Russian oligarch plans to transform Greek island into private art island

Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev plans to turn the Greek island of Skorpios into a real art island. A luxurious VIP hotel will be built on this 200-hectare isolated land, which will include a sports complex and spa.

The luxury VIP resort on Skorpios

The island has made headlines before, as in 1968 former First Lady ‘Jacqueline Kennedy’ married Aristotle Onassis (a Greek shipping magnate and owner of the island at the time) here. But now Rybolovlev has bought it from him and he plans to turn it into a luxury resort, filled with unparalleled works of great artists of the 20th century in the fields of architecture and sculpture.

The resort will be known as the ‘VIP complex’, where guests can use the sports complex or spa, and will be guarded by snipers. Sounds like something out of a bad action movie. But that is not the only thing that will be located on this art island. There will also be space for a conference center, a football field and a riding school. The latter to attract the ‘horse-riding billionaires’. There will also be a luxury marina area – which will of course include Rybolovlev’s impressive yacht.

However, the island can only be reached by helicopter, so the extravagant billionaires who want to stay here for a while will not be able to get here via yacht or plane, but only via the flying object with wings. Although this will be completely worth it thanks to the beautiful vineyards and the entertaining amphitheatre.

According to The Art Newspaper, around 400 local construction workers have worked tirelessly in recent months to develop the resort on Greece’s private island of Skorpios. Construction of all facilities and properties is reported to cost $235 million.

Rybolovlev paid $150 million for the Greek island

Dmitry Rybolovlev is known, among other things, as the president of the football club AS Monaco. The Russian art lover flaunts his huge fortune of $ 6.7 billion – about € 6.3 billion – and his enormous art collection. However, he has also been a victim of the Bouvier affair, which was the subject of a number of international lawsuits in 2015. The lawsuits allege that Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier defrauded his customers, including Rybolovlev, by misrepresenting the original cost of artworks and then overcharging them.

Rybolovlev is the billionaire behind the much-publicized sale of Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi. This painting was auctioned for a record $450.3 million and is rumored to be currently hanging on Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s yacht.

Well, the Russian oligarch’s fortune allows him to live anywhere in the world, but he chose to settle in picturesque Monaco, as is often the case among the wealthy. Even though he also has properties in America, such as in Hawaii (where he bought Will Smith’s house), and Switzerland. In addition to real estate, he invested an estimated $2 billion in 38 works by art legends such as Leonardo da Vinci, Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani and Claude Monet.

The island will be opened to guests

Dmitry Rybolovlev appropriated the island in 2013 after reportedly shelling out $150 million over the blak, while former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich also expressed interest in hijacking the island. The Rybolovlev family plans to use the space as private property for some time during the rest of the year, and the island will be available for rent. This means that the location will be open to those who have enough to offer to spend their holiday here.

The ‘Art Island’ will accommodate up to 50 guests and the cost of accommodation will be between $1 and $2 million per week to rent the complex. If everything goes according to plan, the doors will open in mid-2024.