*As a seven-time F1 Championship winner and a recipient of sponsorships from the likes of Ferrari, Omega, Richard Mille, and Nike, Michael Schumacher is no stranger to mind-boggling luxury. His net worth is estimated to be something in the region of $600 million, making him the wealthiest professional racer in the world by a considerable margin.
Nonetheless, that did not stop Dubai’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, from deciding that Schumacher was in need of a little bit of charity. Back in 2006, following the completion of Schumacher’s final Grand Prix and in anticipation of the opening of the (never completed) Schumacher Tower in Dubai, the Crown Prince decided to gift the driver with a sprawling manmade private island off the coast of the city.
The island, which is estimated to have a value of around $7 million, is located on a gargantuan constellation of artificial islands off the coast of Dubai known as The World. For those who aren’t quite up to date with the latest developments in the opulent parallel universe that is Dubai, The World is a collection of largely-private islands that, when viewed from above, look like a map of the world.
Each island is named after a country, with examples including Lebanon (where the Royal Island Beach Club is located), and Canada (currently occupied by a global real estate conglomerate). Schumacher’s island is located in the ‘Antarctica’ section of The World and came fully-equipped with a glass mansion, a helipad, and a harbor capable of housing several 100-foot yachts.
Since Schumacher received the island almost 15 years ago, no other person on Earth has been gifted a piece of the development, meaning that the Crown Prince must be a very big fan of Formula One. Of course, that hasn’t stopped people of all levels of wealth and notoriety seeking to secure their own private slice of paradise in Dubai.
While much of The World is currently under construction, the neighboring Palm Jumeirah development, a manmade archipelago in the shape of a palm tree, is open for business. It is the largest manmade island in the world and is home to a wide range of opulent private villas, each of which comes with its own private beach. The Dubai-based realtor Bayut estimates that Palm Jumeirah is the most sought-after area for homebuyers in all of Dubai, no mean feat in a city with one of the most in-demand and white-hot property markets on Earth.
While the popularity of Palm Jumeirah demonstrates that the people’s appetite for a private island paradise remains as strong as ever, even the most moneyed and well-connected buyer will be unlikely to acquire a setup as sweet as Schumacher’s.
Of course, The World grows closer to completion with each passing day, so it is entirely possible that another celebrity or tycoon will be able to snag themselves an island to rival Schumacher’s. Watch this space to find out.
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
