If you’ve ever wanted to own a private island and a piece of one of the most legendary pop culture debacles of all-time, H.G. Christie has the listing for you.
Saddleback Cay currently has an asking price of $11.8 million, and this 35-acre island, located in the Exuma Cays, features a small main house and several cottages, as well as seven beaches. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, you might recognize the aerial footage of this Bahamian paradise from the Fyre Festival’s debut promotional video.
“Announcing Fyre Festival” had everything an influencer could want: Beautiful models, private jets landing on an air strip once used by Pablo Escobar and even Ja Rule, the festival’s co-founder and celebrity spokesman, zipping around on a jet ski. The only problem—at least at the time—was that the opening footage was of Saddleback Cay, which is not where Fyre Festival was taking place.
Had everything gone to plan, Fyre Festival would have had celebrities and influencers flocking to Norman’s Cay in the Exumas for the chance to live-stream performances by Blink-182 and Pusha T. Except the organizers violated their lease with Norman’s Cay by mentioning Escobar in the video, and they were left with less than five months to not only find a new location, but also build everything. Two documentaries later, we know how that played out and the damage it caused for people and companies on Great Exuma.
Saddleback Cay was only ever involved because it is a Bahamian paradise that fits the bill for a tropical celebrity playground, and so it’s no surprise that being linked to a legendary failure has done little to overshadow this island’s real value. In fact, the documentaries increased interest in this listing.
“I actually had a buyer the next day after it aired,” realtor John Christie told Forbes. “They came down to check it out but it ended up not being right for them.”
At the very least, Saddleback Cay provides a new owner with a heck of a story to share with guests. That is, of course, if simply owning a beautiful island in the Exumas isn’t entertaining enough.
