Celebrity Island

Celebrity Island

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Sailing holidays are fabulous. There’s no better feeling than arriving at a picturesque island with white sand beaches and crystal clear water after a long day of sailing.
There’s nothing worse, however than discovering you’re not the only one to have found this island, and subsequently fighting for a square meter of space on the beach.
Sometimes, instead of battling the crowds and the peak-season prices, we wish we had a spare 10 million to buy our own exclusive island to retreat to. Wait, who are we kidding? We wish this all the time.
And this is exactly what rich people do. Celebrities can holiday in the most romantic sailing destinations in the world , but they can also just buy the place if they fancy it.
So, join us in weeping as we take you through the top 10 privately owned celebrity islands.
Word has it that Jonny Depp fell in love with this gorgeous little island in the Bahamas after filming on location for Pirates of the Carbibean. According to Forbes , Depp paid a tidy $3.6 million for Little Halls Pond Cay . He named two of its six beaches ‘Gonzo’ and ‘Brando’ in honour of his mentors, Hunter S. Thompson and Marlon Brando. He names the others after his family members. After marrying his partner, Amber Heard, back in February this year, the pair hosted a lavish wedding party on the island. Depp spoke to Vanity Fair about this little slice of paradise, saying, “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.”
Most men purchase flowers when they’re trying to win back their woman, but Tommy Lee felt that buying a private island for his ex-wife Pamela Anderson would do the trick. So, Anderson was gifted a beautiful island off the coast of Dubai. Originally, she intended on turning the island into a resort with an eco-friendly hotel, but since then, no progress has been made nor talk of the subject. Perhaps she’s planning on keeping the beaches all to herself — and we don’t blame her!
With an estimated wealth of $46 billion , purchasing an island in Hawaii for $300 millio n mustn’t be much of a slap to the bank account. Ellison purchased a 97% stake of this 140 square meter island from billionaire David Murdock. When Ellison bought Lanai, he took over almost everything, including small, local businesses — restaurants, grocery stores, and art galleries — and some of the larger business, including two of the Four Seasons Hotels, two golf courses, the community swimming pool, and one third of the island’s housing. Lanai is the sixth-largest Hawaiian island , but its population is only 3,200.
Shakira decided to purchase this stunning island in the north of the Bahamas with Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters and Spanish singer Alejandro Sanz. The Duo bought this $16 million island back in 2011, with the intention of developing it into an eco-friendly, carbon neutral, luxury holiday destination designed as an escape for artists all over the world . Bonds Cay sits just over 120 miles off the coast of Florida and boast 700 beautiful acres. It has five beaches, many private coves, art galleries, luxury hotels and three salt pond lakes.
Leonardo Dicaprio bought this stunning island in the Caribbean Sea back in 2005 for a cool $1.75 million . Blackadore Cay is 42 hectares large, and sits right by the beautiful reef off the coast of Belize. Being the environmentalist that he is (last year he donated $15 million to environmental charities), Dicaprio plans to turn this island into an eco-resort, scheduled to open to the public in 2018. He plans to build a green hotel, an artificial reef and improve on the island’s natural habitat . Lucky us!
No novice to the private island business, Rooster Cay was Murphy’s second purchase. He previously owned another island in the Bahamas called Pearl Cay, which was situated right next to Paradise Island. After selling Pearl Cay back in 2007, he acquired the lovely Rooster Cay, which reportedly cost $15 million . Holding six hectares of unspoilt natural beauty, Rooster Cay sits right by Nassau .
The famous illusionist owns a whopping four private islands in the Bahamas, which he paid a cool $50 million for. Who else is considering a career change right now? Yep, us too. Musha Cay is the only one of Copperfield’s islands that serves as a resort. According to Forbes , it costs the public $37,000 per night (with a minimum of four nights) to stay here. Musha Cay boasts five private villas , a movie theatre, and on-call staff available 24/7. You can even request your own private fireworks show.
Australian actor Mel Gibson bought Mago Island for an estimated $15 million , back in 2005. This stunning island is one of the largest private islands in the South Pacific, at 5,400 acres. Unlike other celebrities, Gibson has decided to keep the island all to himself, maintaining its preserved natural state. Apparently, Gibson only employs a few caretakers to look after the island while he is away. He also runs a cattle farm and is in talks with the local government about other farming and fishing projects — how lovely.
In 2008, the Latin pop star purchased this island for his family for $8 million . Martin’s private island is situated off the coast of Brazil, near the stylish resort region of the Angra dos Reis islands . This scattering of islands is said to be some of the most scenic in the Southern Hemisphere.
The owner of Virgin and UK business tycoon purchased Nekker Island back in 1979 for a measly $180,000 . Up until that point, Nekker Island was uninhabited. Since its purchase, it has housed guests like Princess Diana, Tony Blair and Nelson Mandela . Branson developed the private island with a Balinese theme, and it can accommodate up to 28 guests with room for luxury yachts to anchor offshore. If you’re not of the same stature as these celebrity guests, however, it’s going to cost you $15,000 per day to rent a space on this island . Branson says his most treasured memories are of time spent with family and friends enjoying Nekker Island’s beautiful beaches and coral reef.
Dream on, friends. That’s all we can do, right? Wrong! We can rent a motorboat and sail to gorgeous islands all over the world! Spend winter somewhere warm, and charter a yacht in the world’s best winter sailing destinations .

