Billionaire Islands: Luxury Hideaways or Personal Kingdoms?

What drives a billionaire to buy their own island? It's a question that opens a fascinating window into the minds of the ultra-wealthy, revealing priorities and ambitions that extend far beyond mere luxury.

Our journey through these private paradises reveals an extraordinary spectrum of vision and purpose. We explore Laucala Island in Fiji, where Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz created an astonishing blend of $6,500-per-night luxury alongside self-sufficient farming and renewable energy. We examine Larry Ellison's ambitious transformation of Lanai, where the Oracle founder is pouring over $600 million into reimagining an entire island community as a sustainable living laboratory.

The contrasts are striking. While some billionaires like the Barclay brothers build gothic castles on their Channel Islands retreat for absolute privacy, others like Richard Branson transform their holdings into multifaceted hubs for business, philanthropy, and environmental work. For every John Malone who converts a once-public Bahamian resort into a strictly private sanctuary, there's a Velaa Private Island in the Maldives offering snow rooms in the tropics or a Scorpios in Greece charging a million euros weekly for ultimate wellness experiences.

These islands aren't just holiday homes on steroids – they're physical manifestations of billionaire ambition and values. They reflect diverse goals: legacy-building, privacy-seeking, sustainable innovation, pure indulgence, or ultimate control. Each property tells a revealing story about how people with virtually unlimited resources choose to shape their own piece of the world.

Listen now to our deep dive into these extraordinary private kingdoms and consider: if you could create your own island retreat, what would your driving purpose be? Your answer might reveal more about your values than you'd expect. Subscribe and join our exploration of the world's most exclusive addresses and what they can teach us about wealth, power, and vision.

📰 Read more about this topic in our latest article:  https://sunrisecapitalgroup.com/billionaire-private-islands-inside-the-worlds-most-exclusive-retreats/

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Owning a private island.
I mean just saying it makes youthink of the ultimate escape
right.
Pure luxury.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Totally White sand, blue water, the whole dream.

Speaker 1 (00:11):
Exactly so.
Today, on our deep dive, we'reactually heading into that world
looking at some incredibleislands owned by billionaires.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Yeah, we've got some fascinating examples lined up.

Speaker 1 (00:21):
And our mission really is to figure out what
drives someone to buy, well, anentire island.
It's got to be more than justsunshine, surely?

Speaker 2 (00:29):
Oh, absolutely.
It's much more.
These islands.
They're almost like personallaboratories for ambition.
They give you this unique peekinto the priorities, the big
picture thinking of some reallyinfluential people.

Speaker 1 (00:42):
So not just a place to relax, but maybe a place to
build something.

Speaker 2 (00:45):
Precisely, and what's really striking is how
different the approaches are.
You know, some are buildingthese super sustainable eco
resorts, others are creatingthese intensely private
hideaways and some are eventrying out like experimental
communities.

Speaker 1 (00:58):
Wow OK, quite a range .

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Yeah, and we've looked through a pretty detailed
source covering these places topull out the really interesting
bits for you.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
Great, let's dive in then.
Where are we starting thisisland tour?

Speaker 2 (01:09):
Let's start in Fiji, Lakala Island.

Speaker 1 (01:12):
Lakala, okay, big place.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
Oh yeah, 3,500 acres.
Dietrich Machitz, the Red Bullco-founder.
He bought it back in 2003.

Speaker 1 (01:20):
And the price then?
Yeah, wasn't it surprisinglywell low-ish for an island?

Speaker 2 (01:27):
Relatively speaking, yes, reportedly around $10
million, which, when you seewhat it is now, seems like a
bargain.

Speaker 1 (01:33):
Right.
So what's the story there?
What did he do with?

Speaker 2 (01:35):
it.
Well, that's the interestingpart.
It's now this super high-endluxury eco resort run by Como
Hotels.
But the key thing is this blendof extreme luxury with, like a
serious commitment toself-sufficiency.

Speaker 1 (01:49):
Sufficiency, how so?

Speaker 2 (01:50):
They grow a lot of their own food, raise their own
livestock, use solar power.
It's got its own airstrip.
Golf course, spa diving theworks.
But underneath all that luxury,there's this drive to be
sustainable.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
So you're paying what's the starting price again?

Speaker 2 (02:02):
Starts around $6,500 a night per night.

Speaker 1 (02:05):
Wow, okay, and part of that experience is this farm
to table sustainable vibe.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
Exactly, it's this weird fascinating mix ultimate
indulgence, but also likeresource independence.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
It does make you wonder about the motivation,
doesn't it?
It's about controlling your ownlittle world, even the food
supply.

