The Incredible Private Islands Of The Rich And Famous

Some super rich people spend their money on private jets; others build lavish homes around the globe. But perhaps the ultimate show of wealth is the private island. Born rich has gathered a few islands owned by the wealthy; we've compiled a list of our own. They belong to businessmen, moguls and celebrities, and some are lived on year round, while others are rented out to guests. Incredibly, many of them - like the British Virgin Island owned by Richard Branson - were snapped up decades ago at relative steals.

Richard Branson bought Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands for $200,000 in the 1970s. It now rents for over $50,000 per night.

Hedge fund manager Louis Moore Bacon bought Robins Island, off the coast of Long Island, for $11 million in 1993.

David Copperfield's Musha Cay, off the coast of the Bahamas, played host to Google founder Sergey Brin's wedding in 2007.

Russian mogul Roman Abramovich bought St. Petersburg's New Holland Island in 2010 with the intention of building a $400 million art museum.

Skorpios Island, off the coast of Greece, was the private island of the late Greek shipping billionaire Aristotle Onassis and is reportedly still owned by his granddaughter Athina.

Mel Gibson bought Fiji's Mago Island from a Tokyo-based corporation for $15 million in 2005.

Ted Turner purchased St. Phillips Island and several hundred nearby acres in 1979; he was at one point involved in litigation with the Gullah community that lives nearby. 

Hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones owns a trio of private islands that spell out his initials. They are part of a 3,000 acre wildlife preserve he owns on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.

Billionaire businessman David Murdock took control of Hawaii's Lanai in 1985 when he bought the private company that owned 98 percent of the island.

Segway inventor Dean Kamen bought Connecticut's North Dumpling Island for $2.5 million in 1986.

Actor Johnny Depp paid $3.6 million for 45-acre Little Hall's Pond Cay, in the Bahamas, in 2004 after filming "Pirates of the Caribbean."

Billionaire British businessmen (and twins) David and Frederick Barclay bought Brecqhou, one of the Channel Islands, in 1993.

Source : http://www.businessinsider.com