Are you the kind of person who thinks owning just one island is just that bit too cliché? After all, every respectable billionaire has their own island. What you might be after is something a bit bigger – an entire archipelago, perhaps.
If that sounds like you (and, we know, the likelihood is that is doesn’t sound anything like you at all), well, here’s an offer that doesn’t come around every day. A nature reserve has gone up for sale in the Indonesian tropical paradise of Bali that includes an archipelago of over 100 islands.
Called the Widi Reserve, the sale covers a whopping 780,000 acres of land and sea. The 100-plus islands, which feature 25,000 acres of rainforest, are uninhabited and the surrounding waters include some of the best-preserved coral reef ecosystems in the world, as well as endangered species like whale sharks and blue whales.
The Widi Reserve is being sold by Sotheby’s in New York, who’ve earmarked the area for ‘eco-conscious’ development. A new owner would be allowed to develop at least 50 properties on the reserve. Here are a few pictures of the Widi in its current pristine and undeveloped state.
As you can probably guess, all this will likely cost you a shit-tonne of cash. Though the expected price range hasn’t been announced, the Widi Reserve is up for auction at Sotheby’s in New York from December 8-14 – and you’ll need to put down $100,000 as a deposit just to bid.
If you’re a billionaire, you can find out more on the official Sotheby’s listing here. And if you’re not mega-rich? Well, let’s hope we’ll at least be able to visit. In the meantime, Indonesia’s new tourist visa will let you be a local for up to ten years.
Indonesian law prohibits the sale of islands per se, however interests in companies holding the development rights to private islands, or an entire archipelago in this case, can be sold to anyone. The owner and an international team will be staying involved, terms and conditions apply.
Did you see that this entire abandoned Spanish village is up for sale?
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