In December, St Barts saw a glitter cyclone of Leonardo DiCaprio, Mike Tyson, Jeff Bezos and his girlfriend, and the world's biggest megayachts; but a judgement has pitted billionaire against billionaire, and human development against fragile nature on this playground for the 1%
Midwinter on the Caribbean island of St. Barts is a kind of second hurricane season. December’s annual landfall of billionaires and celebrities was a Cat 5, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Mike Tyson, the world’s biggest megayachts, and Jeff Bezos and his girlfriend canoodling in their bathing suits.
But in the midst of this glitter cyclone, two days before Christmas, a judge hurled the latest volley in a legal battle that has pitted billionaire against billionaire, and human development against fragile nature on this playground for the 1%. The court ruled that a company headed by American hotelier Denise Dupré must stop construction of her second luxury hotel on the island, and refill a football field-size hole, intended for an underground parking garage, on a popular but environmentally precarious beach.
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