For many celebs and other wealthy individuals, owning a private island is the ultimate luxury because it’s the only way to escape the madding crowd. Island owners are most often true escapists, valuing independence and privacy above all else. If you own an island, no one invades your space without permission. Even the most pesky neighbors will need very strong binoculars to peek over your fence. With privacy eroding every day, a private island is the perfect place to escape for holidays, or for good! Most celebrities and financial titans seek seclusion without being recognized or hounded by the public.
When most of us think about private islands, images of paparazzi plagued celebrities and evil scientists bent on world domination come to mind. Popular culture portrays private islands as the exclusive playground for the rich and famous, or the very eccentric. And that’s mostly true, but ordinary people own private islands too. We’re just not focusing on them here. Celebrity Island Owners are usually motivated by the desire for escape, or they purchase islands with the impulse to conserve and protect special places.
Private island owners are typecast as sunglass sporting shipping magnates or paparazzi-plagued A-listers hiding out in the Bahamas. And that image is largely true. One of the most famous Hollywood island owners was acting legend Marlon Brando who liked to relax on his beloved French Polynesian atoll Tetiaroa. Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis gave private islands a lot of cachet back in the day with his glamorous lifestyle of yachts, first ladies and opera stars. Modern celebs like Leonardo DiCaprio bought his Belizian island with conservation in mind.
There are thousands of islands for sale all over the world, from the Caribbean to the South Pacific. If you have a large island with a runway and a complicated electrical system, it’s best to get some staff onboard for help. Private island caretakers keep an eye on your investment when you’re not there. Island development projects can take years and involved over a hundred workers and millions of dollars, but the end results are usually worth it.

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There is nothing more fun than owning your own island, it’s like your own little kingdom. Many celebrities own such private islands !
1. Marlon Brando – Tetiaroa, French Polynesia, Tahiti Island

Marlon Brando’s discovered “Tetiaroa” in 1960 while looking a place for film. Atoll is located at 33 miles (53 km) north of the island of Tahiti. The total area of Tetiaroa, 2.3 square miles (6 square miles).

