- Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich owns a $90 million mansion on the Caribbean island of Saint-Barthélemy.
- Known as St. Barts, the island thrives on tourism from ultra-rich visitors like Abramovich.
- Since facing British and EU sanctions, locals have defended Abramovich, calling him “a beautiful person”.
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Amid mounting sanctions, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich’s reputation is being defended by unlikely supporters: locals on the Caribbean island of Saint Barthélemy.
“For more than a decade, locals and employees have become extraordinarily rich themselves by doing favors for Abramovich and other ultra-rich clients,” an anonymous local from St. Barts told Forbes. “You don’t want it to end.”
Known as St. Barts, the island’s economy thrives on tourism money from ultra-wealthy visitors like Abramovich, who has owned a $90 million mansion on the island since 2009. As he faces mounting British and EU sanctions, including more than $7 billion in frozen assets, locals on the island have described him as “a beautiful person” and defended his presence on the island as a positive.
Once dubbed Russia’s most charitable billionaire, Abramovich has a history of making large donations, including to the Israel Holocaust Museum and a nanotechnology research center at Tel Aviv University.
On St. Barts, he paid $4 million to rebuild the local soccer stadium in 2010, paid for renovations after a 2017 hurricane, and funded repairs to a saltwater pond important to the local ecosystem, Forbes reported.
Patrice Abderraham, a private chef who has worked for the oligarch on multiple occasions, told Forbes he believes France and the EU were misguided in sanctioning Abramovich: “They’re lumping everyone together,” he said. “I hope everything will work out for him.”
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