Virgin’s Robinson Crusoe is desperate to be adored
Barack Obama is just the latest global figure to be wooed by Richard Branson to Necker, his private island. It is famed for excess, but behind the partying lurks a lonely tycoon who has a lust for money and expects much in return, writes Tom Bower
Freebies carry a heavy price when offered by Richard Branson. Barack Obama, the latest victim of the publicity-seeking tax exile, has been widely criticised after the unexpected release by Branson’s publicists of photographs taken during his recent trip to Necker, Branson’s retreat in the British Virgin Islands.
Unlike other retired politicians — including Tony Blair and Al Gore, who stayed one night without being caught in any embarrassing photos, and Bill Clinton and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who apparently rejected Branson’s invitations to the island — Obama swallowed the package whole and now is paying the price.
The photographs of the former president kitesurfing in the Caribbean and schmoozing with Branson have baffled his admirers. They are wondering whether Obama is so poor, so bereft of other…