Speaker 2 (02:23):
That's a really good point.
It feels like it goes beyondjust consuming luxury.
It's about creating a wholeself-sustaining system.

Speaker 1 (02:29):
A statement maybe A statement of capability?
Yeah, I see that.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
Now, if we take that idea, that ambition, and scale
it way up, let's jump over toHawaii, to Lanai.

Speaker 1 (02:39):
Ah, larry Ellison Oracle.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
That's the one.
He didn't just buy an island,he bought, well, almost all of
one, 98% of Lanai back in 2012.

Speaker 1 (02:47):
And Lanai is huge, isn't it Like the sixth largest
Hawaiian island?

Speaker 2 (02:51):
Yeah, 90,000 acres, and it came with about 3,000
residents already living there.
The purchase price reported$300 million $300 million.

Speaker 1 (02:58):
Okay, that's a different league entirely from
La Cala's 10 million.

Speaker 2 (03:01):
A totally different scale, and Ellison's vision.
It seems to go way beyond justa personal paradise or even a
resort.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
What's the plan then?

Speaker 2 (03:09):
He's reportedly pouring another what $340
million into turning it into akind of sustainable living
laboratory.

Speaker 1 (03:16):
A laboratory you mean like experimenting with green
tech.

Speaker 2 (03:20):
Exactly Big investments in renewable energy,
massive organic farms, waterpurification systems, even a
wellness community called Sensei.
Well, it's a massive experiment.

Speaker 1 (03:32):
So comparing that to Mateshits Mateshits built a
contained luxury ecosystem.
Ellison's trying to transforman entire existing island
community.

Speaker 2 (03:41):
That's a good way to put it.
It feels much more outwardlooking.
Maybe it's not just fortourists, although there are two
Four Seasons resorts there.
It's about fundamentallychanging how the island operates
.

Speaker 1 (03:52):
So that philanthropy a business venture, a tech
billionaire's grand project.

Speaker 2 (03:57):
Probably a bit of all three, I'd guess.
It definitely blurs the lines,which makes it really
interesting contrast to some ofthe islands built purely for
privacy.

Speaker 1 (04:05):
Like Brecco, yeah and the Channel.

Speaker 2 (04:07):
Islands, Precisely Bought by the Barclay brothers
back in 93.
Much smaller, only 74 acres butit represents a completely
different philosophy.

Speaker 1 (04:14):
Yeah, the Barclays were famously private, weren't
they?

Speaker 2 (04:16):
Yeah, extremely, and Brecco reflects that they
basically terraformed it, put inmassive landscaping, built this
gothic-style castle, the castle.
Seriously.

Speaker 1 (04:26):
Apparently so.
Vineyard chapel, helipad, highsecurity, yeah, the whole nine
yards.
It was built for ultimateseclusion.

Speaker 2 (04:35):
And probably some tax advantages.
Being in the Channel Islandstoo, I imagine.

Speaker 1 (04:38):
That's often part of the calculation, yes, so here
the motivation seems reallyclear Privacy, wealth protection
, creating a completely personal, almost fantastical domain.
It stayed in the family afterthey passed away too.

Speaker 2 (04:50):
So Localaeco luxury, Lanai, Sahon, sustainability
experiment, Brecco privatefortress, very different vibes.

Speaker 1 (05:00):
Absolutely, which brings us to another interesting
case Samson Kay in the Bahamas,john Malone.

Speaker 2 (05:07):
Ah, the media mogul.
Liberty Media also one of thebiggest landowners in the US.

Speaker 1 (05:10):
The very same.
He bought Samson K, which issmaller, about 31 acres sometime
before 2013.

Speaker 2 (05:16):
And what's notable about that one?

Speaker 1 (05:17):
It used to be a public resort.
You know villas you could rent.

Speaker 2 (05:20):
people could visit Up now Strictly private,
completely off limits, hispersonal retreat, visitation
prohibited.

Speaker 1 (05:28):
Wow, so he took a place people could go and just
closed it off.

Speaker 2 (05:32):
Pretty much.
It really highlights thatdesire for absolute control over
access, doesn't it Takingsomething public and making it
utterly private?
The ultimate expression of getoff my lawn maybe?

Speaker 1 (05:43):
Or get off my island.
Yeah, ok, that's definitely astrong statement about privacy.

Speaker 2 (05:48):
It is, and again contrasts sharply with the next
one, which is very much abouthospitality.
Let's talk villa, privateisland.

