behind on behalf of the surviving siblings who are younger than her.
The yacht was a 2016 Custom Line 108 luxury yacht measuring approximately 33 meters (108 feet) in length, and the cost of acquiring it was $6.5 million.
The yacht primarily served Herbert, his wife, and his close friends anytime they wanted to escape from the reality of the daily life hustle by relaxing and sailing on the sea.
The yacht was also deployed for charter for big boys and girls who can afford to rent it.
The yacht was purchased in 2016, and to escape the wahala that comes with tax, an offshore company, Grosvenor Marine Ventures Ltd., a company registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), was incorporated.
The offshore company was owned by the late Herbert and the wife, and the offshore company's only asset was that luxury yacht.
Herbert is no more, the same with the wife.
Tochi, the 26-year-old finance graduate who is the heiress to the wealth that the parents left behind, is struggling to maintain the luxury yacht.
The annual cost to own and maintain a luxury yacht typically ranges from 10% to 20% of the vessel's initial purchase price
Main Expense Categories
Crew Salaries: Often the single largest expense, scaling from a small self-operated team to full-time staff costing anywhere from $300,000 to over $1.4 million for mid-size vessels and $1.5 million to $4 million+ for superyachts.
Routine Maintenance & Upkeep: Accounts for 2% to 10% of the yacht's value annually (covering engine servicing every 100–200 hours, bottom paint, hull cleaning, and HVAC repairs).
Periodic dry-docking and major refits are required every few years.
Fuel: Varies heavily by engine power and usage. Larger motor yachts can burn hundreds of gallons of diesel per hour while cruising, easily running into $400,000 to $1 million+ a year.
Berthing & Dockage: Marina slips range from $30,000 to over $500,000 annually depending on the vessel's length and the prestige of the port (e.g., Mediterranean vs. local marinas).
Insurance: Comprehensive marine, hull, and third-party liability (P&I) policies cost roughly 0.5% to 2% of the yacht's total value per year (spanning from $30,000 to $500,000+).
So since the parents died, Tochi has been struggling to keep up with the cost because the asset in question is a depreciating asset.
At the beginning of this year. She made the difficult decision to sell the yacht because the estate the parents left behind can no longer afford to maintain it.
It is taking too many resources from her and the estate she is managing on behalf of her surviving siblings.
But there was a problem.
The offshore company that her parents floated was no longer active, as it had been dissolved because, since the parents died, the offshore company has stopped filing at the jurisdiction it was registered in.
So Tochi had to approach the High Court of Justice of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) to secure control of a company holding a luxury yacht belonging to her late parents.
She also paid the necessary debt the offshore company was owing before the status of the company was restored for the transaction of the sale of the luxury yacht to be completed.
The luxury yacht was sold in Florida for the sum of $6.5 million, and the money remitted to the estate that Tochi is controlling on behalf of her siblings
$6.5 million is 8.7 billion naira.
Herbert was a very wealthy man in his lifetime.
I wonder how he managed to stay under the radar that the public did not know he was this wealthy until he was no more.
I’m sure Tochi would have been astounded by the staggering wealth that the late dad left behind....👇