Richard Branson’s Home on Necker Island Completely Destroyed by Hurricane Irma

Richard Branson, who refused to leave his private residence on Necker Island before Hurricane Irma’s arrival, is safe, but his home was destroyed, reports Metro. 

His son, Sam Branson, who is not on Necker Island but at a luxury retreat in the British Virgin Island, has posted on Instagram that everyone is safe, but the storm demolished the buildings on the island.

Glad to say that all humans on Necker are ok although a lot of buildings destroyed ? Very concerned for our friends and everyone on the neighbouring islands and people in its path. Please don’t take this hurricane lightly if it is heading your way. If your building is not very solid, do find somewhere safe! Homes can be rebuilt but lives can’t. Nature warning us again of the impact of #climatechange We must all do more to combat this. #nomoresubsidiesforfossilfuelandlivestockindustries #hurricaneirma #bvi #neckerisland #besafe #beprepared

A post shared by Sam Branson (@bransonsam) on Sep 6, 2017 at 3:21pm PDT

Virgin, the company that Richard Branson founded, issued a statement this morning, according to Metro, that said they are “deeply saddened by the events that have taken place in the last 24 hours, extremely” but everyone on their team who is on the island has been accounted for.

A statue decorates the pool area of Richard Branson’s property on Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands, Friday, May 17, 2013. (Todd VanSickle/AP Photo)

AP

Before the hurricane hit, Branson, who has a net worth of about $5 billion, according to Forbes, posted pictures on Twitter showing the preparations the people at his house had made, including piling the garden furniture up in the main living quarters of the house.  He also posted a picture of people all sleeping in one big room on makeshift beds, writing “I haven’t had a sleepover quite like this since I was a kid.”

A few hours before Irma’s impact, Branson wrote that he planned to ride out the storm with his team in the concrete wine cellar below the house, reported Washington Post. 

Reports say at least 10 people have died during Hurricane Irma so far.