Here are some of the most expensive private islands owned by the richest people!
9 - Musha Cay
In 2006, magician David Copperfield bought FOUR different islands in the Bahamas.
He actually only uses the roughly 100 acre Musha Cay as a private resort for rent.
The other three islands he bought just to make sure there’s total privacy for his
guests!
He paid a total of $50 million dollars for this type of exclusivity.
But spending 50 million for the islands wasn’t enough.
He then dropped another 40 million to renovate the properties on the island to turn it into
an awe-inspiring, all-inclusive travel destination.
The island’s tagline?
"Discover Paradise".
But he wasn’t done.
He also bought 6 MORE islands nearby, completing an archipelago of 11 islands now known as
the Islands of Copperfield Bay.
With over 700 acres of tropical land, Copperfield’s resort is an adult’s paradise.
He wanted the island to be the quote "most magical vacation destination in the world”.
For example, there’s an option for fireworks that cost $25 grand.
Amazingly, roughly 60% of the groups that book the island order them!
There’s also a three-hour treasure hunt with a pirate theme that costs 20 grand.
But 60% of the guests go for this as well!
The entire island is only rented out to one person at a time.
The only other guests are whoever that person invites.
Each night on the island costs 57 grand for the full experience of 24 guests staying in
the 5 different houses on the island!
And yes, there is a minimum stay on the island, which is 4 nights.
Just in case you’re wondering who's stayed on the island, the list includes Bill Gates,
Oprah, and Johnny Depp.
8 - Lanai
Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle, bought the most expensive island for somewhere between
a whopping $300 million dollars!
Technically, he owns 98% of the island, with the rest owned by the state of Hawaii.
However, although this island is secluded, it’s not that private.
Ellison bought the island not to use only for himself.
He had planned to use it as an experimental model for environmentally friendly practices.
For example, he’s built two 20,000-square-foot hydroponic greenhouses on the island, called
Sensei Farms that are powered by Tesla solar panels.
Lanai is the smallest inhabited island in Hawaii.
It was once known as "The Pineapple Island" because of its origins as a pineapple plantation.
Today there’s one small town, Lanai City, where there’s not even a traffic light!
The 140-square-mile island is home to roughly thirty two hundred people.
There are local businesses to support the people that still live on the island, as well
as two golf courses, a police station and a school.
There are three hotels on the island, and that includes TWO Four Seasons Resorts!
Ellison owns the hotels, the water company, the cemetery, the supermarket, and nearly
a third of all the housing on the island.
He's in negotiations to buy the island's electric grid!
He’s spent a little more than $41 million on putting in additional homes on the island.
His vision for his "laboratory for sustainability” would complete with a solar power system,
electric car infrastructure, and a seawater irrigation system for organic farms!
7 - Skorpios
This famous private Greek island once was owned by shipping giant Aristotle Onassis.
And it was bought by Russian billionaire heiress Ekaterina Rybolovleva for roughly $153 million
dollars in 2013!
Her dad Dmitry is worth around $6.7 billion dollars by Forbes’ latest estimate, making
him the 224th richest person in the world in 2021.
This is to say, her dad can easily afford it!
Skorpios is a 74 acre island that’s off the west coast of mainland Greece in the Ionian
Sea.
Aristotle Onassis purchased the island for less than $20,000 dollars in 1963.
But that was before he put in the utilities, imported sand and planted forests.
He built a family compound that includes three houses, and also a helicopter pad.
He married former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy on the island in 1968.
That brought a lot of attention to Greece as a vacation destination!
Apparently, Rybolovleva bought Skorpios and Sparti for business as well as pleasure.
She supposedly still has plans to create an island retreat for the world's richest and
most powerful people.
A new complex of luxurious villas as well as a brand-new marina were some of her plans
for the island.
However, Skorpios has been designated as environmentally protected by the Greece government.
This means that no more than 5 percent of the island can be developed!
6 - Necker Island
Richard Branson’s Necker Island is easily one of the most famous private islands out
there.
Necker Island is 74 acres and it’s part of the British Virgin Islands.
Before he was actually rich, Branson bought the island in 1978 for only $180,000 dollars!
Necker Island had been uninhabited before Branson bought it.
He bought Necker island when he was just 28, six years after starting Virgin Group.
The story behind the sale shows how Branson approached life.
At that time he and his partners were still in the early days of Virgin Records.
Branson by no means had the money to buy an island that was advertised for $6 million
dollars!
But, he was trying to impress a girl he liked, so he called up the realtor to say he was
interested.
The realtor flew him in on an all expenses paid trip to see the Islands.
Branson agreed to go on one condition.
Only if he could bring a guest!
So he and his date were given a luxury villa and they were flown around British Virgin
Islands by helicopter.
The final island he saw was Necker Island, and he fell in love with the island.
there was no way he COULDN’T purchase Necker.
However, there was that little problem of Branson not having money to buy the island.
But he figured that he had nothing to lose.
So he made the lowball offer of $100,000 dollars!
The owner was so insulted, Branson actually had to figure out a way off the island himself.
But, the owner eventually got over it.
After a year, nobody had made an offer on Necker Island.
By that time, the owner was desperate to sell because he needed cash.
So Branson quickly agreed to a purchase price of only $180,000 dollars.
The only condition was that Branson would build a resort on the Island within four years!
Today Branson rents out the island for around $60 thousand a day.
The complex can house up to 34 guests and of course, there are facilities for luxury
yachts.
