As the world winds down for the weekend, Private Island News is celebrating feel-good Friday – sharing a series of island-related anecdotes and imagery that are bound to put a smile on your face.
Greek Island in the Ionian Sea – Photo Courtesy of Vladi Private Islands
The Vladi Private Islands team had certainly had cause to smile this week after receiving an unusual e-mail from a young island fan – a student whose passion for islands is so strong that his friends have begun to call him “Vladi.”
Whilst at EUR 50,000 the young buck’s offer for Greek Island in the Ionian Sea was somewhat shy of the EUR 45 million asking price (he is a student, after all!), the record-breaking broker certainly made a note of the would-be island owners details – after all, it wouldn’t be the first time that an island has been snapped up for a fraction of its asking price…
Back in 1978, a 28 year old British businessman by the name of Richard Branson made a similarly cheeky island bid, offering just USD 100,000 for the beautiful Necker Island, located in the British Virgin Islands (Caribbean). The owners, who were hoping for an offer in the region of USD 5 million, were less than impressed by Sir Richard’s proposal – in fact, they were so taken aback by his “derisory” offer, that – as legend has it – they actually evicted him from the island!
Even an island eviction wasn’t enough to put off wily British businessman Branson, however. As the months went by, he slowly began pushing up his offer in order to keep the understandably upset owner (a British aristocrat by the name of Lord Cobham) onside. Branson’s persistence paid off, however. With Lord Cobham was in desperate need of short term capital, it was only a matter of time before Sir Richard’s (slightly!) improved offer of USD 180,000 was accepted.
Almost 40 years down the line, Sir Richard still counts the acquisition of Necker Island as his best deal to date. Who knows – in a few decades time, perhaps the young “Vladi” will have a similar story to tell… Private Island News will be sure to keep you posted…
Cartoon of the Day
An irreverent look at island life by Allan Jardine – descendent of the real Robinson Crusoe, Alexander Selkirk.
Taken from Island Cartoons, reproduced with permission from Allan Jardine
