Two friends buy a Caribbean island to start their own country

Although, many would find owning a private island would seem like a privilege reserved for the elite, a group of individuals have proven that it’s more attainable than you might think. The co-founders of Let’s Buy An Island, Gareth Johnson and Marshall Mayer, a project that began in 2018 — set out to do exactly what the name states.

They raised £250,000 (AED 1.1m) by launching a crowd-funding campaign, that was aimed at potential investors who would buy the uninhabited island in the Caribbean, with a promise to develop the area for tourism, share the profits and allow everyone to live their own ‘private island fantasy’. 

Johnson, the CEO of the project, said, “Who hasn’t dreamed of making their own country?” 

By December 2019, the lads had raised enough money to buy Coffee Caye, a 1.2-acre island off the coast of Belize  —  which became reimagined as the ‘Principality of Islandia’. 

While the new micronation isn’t recognised officially, it benefits from many of the features of an autonomous country, with its own national flag, anthem and government. 

“We are as close to a nation as you can get, without getting an army and a navy,” Johnson said. 

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