KEY POINTS:
The man who gave us his United Colours, who revolutionised the Italian fashion business, who made our brains hurt by yoking cheap and cheerful knitwear with images of Aids, prisoners on death row and babies trailing umbilical cords, has built the ship of his dreams.
The boat is called Trib, and it is a 50m-long revolution: the first luxury yacht built to the same standards of environmental purity as the latest generation of cruise liners and cargo ships. It is the first ship of this type to be awarded a Green Star certificate of environmental efficiency.
A mega-rich man's politically correct whim? Far from it, Luciano Benetton insists. His firm was ahead of its time in stressing environmental concerns in its factories and offices, he says, and he has put those same values first in in his new toy.
The requirements for the certificate are complex: special equipment for treating waste water and rubbish, the separate collection of different types of waste aboard, the elimination of emissions which damage the ozone layer.
Benetton founded the family firm 40 years ago, using a bicycle to hawk the beautiful sweaters knitted by his sister.
His two younger brothers also became involved, and today the firm has shops in 120 countries, including a rapidly growing presence in China.
Despite tough competition from "fast fashion" competitors such as H&M of Sweden and Zara of Spain, the company is still growing robustly.
After much turmoil over the management of the company last year, Benetton now seems satisfied that his son, Alessandro, 43, has what it takes to keep the firm growing strongly.
The doyen of the Italian business world, 28th-richest man in Europe with family wealth estimated at £5.7 billion ($15.5 billion), has been steadily preparing to make his exit. Now, perhaps, he is ready to cast off.
He has built a new boat, a million miles from the floating bordellos favoured by his fellow tycoons.
Last week at the Monte Carlo Yacht Show, Benetton was awarded a trophy in recognition of the new ship's "environmental compatibility".
But it is more than merely a gesture of public morality, a way to make the other moguls look cheap.
Certificate in hand, Benetton can sail it where he likes, including protected areas barred to conventional, polluting vessels.
"Behind the construction of Trib," Benetton says, "is my desire to go around the world. I'm not interested in going fast, I just want a boat that is trustworthy and solid. And clean, too."
He insists Trib will in no way impede him from remaining involved in the firm. " I just need to get myself properly organised. I will work aboard ship."
He remains chairman - yet at least semi-retirement beckons. "Yes, I have the intention of progressively reducing the intensity of my involvement.
"I am able to do this because I have passed some powers to my son, Alessandro, and there is a cohesive team of managers able to run the group according to our company policy. I will have more time to devote to travelling, which has always been an integral part of my life."
As a prospect it sounds rather lonely. But after 40 years in which, as he says, "I have not had time to draw breath", one understands the appeal.
- INDEPENDENT
