Richard Branson's Paradise Island Completely Devastated By Irma.

I don't believe he has to worry too much.

 

Same thoughts here, especially after sailing by his 'private' island with the warning signs telling you to NOT even think about coming ashore... inspite of the wicked reef.

He snatched that island from some BVIslanders who didn't know better for just $180,000 USD.

Why?

Because at that time the British Virgin Islands (a crown colony) basically had no environmental regs or limits on development... much like the rest of the Caribbean in the early '80s.

The US Virgin Islands next door already had a Coastal Zone Management act and other regulations preventing the nearby islands from being raped like St Thomas was, and is.

So the dock got built, then another. Now there are three. A helipad. Monstrous buildings. Imported monkeys from Asia. Other wildlife unknown... but he built a wetland area and reforested the island a bit to make it seem more tropical. Necker Island was a barren dry island previously and uninhabited. Now it has a desal plant for water, generators chugging 24/7 and constant supplies arriving by ferry along with the rich and famous.

Quite a trip for such a remote place.

I gather his dream of surviving world disasters there got a kick in the pants...

 

Watching the video I am struck by how overbuilt and crowded the islands had become in the last 30 years... friends there tell of a completely different life now compared to what it was before civilization and cruise ships, jets and planes arrived.