Speaker 1 (05:55):
Maldives Right, this sounds fancy.

Speaker 2 (05:57):
Oh, it is Created by Jijidamik, reportedly built for
$200 million back in 2014.
It's relatively small under 20acres.

Speaker 1 (06:04):
But packed with logic .

Speaker 2 (06:05):
Absolutely packed 42 private villas, lots of them
over water, a golf academydesigned by Jose Maria Olazabal,
michelin quality dining, a spawith get this snow rooms.

Speaker 1 (06:16):
Snow rooms in the Maldives.
Snow rooms and apparentlysubmarine treatments, whatever
those entail, plus personalbutlers for everyone.
Okay, that sounds like theyjust sat down and brainstormed
the most over-the-top luxuryexperience as possible.

Speaker 2 (06:27):
It really does.
Starting price is over $3,200 anight.
It feels like the goal was justpeak indulgence.
Meticulously designed paradise.

Speaker 1 (06:36):
So how does that compare to La Cala?
Both luxury resorts, butdifferent feels.

Speaker 2 (06:40):
I think so.
La Cala has that sustainabilitythread woven through it.
Vela seems more purely focusedon delivering this almost
theatrical level of bespokeluxury and unique amenities.
Its indulgence dialed up to 11.

Speaker 1 (06:53):
Got it Pure fantasy escape.
Now what about islands?
With history, Scorpios comes tomind.

Speaker 2 (06:58):
Ah yes, scorpios.
Greece, forever famous becauseof Aristotle, anastas and Jackie
Kennedy.

Speaker 1 (07:03):
Such a legendary place, who owns it now?

Speaker 2 (07:05):
It was bought in 2013 by Ekaterina Rebilevleva, the
daughter of a Russianbillionaire, reportedly for
around $150 million.

Speaker 1 (07:13):
And what are the plans?
Is it staying private?

Speaker 2 (07:14):
The plan is actually to redevelop it, turn this
74-acre island into anultra-luxurious wellness retreat
, very exclusive for maybe only50 guests at a time.

Speaker 1 (07:22):
Another resort, then yeah, but aiming for the very,
very top end.

Speaker 2 (07:25):
Seems like it Luxury villas, helipad recreation
spaces but aiming for the very,very top end.
Seems like it Luxury villas,helipad recreation spaces, the
works and the estimated rentalcosts A million euros per week.

Speaker 1 (07:34):
A million euros a week.

Speaker 2 (07:35):
Yeah.
So it's leveraging thatincredible history but
repackaging it as probably oneof the most expensive island
rentals on the planet.
Legacy meets modernhyper-luxury.

Speaker 1 (07:45):
Fascinating blend.
Okay, we can't really talkprivate islands without
mentioning the guy who arguablymade them famous again, Richard
Branson.

Speaker 2 (07:52):
Absolutely.
Necker Island, british VirginIslands.
He bought that ages ago, didn'the?
For peanuts?
Relatively speaking, he did1979.
Reportedly just $120,000 forthe 74 acres An absolute steal,
looking back.

Speaker 1 (08:07):
And he turned it into this iconic well playground for
the rich and famous, but alsomore than that.

Speaker 2 (08:12):
Exactly, it is a luxury resort.
You can rent the whole islandfor something like $155,000 a
night Wow.
But it's also been a base forhim, for his businesses,
philanthropy, environmental work, and hosts leadership summits,
conferences.
It's been damaged by hurricanes, rebuilt.
It's got a real story.

Speaker 1 (08:29):
So it's evolved beyond just a getaway.
It's like an active hub.

Speaker 2 (08:33):
Very much so An island with that kind of purpose
, or multiple purposes, beyondjust leisure.

Speaker 1 (08:37):
And he didn't stop there, did he?
There's Mosquito Island too.

Speaker 2 (08:40):
Right.
His neighbor island Bought thatin 2007 for around $12.6
million.

Speaker 1 (08:45):
And is Mosquito just Necker Part 2?

Speaker 2 (08:48):
Not quite.
It's designed more like a sortof Community retreat.
There are several differentestates on the island owned by
Branson and others.

Speaker 1 (08:56):
Ah, so shared exclusivity.

Speaker 2 (08:57):
Kind of.
Yeah, the Branson estate itselfis huge 11 bedrooms across
three villas, infinity pool,beach access.
Rents for maybe $25,000 a night.

Speaker 1 (09:08):
Still pretty exclusive.

Speaker 2 (09:09):
Oh, absolutely.
But the concept is a bitdifferent, more communal within
that exclusive bubble, andthere's a big focus on
sustainability there too.
Renewable energy naturepreserves.

