Chapter 743: Strange Guests on Necker Island
The British Virgin Islands consists of four large islands and 32 small islands, of which about twenty are uninhabited. The most famous of them is probably Necker Island.
Necker Island is famous because it's the private island of British businessman Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, the UK's largest private company. Richard Branson's purchase of an island here is fitting: Virgin Group is also a phonetic transcription; a literal translation would have called it "Virgin Group."
There are so many billionaires in the world, but Richard Branson is undoubtedly one of the most legendary billionaires.
This guy started from scratch at the age of 17, using four pounds to co-found a magazine called "Student" with a friend. He also invited his school principal to give a speech. The principal's congratulatory message to the magazine was: Branson, I congratulate you! I predict that you will either be in prison or make a fortune in the future.
His principal proved to be a formidable thinker. Branson, starting with a small magazine in his basement, gradually built his fortune into a multi-billionaire. The Virgin Group is now a behemoth encompassing over 200 subsidiaries, encompassing a wide range of industries. Living in the UK is inseparable from the Virgin Group.
Branson's popularity in the UK is no exaggeration. The British may not know who their prime minister is, but they know Branson. Virgin's brand recognition rate in the UK is as high as 96%, and 95% of them can correctly say that Richard Branson is the founder of Virgin Group!
This is a staggeringly high statistic! China's Jack Ma is certainly well-known, but even if you were to go to the nursing home where Xiao Peng's grandfather lives and ask who "Jack Ma" is, you'd probably get slapped in the face! And Richard Branson's fame in the UK is probably second only to the Queen—perhaps because his face isn't on banknotes.
Richard Branson bought two private islands, one in the waters east of Australia, which is specifically used for company employees to vacation, and the other is Necker Island.
He built it up luxuriously to entertain his wealthy friends or rent it out. Later, he even moved in permanently, claiming it was because he loved the environment and it was perfect for kitesurfing. But everyone knew the reason: tax evasion!
The Caribbean islands are a global tax haven. For example, Richard Branson's personal income tax is probably less than half of what it would otherwise be after residing here. Because of this, countless people around the world set up companies here, and many don't just set up their companies in one place to avoid taxes. For example, Xiao Peng and his Ocean Exploration Company, Fabian, have established companies in the British Virgin Islands, St. Kitts and Nevis, the Cayman Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, Monaco, Bermuda, and other places, exploiting local tax policies to avoid taxes.
Although these companies spent a lot of money and had complicated procedures at the time, they could save Xiao Peng eight figures in taxes every year.
More importantly: it’s legal!
Please note that these tax havens are almost all British territories. Now 80% of the UK's income comes from the financial services industry, and the UK attracts funds from all over the world in this way.
Richard Branson is a worldly-wise man. He's done things like appearing naked in commercials, leading over 20 naked female models on the streets of London to promote Virgin Mobile, and even wearing a skirt as a stewardess on a Virgin Atlantic flight. But he's been a bit dumbfounded lately.
Branson's Necker Island is available for rent in two ways: the entire island for over €50,000 a day, or a single villa for over €20,000 a day. The island can accommodate up to 28 guests and is primarily a vacation spot for Branson's wealthy friends. Unknown guests are rare.
But now there's a strange young man on the island. He'd booked the island directly, initially for a month. Then, for some unknown reason, he added another month.
Although Necker Island is famous, there are many things to do here, such as surfing, playing tennis, sailing, hiking, or taking a yacht to the sea to enjoy the sea scenery. But to put it bluntly, this is just a small island of 30 hectares, and it doesn't take much time to walk around it.
So even the rich people who come here for vacation will not stay here for too long, the longest will not exceed a week, but this young man stayed here for two months.
What happened during those two months was even more remarkable: the young man stayed in the villa for two months without leaving. Apart from having his three meals delivered on time, he required very little service. His only 'outdoor activity' was sunbathing on the balcony for an hour every evening.
What on earth does this guy do in his room every day?
Branson inquired out of curiosity. Although there were many wealthy people who came to his place and he had seen drug parties and sex parties, he had never seen a young man like this.
He asked the waiter to check on him when he came in to deliver food, but the answer he got left him helpless: the young man was sitting in the room in front of the computer every day and no one knew what he was doing.
Branson was a little confused. "Are you using this as an internet cafe? An internet cafe that costs over 50,000 yuan a day?"
But he guessed that this guy must be a so-called "IT upstart"? Otherwise, what else would he be doing in front of a computer all day?
This young man made him truly experience the "happy troubles".
For Branson, Necker Island is more of a social venue, a place to entertain his wealthy friends. Money isn't his primary concern. Winter is peak vacation season. However, because this young man occupied the island, many would-be visitors were unable to visit. While this young man spent his days doing nothing on the island, he had paid for the island, so he couldn't allow anyone else to visit. Branson, however, possesses integrity.
Do you think he's happy? Many of his friends couldn't come. Do you think he's unhappy? This is the most money he's made since he built the island. He didn't even make that much when Google co-founder Larry Page got married on his island.
Of course, this matter cannot be calculated in this way. After all, the network gains that Larry Page gained from his marriage are not comparable to money.
Just when Branson was considering whether to meet this young man, he suddenly came to his door. The reason he came to him was that he needed to use the island's airport because his friends were coming over.
A monster like this has friends?
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