While billionaires like Sir Richard Branson own 3 or even more islands, most celebrities keep it down to a single property, where they usually like to get away from it all.
Check out the biggest celebrities who own islands and find out how much they paid for their exotic properties and what they plan to do with them. Some stars are keeping islands as private getaway spots, while other are actually planning to develop them, by building commercial resorts.
Beyoncé and Jay Z
Of course Beyoncé and Jay Z would be on the list of celebrities who own islands. In fact, they have two. Their bigger purchase was Stranger Cay, a tropical paradise located in the North of the Bahamas, and it apparently came with a $20 million price tag.
The power couple also owns a smaller island in the Florida Keys, bought for $3-4 million.
Robin Williams
His tragic death shocked the world in 2020, and Robin Williams’ family has asked the media to respect their privacy in this difficult time. So far, no details about the will have surfaced, so it’s unclear if Williams’ wife or children will inherit his island in Pender Harbor, British Columbia, Canada.
Johnny Depp
After filming “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” in the Bahamas, Johnny Depp joined the ranks of celebrities who own islands. The actor paid $3.6 million in 2020 to purchase Little Hall’s Pond Cay. Keeping it eco-friendly, Depp explained that everything on the island would run on solar power.
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Celine Dion
While most celebrities who want a private island dream of a vacation spot in the tropics, Celine Dion bought her own island in Quebec. Paying almost $30 million for Ile Gagnon, in Quebec’s Mille Iles River, Celine Dion built herself a gorgeous chateau on the property, but she certainly doesn’t have the same privacy as she would get in the middle of the Atlantic.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Bahamas seems to attract a lot of stars, but Leonardo DiCaprio found his dream property in Belize. Purchased in 2020, the island is called Blackadore Cay, and the actor doesn’t just want to be one of the celebrities who own islands as vacation homes. Instead, he’s working on building an eco-friendly resort on it.
Tommy Lee
Owning a designer island sounds even better than just buying some old piece of rock. Rocker Tommy Lee purchased “Greece”, a man-made island in Dubai, part of The World, the artificial archipelago built in the Persian Gulf. The project took a break after the 2020 financial crisis, but now the development is going ahead.
Ricky Martin
Some celebrities who own islands prefer to be close to luxury. Ricky Martin paid $8 million for his island off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. The private island is close to the exclusive resort area of Angra dos Reis in Brazil. The singer made the purchase in 2020, the year when he became a father, with the help of a surrogate.
Mel Gibson
Choosing Fiji, Mel Gibson got a great deal when he purchased his private island. The actor and director paid $9 million for Mago Island, which extends over 5,400 acres. While that’s certainly enough space to develop a very profitable luxury resort, Gibson prefers to leave the island untouched outside of his vacation home.
Faith Hill and Tim McGraw
The country power couple is also on the list of celebrities who own islands. They purchased Goat Cay, in the Bahamas in 2020. The singer also built a 15,000 square foot vacation home on the 17-acre property, along with a few smaller houses for their staff.
Eddie Murphy
Long Cay, a Bahamas island also known as Rooster Cay, is Eddie Murphy’s private tropical paradise. The comedian paid $15 million in 2020 for the 15.4-acre island, which is very close to Nassau. Murphy knew the area well, since he had previously owned another island in the Bahamas.
Shakira
Some celebrities who own islands buy them in order to build a resort, but Shakira’s plans for developing the 700-acre Bonds Cay are still on hold. After purchasing the island for $16 million, the Colombian singer has been involved in a series of lawsuits against her ex, Antonio de la Rúa, and the resort isn’t even nearly finished.