Speaker 1 (09:20):
Interesting.
So two islands, slightlydifferent models.
One iconic hub, one more like asustainable, exclusive
community.

Speaker 2 (09:26):
Exactly, which leads us to maybe a different kind of
island acquisition again, markZuckerberg in Hawaii.

Speaker 1 (09:32):
Right On Kauai.
He's bought a lot of land there, hasn't he A?

Speaker 2 (09:35):
lot Since 2014, he's acquired over 1,300 acres
costing upwards of $170 million.

Speaker 1 (09:41):
That's a huge chunk of land.
What kind of land is it?

Speaker 2 (09:43):
It includes old sugarcane plantation sites, some
quite remote jungle areas.
It's a substantial holding.

Speaker 1 (09:49):
And it hasn't been without controversy, has it?
Issues around access localfeelings?

Speaker 2 (09:53):
No, there's definitely been local discussion
and some controversy, which isunderstandable with acquisitions
of that scale, and there havebeen those, you know,
unconfirmed reports aboutmassive construction projects.

Speaker 1 (10:04):
Like the alleged $100 million compound with bunkers
and escape tunnels.

Speaker 2 (10:09):
Right, those reports surfaced.
Whether true or not, it tapsinto this idea of tech
billionaires maybe seeking notjust privacy but, like long term
, security and self-sufficiencyin these remote spots.

Speaker 1 (10:22):
Different motivation again.
Less about resorts, more abouta personal stronghold.
Yeah, maybe.

Speaker 2 (10:28):
It could be interpreted that way.
It certainly raises questionsabout the relationship between
these incredibly wealthy ownersand the existing communities or
environments they buy into.

Speaker 1 (10:37):
Okay.
So we've seen a real spectrumhere, from eco resorts and
wellness retreats to privatefortresses and potential
security compounds.

Speaker 2 (10:44):
Yeah, quite the journey.

Speaker 1 (10:46):
So, looking back across all these examples
Laucala, Lanai, Brecco, SamsonCay, Vela, Scorpios, Necker,
Mosquito, Kauai what are thecommon threads?
What really ties them together?

Speaker 2 (10:56):
Well, I think the desire for escape is pretty
universal.
And control, control over yourenvironment, your privacy that
seems fundamental.
These islands offer a level ofautonomy you just can't get
anywhere else.

Speaker 1 (11:10):
But how they use that control.
That's where it gets reallydiverse.

Speaker 2 (11:13):
Exactly, you see luxury.
Obviously you see a connectionwith nature, though sometimes
it's a very managed, curatednature.
You see technology playing arole for sustainability, like on
Lanai, or maybe security, likethe rumors about Kauai.

Speaker 1 (11:26):
And seclusion is a big theme but expressed
differently From Malone justshutting the door to the
Barclays, building a castle toBranson, creating these sort of
curated social hubs.

Speaker 2 (11:37):
Right and the purpose varies so much.
Is it personal use?
Is it a business, an investment?
Is it an experiment, a platformfor bigger ideas?

Speaker 1 (11:44):
Laucala's eco-luxury, brecco's intense privacy,
mosquito's community vibeLanai's big vision Each one
tells a slightly different storyabout the owner's priorities,
absolutely.
So, summing it all up, then,these billionaire islands,
they're really not just holidayhomes on steroids, are they?

Speaker 2 (12:00):
Not at all.
They're much more revealingthan that.
They're like physicalmanifestations of ambition.
They reflect these reallydiverse goals legacy, privacy,
trying out new, sustainableideas, pure indulgence, ultimate
control.

Speaker 1 (12:15):
Yeah, they really give you a window into how
people with almost unlimitedresources choose to shape their
own little piece of the world.
It says a lot about theirvalues, their vision.

Speaker 2 (12:24):
Precisely A fascinating glimpse.

Speaker 1 (12:26):
So it makes you think , doesn't it?
If you had the chance to createyour own personal kingdom on an
island, what would your drivingpurpose be?
Would you lean towards?
I don't know.
Sustainability, like Ellison,total privacy like the Barclays,
maybe an innovation hub likeBranson sometimes use a necker
for or something else entirely.

Speaker 2 (12:45):
It's a compelling question what blend of nature,
luxury, tech and seclusion wouldresonate most?

Speaker 1 (12:51):
Definitely something to ponder.

Speaker 2 (12:52):
Yeah, the stories of these Islers.
They really do offer thisunique insight into the minds of
.
Definitely something to ponder.