Billionaire Richard Branson and his crew survived Hurricane Irma after hunkering down in the concrete wine cellar of his home on a private island in the Caribbean.
“We’re grateful to report that our team on Island are safe,” the Virgin Limited Edition subsidiary that operates a collection of resorts said in a statement on its website. Necker Island “sustained extensive damage, the extent of which we are still assessing.”
Branson, 67, who purchased the British Virgin Islands property in 1974, detailed his plans to ride out the storm in a blog post in which he posted pictures of staff and relatives playing board games and resting in bunk beds. He described the atmosphere as “eerie but beautiful” as the storm passed.
Branson’s son, Sam, posted pictures of the storm’s aftermath on his Instagram account and said that many buildings on the island were destroyed.
“Please don’t take this hurricane lightly if it is heading your way,” he wrote, adding that everyone on the island survived. “If your building is not very solid, do find somewhere safe!”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.