WELCOME TO BRANSON’S EGO ISLAND
It’s not just Obama. Branson’s shamelessly invited legions of celebs and royals to his Caribbean idyll — and all for the greater glory of one man and his brand
BARACK OBAMA could have picked anywhere in the world to take his wife on that ‘very nice vacation’ he’d promised her after standing down as Leader of the Free World. So, one has to ask why he opted for Sir Richard branson’s personal Caribbean paradise, Necker Island?
Of course, the certainty of blue skies, golden sand and warm seas would appeal, and the privacy such a hideaway affords. but Necker is a party island, beloved of the celebrity hoi polloi, from Kates moss and Winslet to ex-baywatch star David Hasselhoff and the odd royal, global guru or head of state who fancies a freebie.
Anyone, in fact, who doesn’t mind sharing a hot tub with the host for obligatory selfies, or being snapped joshing around with him on the beach or in the water — and then seeing those photographs shared with millions.
For even if you are a personal guest of Sir Richard, there is a price to be paid for a trip to Necker as the Obamas are discovering. The island has become a priceless PR asset for branson and the Virgin brand, boosted even further in recent years by the shameless and strategic use of social media to showcase his celebrity guests to their hordes of followers.
Ever since branson acquired Necker in 1979 for about £180,000, he has busied himself inviting the great, the good (and not-so-good), and the merely famous to enjoy it. Often, it is when they are down on their luck, perhaps after a high-profile spell in rehab or a headline-generating failed love affair.
but what a coup it was to reel in the Obamas and how thoughtful of him to give his friend barack — they are in ‘close alignment’ apparently on climate change, conflict resolution, prison and drug reform and all sorts of other do-gooding — a chance to try the risky watersports hishis high office denied him for eight years.
The photos of the former president learning to kitesurf — Virgin just happens to sponsor kitesurfing competitions — were posted on branson’s blog and made front pages around the world. The accompanying video has been viewed millions of times.
THE 66-year- old billionaire’s sycophantic musings on the general wonderfulness of mr and mrs Obama are only marginally less nauseating than the shot of a beaming barack playfighting — what was he thinking — with branson as they lounge together in the back of a boat.
branson’s hunger for publicity — any publicity — is legendary, but the Obamas are widely regarded as a couple who displayed real class and integrity in the White House. Was the louche luxury of Necker really their cup of tea?
In a 2015 TV documentary about the island, branson, posing like a second-rate Hugh Hefner, boasted about how often his good-looking staff ended up sleeping with the guests.
A management team had once tried to put a stop to it all but the diktat hadn’t lasted a weekend. ‘That is not the way this island would run very well,’ branson sniggered.
meanwhile, Necker’s head of finance, ‘milly’, boasted how she loved to let guests eat sushi off her naked midriff. ‘I love that I get to be an accountant and then go lay on a table and get people to suck soy sauce out of my belly button. Who else gets to do that?’ she said.
Perhaps barack and michelle eschewed sushi night during their ten-day trip to Necker and nearby moskito (which branson also owns).
Sir Richard, who is worth £4 billion and has been based on Necker (a tax haven coincidentally) full time since 2013, was not in resi- dence when the Obamas arrived in the british Virgin Islands on his private jet late last month.
However, he couldn’t resist trailing the VVIP visit by posting a picture of himself and the former president (taken earlier) for his 1.3 million followers on Instagram. Nor could he pass up on gate-crashing their holiday as the new photos show. One can only hope that he didn’t bid them farewell in his traditional manner — by baring his bottom at them.
branson has described Necker as ‘a wonderful magnet to attract wonderfully interesting people’. Indeed. As the Obamas become part of the Necker Nexus, what’s on offer and who’s who on the sun loungers?
YOUR ISLAND GUIDE
IF YOU are lucky enough to be a friend of branson’s, then it will probably cost you nothing to stay on Necker. mere mortals, however, need to shell out £40,000 a night.
As such, the island has been a canny investment, too, with an affluent corporate clientele scrambling with oligarchs to book a holiday, wedding or honeymoon there. So what do you get for your money?
The Great House on Necker was rebuilt after a fire caused by a lightning strike in 2011 in which Kate Winslet famously rescued branson’s 87-year-old mother Eve (although the feisty mrs branson later disputed the claim).
It reopened in 2013 with six bedrooms and a master suite, each with a king- sized bed, en suite bathroom and balcony.
branson’s private residence, Temple House, is also available to rent (from £5,510 per night) when he’s elsewhere, as is a smaller property, the Love Temple (£3,418), next door. There are six balinese style villas nearby (£3,713), each with a private outdoor dining area. Guests can also be accommodated in the four luxury cabins on his catamaran, the Necker belle.
The island is considered to be ‘full’ when there are 34 guests in
situ. They are looked after by 60 staff, including three five-star chefs who can dish up anything from a fine dining tasting menu to floating sushi bars (when milly’s not available) or a beach barbecue.
The new beach House provides an entertainment complex, with a bar, cinema and a dining area for up to 40 people, and a viewing deck overlooking the island’s two tennis courts. There are two pools plus water- skiing, kitesurfing and parasailing on offer, or guests can just enjoy the wild life, including 200 flamingos, lemurs, a pair of iguanas, and tortoises.
THE CELEBRITIES
KATE WINSLET: The Oscar-winning actress visited in August 2011, with children mia and Joe, and thenboyfriend, male model Louis Dowler, to join a house party made up of branson family and friends. During the drama of that house fire, she fell for fellow guest Ned Rocknroll, branson’s nephew and now her husband.
RONNIE AND SALLY WOOD: Ronnie chose Necker for his 2012 honeymoon with third wife Sally, who is 39 to his 69. He has known branson for years — the Stones signed to Virgin Records in 1992. DAVID HASSELHOFF: The ex-