Virgin founder Richard Branson plans to take shelter from Hurricane Irma in his wine cellar, the billionaire wrote in a blog post on Wednesday as the storm neared his private island in the British Virgin Islands.
“The atmosphere is eerie but beautiful,” he wrote in the post, updating everyone of his status. “Everyone is willing the eye of the storm to veer away from the BVI in these last few hours. As I wrote yesterday, our main concern is safety, for everyone here and for all the people in the BVI and in the path of the hurricane.”
Branson is joined on Necker Island by what he describes as a “a great group of young people.” After huddling up in two rooms on Tuesday night, the group will “retreat to a concrete wine cellar under the Great House” as the storm reaches its peak strength on Wednesday.
“Knowing our wonderful team as I do, I suspect there will be little wine left in the cellar when we all emerge,” he wrote.
Less than a week after Hurricane Harvey caused massive flooding along the gulf coast of Texas, Hurricane Irma swept through the Caribbean and is on path to hit parts of the British Virgin Islands. With winds faster than 180 miles per hour, the storm is expected to cause catastrophic damage as it makes its way toward Southern Florida.
“On Necker Island we have constructed really strong buildings (with hurricane blinds) that should be able to handle extreme weather pretty well, though with a Category 5 hurricane almost nothing can withstand it,” Branson wrote of his private island, which also features an expensive resort frequented by wealthy guests.
“We had some lovely guests staying on Necker Island who have cut their trip short for safety reasons, and another group of guests have also postponed,” he wrote. “I will be on Necker alongside our team, as I have been on the three times we have had hurricanes over the past 30 years.”
Here's Where 14 Moguls Kicked Back This Summer, From Jay-Z to Harvey Weinstein (Photos)
Moguls on a Boat 2016 is here.
A humid August fog rumbles through Los Angeles, but for Hollywood machers, media giants and other thought leaders who shape the entertainment industry, it's time to kick back.
Earnings are in and surf's up for everyone from studio heads (Harvey Weinstein), music touring blockbusters (Beyonce Knowles) to powerful COO's (Ciao, Sheryl Sandberg!)
WHO: Beyonce and Jay-Z
WHERE: Yachting in Nice, France, and Nerano, Italy
STATUS: If chilling on floating palaces in the south of France and various parts of the Mediterranean seems extravagant, don't worry -- Beyonce is there for work. The singer and her mogul husband, Jay-Z, have been squeezing mini-breaks in between stops on her Formation World Tour -- which raked in over $123 million for its first of four legs. Her much-discussed visual album "Lemonade" is up for four Emmy awards, so she may step out of the sun and head back to L.A. for work come September.
STATUS: Of all the moguls in our ranks, the Viacom CEO is perhaps the most in need of a holiday. The embattled executive is fighting for his job at his midtown Manhattan headquarters, while shuttling back and forth to his longtime home in East Hampton (a chauffeured SUV ride away from preferred haunts like the famous Italian eatery Nick and Toni's). Dauman has a September 19 trial date in Massachusetts, where a judge will parse his accusations that boss Sumner Redstone is not competent, and under the undue influence of daughter Shari Redstone.
STATUS: Sandberg is no stranger to elite-status multitasking, which is why her vacation spot comes as no surprise. The best-selling author of "Lean In" is using her downtime to see some natural beauty and get in a bit of cardio, biking through the Italian Alps (glimpses of which were shared on Instagram). Once home, she'll get to work on another book -- on the topic of resilience in the face of her late husband's untimely death.
STATUS: The Sony Entertainment CEO's jaunt to the East Coast haven coincided with President Obama and the First Family's annual visit. Lynton's studio division is sixth place in market share for 2016 so far. Upcoming releases include the anticipated releases "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" and the Jennifer Lawrence-Chris Pratt space romance "Passengers." Sony's music division, also under his purview, purchased back 50 percent of the Sony-ATV music catalog, previously owned by the Michael Jackson estate, which is expected to earn big in publishing royalties.
STATUS: Some might argue that life is a vacation for Oprah Winfrey, thanks to the magnate's trademark air of serenity. Don't let that fool you into thinking she's ever really resting -- even on holiday hiking Colorado's Rocky Mountains, she's plugging her various original programs on the OWN Network. This fall she'll step in front of the camera again as an actress, in Ava DuVernay's "A Wrinkle in Time" and the HBO original movie "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks."
STATUS: Weinstein, along with his wife, Marchesa designer Georgina Chapman, is stretching out in his seven-bedroom home in Amagansett (not far from a rental pad the Clintons have used on and off for years). TWC has had a lean year, but Harvey's got an awards hopeful in his pocket with December's Michael Keaton drama "The Founder," and is about to head to one of his native spaces -- the Toronto Film Festival, in September.
STATUS: Mogul and legendary music manager Irving Azoff eschewed the confines of the Mallorca, Spain (where he spent last year on a boat with Revlon billionaire Ron Perelman) in favor of a domestic hang. He visited the Idaho hidden gem Coeur d'Alene, which Barbara Walters once called "a little slice of heaven." Azoff continues to manage legends like The Eagles, comedy giants like Chelsea Handler and his growing publishing shop Global Music Rights.
STATUS: While he might not be a household name, investor Roman Abramovich (and his reported $7.8 billion net worth) is accustomed to annually inviting a prominent Hollywood type out on his mega-yacht each summer season. This year, it's actress Kate Hudson and her brood of boys. The luxury liner features two swimming pools, a beauty salon, conference rooms for the occasional meeting and a helipad. Abramovich's wife is art collector and publisher Dasha Zhukova.
STATUS: Kavanaugh is on the rebound after the cruel summer of 2015, when his Relativity Media filed for bankruptcy. After shaving off a remarkable amount of creditor debt, the doting new dad emerges with Relativity Studios -- now under the creative leadership of Kevin Spacey's business partner Dana Brunetti. After he washes off the sand from his Point Dune spread in Malibu, Kavanaugh will prepare to release his first film in over two years: the Kate Beckinsale drama "The Disappointments Room," which opens wide Sept 9.
STATUS: Excuse us while we resist the "Empire" metaphors, but longtime Hollywood super-producer Grazer is aboard media mogul Geffen's 454-foot skiff Rising Sun, which sleeps 16 comfortably in eight state cabins. Grazer continues to deliver Fox sizable ratings as "Empire" ages gracefully, while also overseeing Sony's major investment in the upcoming Stephen King adaptation "The Dark Tower."
STATUS: The host and reality TV creator celebrated the end of his first year on his renewed deal with iHeartMedia, which reportedly paid him over $25 million for a three-year term. In a departure from the yachting he did last year with Chris Hemsworth, Seacrest hit the Norwegian fjords, the gorgeous natural formations that result when a glacier dries up. His other side gigs haven't necessarily been a grind -- NBCUniversal sent him to Rio to cover human interest around the 2016 Summer Olympics. His eponymous production company continues to produce E! reality staple "Keeping Up With The Kardashians," and NBC's scripted Jennifer Lopez series "Shades of Blue."
Moguls on a Boat 2016: Enjoy a vicarious tour through Nice, the Italian Alps and the enclaves of Malibu in TheWrap’s annual executive getaway report
Moguls on a Boat 2016 is here.
A humid August fog rumbles through Los Angeles, but for Hollywood machers, media giants and other thought leaders who shape the entertainment industry, it's time to kick back.
Earnings are in and surf's up for everyone from studio heads (Harvey Weinstein), music touring blockbusters (Beyonce Knowles) to powerful COO's (Ciao, Sheryl Sandberg!)