2. Nicholas Cage- Leaf Cay, Bahamas.

In 2006, Nicolas Cage bought the island in the Bahamas for $3 million. Prior to that, the actor has already belonged to a luxury home on a paradise island. leaf cay is a part islands with tropical palm trees, long sandy beaches and freshwater bodies of water. These 40 acres is just a copy of paradise on earth.
3. Johnny Depp – Little Halls Pond Cay, Bahamas

These 45 acres a mile long is a private island that is part of the Exumas Islands in the south of the Bahamas. The cost of the island is $ 3.6 million, here are the most beautiful coral reefs in the world.
4. Leonardo DiCaprio – Blackadore Cay, Belize

Leonardo DiCaprio bought this 2.2 miles long island for $ 1.75 million in 2005. It is a beautiful island with white sand beaches located near the famous Barrier Reef.
5. Celine Dion – Ile Gagnon,Quebec

Singer Celine Dion Island is located in the Canada province of Quebec. A huge castle built in the French style is a landmark to local tourists.
6. Mel Gibson – Mago Island, Fiji.

Mel Gibson, the Aussie by origin, has joined to the list of the owners of Fijian islands after the purchasing the Mago island in the in 2005, approximately for $ 15 millions. The island is 5,400 acres, which make one of the largest private islands.
7. Ricky Martin- Island in Angra dos Reis, Brazil

The island was bought by the Latin pop singer Ricky Martin in 2008 for $ 8 million.
8. Michael Schumacher – An artificial island in Dubai.

This island was given gift to Michael Schumacher by Dubai crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and it worth is $7 million.
9. Robin Williams – an island in the Pender Harbor, British Columbia.

Star of countless comedies and dramas, Robin Williams bought the island in the Pender Harbor, British Columbia, Canada.
10. Shakira – Bonds Cay, Bahamas

This is a huge 700 acres Bonds Cay, Bahamas island owned by Shakira and the cost is $ 16 million.
11. Eddie Murphy – Rooster Cay, Bahamas

Eddie Murphy is one of the highest paid actors and bought this small Rooster Cay island in the Bahamas in 2007 for $ 15 million.
12. David Copperfield – Musha Cay, Bahamas.

Magician David Copperfield owns four islands in the southern Bahamas for $ 50 million. Musha cay is 150 acres mile long, where the owner has created a private resort. He rents the Musha resort for $ 325,000 per week.

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The Nashville couple took to Goat Cay near the Turks and Caicos islands in 2003, building a 15,000-square-foot vacation retreat , complete with lookout tower. Maintained exclusively for vacations with friends (they famously loaned it out to Gwyneth Paltrow/Chris Martin for their post-split 2014 holiday ) they've kept it pretty much off the grid. Showing the place off to Architectural Digest in 2017, however, revealed their shared passion for cliff diving.

In 2020, news broke that the pair were selling the property — reportedly for a cool $35 million.

The Revenant star purchased the 104-acre Blackadore Caye island off the Belize coast in 2005 with plans to create a " wellness-focused, luxury eco-resort ." After several setbacks and construction delays, building permissions were finally issued and developers were working on plans that called for 36 resort bungalows and estate villas fully integrated into the landscape, with circadian lighting and solar panels, according to Bloomberg .

In 2006, the master illusionist bought a group of 11 islands in the Bahamas around Musha Cay for $50 million, according to Forbes . Then with another $30 million — and appropriate sleight of hand — he turned the whole area into " The Islands of Copperfield Bay ," an ultra-luxe resort described as "one part Casino Royale, two parts Blue Lagoon."

Just 90 minutes from Miami, Musha Cay provides an ultra-private getaway for anyone who can afford the magical fee of $42,000 per night for up to 12 guests (with prices rising per person up to 24 guests) to stay in one of its five main island homes — although only one group can rent the island at a time, a representative for the property told PEOPLE.

When they're not sleeping, guests get to enjoy 40 private beaches, an outdoor theater, a speedboat, gym, tennis courts, team illusions and other adventures. Those to have made the journey include Oprah Winfrey , Bill and Melinda Gates, Jim Carrey and John Travolta, while Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem — as well as Google founder Sergey Brin — have held weddings there.

From its early primitive palm lodges and low-eco impact founding, Brando's island (which he purchased in 1966 for $270,000 ) has phoenixed into The Brando , one of the world's most glamorous resorts.

