Imagine spending $250 million on one of the biggest cargo ships in the world.

Imagine spending $250 million on one of the biggest cargo ships in the world. How long would it take to make that money back? 10 years? 5 years? Maybe longer? First, look at the ship. It can hold about 24,000 containers and is over 1,300 feet long, longer than a US aircraft carrier. Building it costs almost $200 million, but that's not the full price. You also need about 20,000 containers at around $3,000 each, adding another $60 million. So before it even sails, you've spent close to a quarter of a billion dollars. Now the ship, say it goes from Shenzhen to Los Angeles, that trip takes about two weeks. A ship this big can burn over 200 tons of fuel every day, using close to 3,000 tons by the end. Add port fees, salaries, repairs, and fresh water, and one trip costs about $3.5 million. But here's where the real money comes in. Shipping one container can earn about $2,000. With 20,000 containers on board, one trip brings in about $40 million. After all costs, the profit is still more than $35 million. That means in theory, it might only take seven or eight trips to pay off the entire ship.