Billionaire Tesla and SpaceX investor puts 110-acre Tanzanian island up for sale for $7.9 million

• American billionaire Tim Draper is offering his private Tanzanian island for $7.9 million or the best offer.
• The early Tesla and SpaceX investor is accepting enquiries directly instead of using a publicly disclosed broker.
• Lupita Island contains ten cottages, a spa, swimming pool, private beach and several entertainment facilities.
• Draper told Forbes he had received several offers, but no sale has been completed.

American billionaire Tim Draper has placed his 110-acre private island in Tanzania on the market for $7.9 million, inviting potential buyers to send their offers directly by email.

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Draper, an early investor in Tesla and SpaceX, announced the sale of Lupita Island in a post on X on 28 August.

He said he was seeking $7.9 million or the best offer because his family did not use the property enough.

Draper subsequently told Forbes that he had already received several offers and expected the island to sell quickly.

No transaction has been completed, and the asking price represents Draper’s valuation rather than an independent assessment.

    **What a buyer would receive**

Lupita Island sits in Lake Tanganyika, which is shared by Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Zambia.

Draper bought the property in 2004 and spent four years developing it.

The island now has ten guest cottages capable of accommodating up to 26 people. Other facilities include a spa, gym, game room, swimming pool, several bars and a private beach.

A 46-foot boat is also used by the resort, while activities include kayaking, fishing, snorkelling and excursions to Tanzanian wildlife reserves.

More than 30 employees reportedly operate the island, with private butler services available to guests.

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The property is remote. Visitors typically fly to an airstrip on the Tanzanian mainland before completing the journey by boat. Commercial access can require a flight to Mpanda followed by a long road journey and a boat transfer.

Important details remain undisclosed, including the land-title structure, annual running costs, tourism licences and whether employees would remain after a sale.

It is also unclear whether the purchaser would acquire only the property or an operating hospitality business with equipment, bookings and staff contracts.

    **The billionaire behind the sale**

Forbes estimates Draper’s fortune at approximately $2.3 billion.

His venture-capital investments have included Tesla, SpaceX, Skype, Baidu and other technology companies.

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He is also one of the most prominent early Bitcoin investors. In 2014, Draper paid $18.7 million for 29,656 bitcoins seized by the United States government from the Silk Road marketplace.

That purchase worked out at approximately $632 per bitcoin.

Lupita Island represents a very different form of billionaire investment. It combines a luxury resort, an isolated natural asset and direct access to one of the world’s largest freshwater lakes.

Lake Tanganyika is the world’s second-largest freshwater lake by volume and one of its deepest. Its remoteness provides exclusivity but also makes operating a high-end resort expensive and logistically complicated.

Draper’s decision to advertise the property himself gives the sale an unusual informality. A prospective buyer considering a multimillion-dollar African island would nevertheless need to establish the ownership rights, environmental obligations and precise assets included before making an offer.