But not everything has been smooth for the island.
For example, in 2011, the Great House burned down while actress Kate Winslet was staying
on the island.
Then in 2017, most of Necker Island was destroyed by Hurricane Irma.
5 - Bonds Cay
In 2011, Shakira and Pink Floyd founding member Roger Waters bought an island together in
the Bahamas.
Bonds Cay is roughly 550 acres and is part of the Berry Islands in the Caribbean.
They reportedly spent around $16 million dollars for this private island!
It has five beaches, multiple waterfalls, three bays, and a number of lagoons throughout.
The island is surrounded by turquoise water that’s filled with reefs and fish, making
it perfect for snorkeling and fishing.
They wanted to turn the island into a carbon-neutral luxury paradise, specifically designed to
appeal to rich musicians and artists.
Another part of the island would have been turned into an artists’ retreat.
This was to include studio space, art galleries, and even programs where artists would have
taken semester-long sabbaticals.
However, after buying Bonds Cay, Shakira was sued by her ex-boyfriend, Antonio de la Rua,
for $100 million dollars!
The lawsuit was dismissed in 2013, but as of 2021, Bonds Cay is up for sale!
Shakira and Waters seemed to have never begun their development of the island.
If they did, they haven’t commented on it publicly since they bought it!
4 - Mago Island
Mel Gibson bought Mago in 2005 at a cost of $15 million bucks from Japanese company Tokyu
Corporation.
It’s a volcanic island that’s part of Fiji’s Northern Lau Group of islands.
And this island has plenty of land, with around 8 and a half square miles.
It’s one of the largest privately owned islands in the South Pacific.
However, when he first bought it, there were some debates on whether he actually owned
it.
Locals claimed that the sale wasn’t valid because their ancestors were evicted from
Mago Island in the 19th century.
However, the Fijian government didn’t get involved because the island was just like
any other property.
The transaction was simply like any other land sold in Fiji between a buyer and a seller,
and it was approved by the Land Minister.
Gibson didn’t have any plans to transform the island into some sort of exclusive eco
resort.
Instead he’s become known for his simple farming lifestyle whenever he stays on the
island.
He runs a cattle farm on the island, and he’s also met with local government representatives
to discuss setting up other farming and fishing activities.
In fact, Gibson has set up an environmentally sustainable self-sufficient ecosystem on the
island, with help from a nonprofit called OrganicMatters.
Everything that’s from Mago island is organic.
That’s because in 2013, the Ministry of Agriculture in Fiji declared the island as
an organic island!
In fact, the island also met the strict organic certification standards of Australia and the
US.
The island had plans to produce 12 different organic-certified products for sale, including
beef, lamb, prawns and oysters.
However, we weren’t able to find any of the products for sale online!
3 - Goat Cay
Tim McGraw and Faith Hill first purchased this private 20-acre island in the Bahamas
that they call “L’île d’Anges” back in 2003.
The island was undeveloped and they didn’t know what they had gotten themselves into.
They built a 15,000 square feet vacation home, but first, they had to put in the essentials.
They had to have water and electricity put in.
Then they had to put in houses for the staff to live in!
It took them NINE years to make the island exactly how they wanted it.
When they first started, there was just one little run down shack.
They’ve since added an eight-pavilion home that’s connected by thatched roofs!
Just think of the amount of time that it takes to get all the material to a remote island.
They wanted their vacation home to blend right in with the environment on the island.
That’s why there’s bleached wood and plenty of tropical accents throughout the property.
Whenever they’re not vacationing on their island, they live in a modest thirty one hundred
square feet home outside of Nashville, Tennessee.
But, it sits on over 600 acres and has a 12-stall horse stable, a barn, a restored log cabin,
and two guest houses!
2 - Blackadore Caye
In 2005, Leonardo DiCaprio purchased Blackadore Caye, which is located off the coast of Belize!
DiCaprio bought this because he wanted to build an eco-conscious luxury resort on the
104-acre island.
He’s well-known for his environmental activism.
He bought the island with a partner soon after he set foot on it.
According to him, it was like heaven on earth.But at that time, Blackadore Caye had suffered
from overfishing, an eroding coastline, and deforestation of its mangrove trees.
Even though he was building a luxury resort on it, his main focus was to do something
that would benefit the island.
He wanted the island to be groundbreaking in the environmental movement.
DiCaprio first visited Belize in 2005 to swim its barrier reef.
And according to him, as soon as he got there, he fell in love.
To him, Belize is truly unique.
Belize has the second largest coral reef system in the world, and it has some of the most
biodiverse marine life in the world.
Then there are the Mayan temples and the culture itself.
And that’s why he bought Blackadore Caye for $1.75 million with his partner.
Blackadore Caye was supposed to have opened its doors in late 2018, but as of early 2021,
there’s still no word on when the Island will be open for reservations!
1 - Rooster Cay
Most people don’t realise that Eddie Murphy actually has his own Private Island! Murphy
purchased Rooster Cay for supposedly around $15 million dollars back in 2007.
Rooster cay has around 15 acres of mostly pristine, untouched land.
The island is a short boat ride away from Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas.
And Eddie Murphy is no stranger to the Bahamas.
He also used to own another island in the area called Pearl Cay!
Nobody is quite sure what Murphy has been doing with the island ever since he bought
it.
However, people in the know say that Rooster Cay is perfect for developing a luxury resort
since it’s so close to the capital!
Here’s what’s next!