Redesigned and reopened with the involvement of Brando's children in 2014, it has become an extreme and costly destination for a highly-select band of guests looking for privacy, pristine beaches and a weekly evening mixer. (It was during one of these that Monaco's Princess Charlene found her children dancing one summer with Lady Gaga ).

There are also two haute cuisine restaurants overseen by Parisian chef Guy Martin, who told PEOPLE "there is no other place like it anywhere else on Earth."

The resort is currently closed due to COVID-19.

Depp fell in love with the Bahamas while filming Pirates of the Caribbean in 2004, and his Little Hall Pond Cay is the personification of a celebrity perk: 45-acres of dunes, a palm-lined lagoon and secluded white sand. The beaches are named after family members, as well as journalist Hunter S. Thompson and Marlon Brando, in honor of the actor Depp claims instructed him in how to buy an island .

He reportedly paid $3.6 million for it in 2004, according to Forbes .

Depp also hosted a wedding weekend here, celebrating his February 2015 marriage to now-ex Amber Heard.

Clooney and wife Amal set up in the leafy surroundings of south Oxfordshire in 2014, purchasing a large private island on the River Thames (which runs through London further downstream) for a reported 10 million GBP , according to Architectural Digest .

The Clooneys have since extensively remodeled the existing 17th-century mansion to include an indoor pool, home cinema, glass house, and private boathouse — plus, a nursery for twins Alexander and Ella.

Perry purchased the 25-acre White Bay Cay – plus an adjacent 7-acre island — in 2009, telling PEOPLE the purchase was a birthday present to himself . The larger island was listed for a combined $7 million, according to the Wall Street Journal , but a final sale price is unknown.

The filmmaker took flying lessons so he could take his private plane to the island, which he has since appointed with Balinese style villa and bungalows.

Shortly after releasing the successful 2004 film Passion of the Christ , Gibson bought the island of Mago from a Japanese corporation for $15 million, reports the L.A. Times . One of the world's largest private islands, according to the Telegraph , Mago offers 5,400 acres of volcanic paradise. "Mago rises majestically to 670 feet on its eastern cliffs and is fringed entirely by protective reefs, powder white beaches and turquoise lagoons," reads the sale's original offering.

Gibson once reportedly let a group of backpackers pass through to use his private airstrip.

In 2008, Ricky Martin purchased Ilha do Maia — a 19.7 acre stretch of coastline near the stylish Brazilian resort district of Angra dos Reis, PEOPLE en Español reports, citing Mexican newspaper El Universal .

The region, two hours from Rio, is renowned as a marine conservation district, yet Martin's island has more of a fortress-like appearance thanks to the presence of 12 cannons and watchtowers , plus a large Portuguese colonial-style villa (complete with large party room). The "Livin' La Vida Loca" singer has principally used the island as a holiday location.

Some people just have a passion for islands, it seems. Two-time Oscar winner Gene Hackman owned 2.3-acre Fawn's Island in the straits between Canada and Washington State, according to Curbed Seattle. Not content with that, Hackman sold off the San Juan chain timberline in 2008 for $3.6 million, reportedly using his windfall to purchase a larger, even more remote island in British Columbia.

The survival expert installed on St. Tudwal West island off Wales' Llyn Peninsula in 2001, eventually paying 95,000 GBP for the 30-acre rock , according to the Telegraph . The location is famous for its wildlife (grey seals, otters and dolphins are common visitors), signature lighthouse cottage and wild, dramatic coastline.

Yet it hasn't always been smooth sailing for the ex-SAS trooper: he ran afoul of his neighbors in 2015 when he installed a metal slide on the side of a cliff, the outlet reported.

Just offshore from downtown Nassau, Murphy purchased the 15-acre Rooster (or Long) Cay in 2007 for a reported $15 million , per Forbes . The property remains largely undeveloped. Murphy has family ties to the Bahamas and previously owned another smaller island near Nassau, called Pearl Cay.

The musical combo of Colombian pop star Shakira and Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters may strike as an unusual collaboration, yet the pair purchased
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