Billionaire Tim Draper Lists 110-Acre Tanzanian Island for $7.9 Million
Why It MattersThe sale highlights how ultra-wealthy investors periodically offload remote luxury real estate assets, a market segment distinct from commercial aviation and charter demand.
American billionaire Tim Draper has put his 110-acre private island in Tanzania on the market for $7.9 million or best offer, announcing the sale himself in a post on X on 28 August rather than through a publicly disclosed broker. The property, Lupita Island, sits in Lake Tanganyika, the world's second-largest freshwater lake by volume, shared by Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Zambia. Draper purchased the island in 2004 and spent four years developing it.
The island features ten guest cottages accommodating up to 26 people, a spa, gym, game room, swimming pool, several bars and a private beach, along with a 46-foot boat and activities such as kayaking, fishing, snorkelling and excursions to Tanzanian wildlife reserves. More than 30 staff operate the property, with private butler services available to guests. Access is remote, typically requiring a flight to an airstrip on the Tanzanian mainland followed by a boat journey, or a commercial flight to Mpanda followed by a road journey and boat transfer.
Draper told Forbes he had already received several offers and expected the island to sell quickly, citing insufficient use by his family as the reason for the sale. No transaction has been completed, and the asking price reflects his own valuation. Forbes estimates Draper's net worth at approximately $2.3 billion; he is known as an early investor in Tesla, SpaceX, Skype and Baidu, and one of the most prominent early Bitcoin investors, having paid $18.7 million in 2014 for 29,656 bitcoins seized from the Silk Road marketplace, at approximately $632 per bitcoin.
