Richard Branson's Buried Treasure
Oct. 27 2008, Published 7:07 a.m. ET
GOLDEN BOY Moskito Island, Branson When Virgin mogul Sir Richard Branson announced he'd paid $20 million to add Moskito Island in the British Virgins to his burgeoning tropical empire, he didn't mention the added value: a sunken treasure buried somewhere in its offshore reefs.
For decades, Moskito's resident eccentric was Bert Kilbride, a 92-year-old treasure hunter who calls himself the "last pirate of the Caribbean," shares Branson's penchant for exposed chest hair, and believes the shallows off Moskito may hold the elusive wreck of the San Ignacio, a Spanish galleon that sank nearby in 1742 carrying hundreds of pounds of gold bullion.
- Tragic One Direction Singer Liam Payne Dead Aged 31 After Horror Hotel Balcony Plunge: Celeb Tributes Pour In as Images Emerge of Smashed Up Hotel Room Strewn With White Powder and 'Drugs Foil'
- Family of Menendez Brothers Beg for Convicted Killers' Freedom in Press Conference Three Decades After Brutal Murders: 'They Were Failed By Their Parents!'
- BREAKING: Jailed 'Sex Beast' Sean 'Diddy' Combs Hit With Another Wave of Horrific Lawsuits — Rapper Accused of Drugging, Raping, Sodomizing and Threatening to Murder Multiple New Victims
DAILY. BREAKING. CELEBRITY NEWS. ALL FREE.
Perhaps the space-hopping mogul can use the underwater bank to offset the cost of solar panels: Like his nearby personal playground, Necker Island, he hopes to convert Moskito into a Balinese-style, "carbon-neutral" eco-retreat.