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A town on an island in the middle of the South Atlantic is one of the most remote in the world and can only be reached by taking a six-day boat ride. The settlement of Edinburgh of the High Seas is the single populated spot on the island of Tristan da Cunha, a tiny volcanic outcrop 6,000 miles south from London. Tristan da Cunha is part of the Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha British Overseas Territory, an archipelago stretching for 2,000 miles in the southern Atlantic as a remnant of Britain's maritime Empire. Edinburgh of the High Seas is home to just over 300 people and boasts a local council, post office and a small port. The local emergency services consist of one Land...

  Warren Buffett, the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and one of the most successful investors in history, shared a remarkable story about an unexpected acquisition in a 2012 interview with Economic Club President David M. Rubenstein. Buffett recounted receiving a letter from an Israeli entrepreneur, ultimately leading to a $4 billion purchase. "He wanted me to go see it. He told me what a wonderful plant he had and everything," Buffett said. Initially hesitant, he responded, "I'm not going to go see it. You know I don't go to Iowa." Despite his reluctance, Buffett agreed to buy 80% of the company for $4 billion on the condition that he would visit the plant...

Italy is famous for its €1 houses so why the price increase? In 2019, the southern Italian village of Sambuca di Sicilia went viral for selling off homes for as little as €1. Schemes like this have become a popular way for rural towns with dwindling populations to boost their number of residents and prevent disused houses from falling into disrepair. But while the initiatives flopped in some places, Sambuca’s sellers were met with floods of requests.Buyers came from as far away as the US and the Middle East. The sales injected some €20 million into the local economy. Now, the Sicilian village is putting more houses under the hammer. As with last time, however,...

Every morning, Mauro Morandi woke up to the uninterrupted sea view that only he was privy to. Immersed in nature, he was intimately in tune with the dawn sounds and habits of the wildlife that surrounded his home, a former second world war shelter on Budelli, the Mediterranean island where he had lived alone for more than 30 years.   Now the 82-year-old is adjusting to life in a one-bedroom apartment next to a shop with a Sky TV sign outside, surrounded by neighbours and with only a glimpse of the ocean in between the gaps separating the buildings opposite on nearby La Maddalena, the largest of an archipelago of seven islands off the north coast of Sardinia, Italy. Speaking from...

Stephanie Blanchard and Jon Kotwicki, from Alaska, went about converting a retired 1956 Douglas DC-6 cargo plane into a livable space, with the aircraft now renting out for $349 a night on Airbnb. In a YouTube interview with Tiny House Giant Journey, the couple - who both work as pilots and flight instructors - detail the step-by-step DIY process. Jon estimates that the renovation has cost over $500,000 to date, with the plane coming in at around $100,000 and it cost a similar amount to have it taken apart and delivered from Fairbanks to Wasilla on trailers. Footage from the short film shows how the plane now stands on sturdy pillars, with one of the wings converted into a balcony space,...

*Mark Zuckerberg is planning a 75,000-square-foot compound in Lake Tahoe, news site SFGate reported. *The Meta CEO laid the groundwork by buying adjacent properties in 2018 and 2019 for $59 million. *The compound will include a bunkhouse, a guesthouse, and a gym, per documents seen by SFGate. For years, people have been wondering what Mark Zuckerberg is up to in Lake Tahoe. We have our first clue.     The Meta CEO plans to build a 75,000-square-foot, seven-building compound on the lake's western shore, according to planning documents seen by California news site SFGate. Zuckerberg started to lay the groundwork in December 2018, when he bought a 3.5-acre property from the...

President Vladimir Putin was welcomed to Pyongyang with an opulent ceremony of white stallions, balloons and huge posters, marking his first visit to North Korea in a quarter of a century. He was met with smiles and a hug from the leader, