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Necker, his beach-fringed property in the

(aptly named) Virgin Islands. The American

magician David Copper„ eld spent £30 million

developing Musha Cay, the collection of

Bahamian islands he calls his holiday home.

Johnny Depp snapped up Little Halls Pond

Cay in the Bahamas. And American billionaire

Malcolm Forbes became so attached to his

Fijian island of Laucala that he requested

that, even when he died, he was

left there. Today, hike to the top of

a hill and there he lies, beneath a

gravestone engraved simply

with 'When Alive, He Lived'.

Unsurprisingly, where millionaires

go, others want to follow -

particularly to places that o• er the

attractive combination of both

privacy and serious luxury, away

from the lenses of prying paparazzi.

Princess Margaret was one of the „ rst to

make the island of Mustique her romantic

hideaway after the war, with her new beau

Lord Snowdon. More than half a century

later, when Elle Macpherson chose to tie the

knot with billionaire Je• rey So• er, she knew

precisely the place that would o• er the right

combination of romance and exclusivity:

Laucala, with 80 friends as her guests.

Given the wealth of most of the visitors

to private islands, it is unsurprising that no

expense is spared in giving them the best,

from furnishings to toys and food. Most

islets will have butlers trained by leading

hotels (including Four Seasons and Aman

Resorts), who have been acclimatised to

such Hollywood demands as speci„ cally

fragranced candles, Frette sheets, fresh

herbal smoothies - and, on one island, toy

pistols with which guests could shoot Cristal

Champagne into each other's mouths.

On Necker Island, Branson has hunky

beach boys who can teach such guests as

Kate Moss and Kate Winslet to surf, kite-surf,

snorkel and waterski - or take them sailing

in one of the ž eet of catamarans. Musha Cay

comes with a resident entertainer who can

arrange a concert on the beach or a bespoke

treasure hunt. The new Coco Privé Kuda Hithi

in the Maldives has spa therapists on call 24

hours a day, and cooks who can deliver meals

to order - from South American to Chinese.

In spite of the image that is often

presented of islands being places to relax,

eat simple food and regain health, cuisine is

taken seriously, and celebrity chefs are often

ž own in to suit guests' tastes. On Necker, a

chef might be brought in from The Ritz to

concoct gustatory feasts and add his touch to

a dugout canoe ž oated in a pool that's full of

ž owers and fresh sushi. On Musha

Cay, caviar tagliatelle, grilled lobster

and warm chocolate tarts can be

whisked up under palm trees by a

top Miami chef. And on the almost

incomparably perfect Laucala,

dishes by Australian chef Anthony

Healy are all the more delicious

because three-quarters of his

ingredients are produced on the island itself.

Diversity is o• ered not just in the food on

most islands, but their activities, too. Laucala,

for instance, doesn't just have a spa, but nine

therapists. The dive centre has among its

collection of water toys a DeepFlight Super

Falcon submarine. There's a cultural centre

celebrating Fijian crafts and local tradition,

stables with thoroughbreds, a golf course

with a pro always in attendance. And best

of all: dozens of pools, one a breathtaking

60,000 sq ft of landscaped, island-dotted

ON MUSHA CAY, CAVIAR TAGLIATELLE,

GRILLED LOBSTER AND WARM CHOCOLATE

TARTS CAN BE WHISKED UP UNDER PALM

TREES BY A TOP MIAMI CHEF

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