Billionaire Islands Dig (1-5)

1. Necker Island, British Virgin Islands, Sir Richard Branson

The Virgin entrepreneur bought his 74-acre private paradise for $180,000 (£113,000) in 1978 and, as a condition of sale, agreed to build a luxury resort. It now sleeps 28 people in 10 rooms, and rents for $62,000 (£39,000) a day. For that, guests can enjoy two private beaches, pools, tennis courts, a personal chef and team of 60 staff.

1. Blackadore Caye, Belize, Leonardo DiCaprio

Bought by the Wolf of Wall Street and Titanic star in 2005 for $1.75 million (£1.1 million), DiCaprio, a keen environmentalist, is planning to build an eco-friendly resort on the 104 acre island near the famous barrier reef off the coast of Belize. He has said the resort will be open to the public as an example of sustainable tourism, complete with eco-tours of the island.

1. Little Hall’s Pond, Bahamas, Johnny Depp

The actor is said to have paid $3.6 million for the 45-acre island in 2004 and renamed it after his daughter, Lily Rose. The island has six beaches and uses solar power for its energy supply. In 2009, Depp told Vanity Fair: “I don’t think I’d ever seen any place so pure and beautiful. You can feel your pulse rate drop about 20 beats. It’s instant freedom.”

1. Musha Cay and the Islands of Copperfield Bay, Bahamas, David Copperfield

One private island not enough for you? How about a whole chain. Magician David Copperfield owns a string of 11 islands including the largest, Musha Cay, 85 miles from Nassau in the Bahamas. A favourite with celebrities including Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates, up to 24 guests can be accommodated at a time. Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem were married there in 2010.

1. Ile Gagnon, Quebec, Celine Dion

Situated on the Iles River, in her home state of Quebec in Canada, the singer had a stone mansion custom built for her on the 19-acre island in 2001. Ile Gagnon was put on the market for $29.6 Canadian dollars (£18.6) two years ago but has yet to find a buyer.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11162959/Top-10-millionaires-paradise-islands-where-the-rich-and-famous-go-to-get-away-from-it-all.html

Millionaire Islands Dig (5-10) mistake on previous post

1. St Phillips Island, South Carolina, Ted Turner

Bought by the media mogul for $2 million (£1.3 million) in 1979, the year before he launched CNN, the 5,000-acre St Phillips Island has two miles of beaches, maritime forests and lagoons. He also owns a 298-acre landing area on the neighbouring St Helena island.

1. Mago Island, Fiji, Mel Gibson

At 8.5 square miles, Mago is one of the largest private islands in the South Pacific. It was bought by the actor for $15 million (£9.4 million) in 2005 from a Japanese company. Descendants of the native inhabitants, who were relocated in the 19th century, have protested about his ownership.

1. Rooster Cay, Bahamas, Eddie Murphy

The comedian paid $15 million (£9.4 million) for the 15 acre island situated five minutes off the coast Nassau in 2007. He had previously owned another cay in the Bahamas, Pearl Island.

1. Lana'i, Hawaii, Larry Ellison

Since 2012, 98 per cent of Lana’i, the sixth largest of the Hawaiian islands, has been owned by Larry Ellison, the head of Oracle. Also known as Pineapple Island, given its past history as a pineapple plantation, at 140.5 square miles, the remaining two per cent of Lana’i is held by the state of Hawaii. Ellison is said to have paid between $500 million (£314 million) and $600 million (£377 million) for it and is planning to invest another $500m to improve its infrastructure.

1. Scorpios, Greece

Bought by the shipping billionaire Aristotle Onassis in the 1960s, and scene of his wedding to Jacqueline Kennedy, Skorpios is now owned by his granddaughter, Athina. She attempted to sell it to the Russian heiress Ekaterina Rybolovleva for $300 million (£188 million) last year but the sale has been held up by the Greek government, as under the terms of Aristotle’s will it must be in the Onassis family or pass into public ownership.

Oracle billionaire Lawrence J. Ellison purchased nearly all of the Hawaiian island of Lanai in 2012 for a widely reported $300 million. He plans to transform his 98 percent of the 141-square-miles, known as “Pineapple Island” (it was once considered to be the world’s top supplier of pineapples) into a premier tourist destination and a better place for locals to live, all in an economically viable, totally green way, news accounts say. Goals of one of the world’s richest people for “a prosperous and sustainable Eden in the Pacific” include everything from widespread renewable energy and charging stations for electric cars to growing and exporting gourmet produce and creating organic wineries. And perfume will be made the traditional way, like in France – from flowers.

Lanai, Hawaii

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Dietrich Mateschitz

Laucala Island, Fiji

Wild orchids; deserted, white, sandy beaches; and “endless jungle” are just a few of the South Pacific delights on Laucala, a seven-square-mile private island refuge turned resort owned by Austrian energy-drink tycoon Dietrich Mateschitz. The billionaire co- founder of Red Bull bought the Fijian island from the estate of Malcolm Forbes in the early 2000s and has since created a tropical hideaway offering up “unparalleled levels of luxury and privacy.” Guests can: stay at private Fijian-style villas nestled among coconut groves, ringed by the rainforest or boasting unbroken views of the sea; eat and imbibe at restaurants and bars offering up everything from beachside barbecues to customized fine dining; indulge in water sports, golf and horseback riding; and get up close and personal with the angelfish and coral reefs. Each villa comes with its own buggy for stress-free exploration.

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Roman Abramovich

New Holland Island, St. Petersburg, Russia

Not all islands are surrounded by the deep, blue sea. New Holland, a small man-made island on a canal in the heart of St. Petersburg, was originally conceived by Peter the Great for the navy and was inaccessible to the public for centuries, but is now open in summer months. The New York based architecture and urban design practice Work Architecture Company was retained by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich (who owns development rights with a 100-year lease) to re-imagine the island into an urban playground and cultural center with cafes, galleries, retail stores, a hotel, offices, housing, public park and other outdoor spaces, and a contemporary art museum with a launch pad for a hot air balloon from which visitors can view the city below.

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