Among the celibates, recently the purchase of uninhabited islands has become a kind of fashion. The list of the most famous islanders includes Bill Gates, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts.
Recently, he was joined by a favorite of women Johnny Depp. Inspired by the participation in the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean", he decided to buy himself an uninhabited island in the Bahamas. A piece of sushi with snow-white beaches and a blue lagoon, surrounded by tall palm trees, cost the actor $ 3.6 million.
In Russia, the only widely known "Robinson" - Roman Abramovich, other facts of ownership of such property are trying not to advertise. It is only known that Russians prefer to buy islands in the Caribbean (next to Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio) and the Seychelles. These places are real pieces of paradise: with picturesque greenery, exotic animals and splendid bungalows.
The most expensive uninhabited islands you can buy
To build sandcastles on your own beach, of course, have to fork out. Last year Forbes magazine published the list of the most expensive islands in the world. For 75 million you can become the owner of the island of Vatu Vara in Fiji - limestone cliffs, fish-infested bays and neighborhood with Mel Gibson are provided.
The island of Ronde, located in the territory of Grenada, took second place in the list. Among the attractions of this 70 millionth fairy tale is an underwater grotto with quartz walls.
On the third place is Big Hans Lollik for 45 million, with a snow-white beach in the shape of a crescent and the most transparent turquoise ocean water.
But this is the leader of the hit parade. In reality, the spread of prices for the islands is great - from several tens of thousands to several million dollars. The cheapest of them, by the way, are close to us in Croatia (from 30 thousand); the most expensive - in the Caribbean, costing about 10 million. The prices for the islands also determine the degree of their livability. Uninhabited island, as a rule, is cheaper, but to make it civilized, considerable investments are required.
Mel Gibson was not so pleasantly surprised. Arriving on the island of Mago, bought by him for 15 million, the actor met there 500 aborigines who demanded to return their property to them. It turned out that historically the island belonged to their people, but in the 19th century they were forced to leave it. Before reclaiming the right to property, Mel Gibson had to go through litigation.
How to buy an island
To avoid such embarrassment, before buying such a property in the middle of the ocean, make sure of the availability of infrastructure, pay attention to the legislative base of the state to which the island belongs, and be sure to visit it before the transaction. Experts advise to take future property in rent for a couple of months to check if you are created for island life.
The most famous projects
The most vivid example of a successful investment is the 100 millionth project of Antonio de la Rua, the son of the former President of Argentina and the groom of singer Shakira, who decided to build a paradise for millionaires with chic hotels, golf courts and other multi-star attributes. However, the purchase of the island is beneficial even without its arrangement: the prices for "floating" real estate grow every year.
An unusual boutique was opened in 2004 in the United Arab Emirates. The project of 300 islands that have been poured out under the name of "Islands of the World" has recently been put up for sale and costs more than 3 billion dollars. Each island, artificially created in the Persian Gulf, reminiscent of its outlines a continent or country, and together they represent an expanded map of the world. Islands are sold from 6 to 40 million apiece. The first buyer was Rod Stewart. He bought the island "Great Britain" for 33 million, planning to make a golf course there. The secret of the names of 3 Russian businessmen who laid out multimillion sums for a part of "America", "Italy" and the European part of "Russia" are kept secret. And Pamela Andersen and Tommy Lee bought "Greece".
More recently, Indonesian officials have found out that more than 6,700 islands in their state territory still do not have names, and have thought about remedying the national budget by allowing wealthy citizens to give their names to the islands. So, who knows, in a few years, traveling in Indonesia, we will stop on the island of Masha Malinovskaya, go into the lagoon of Vladimir Zhirinovsky and sail past Bill Clinton's atoll.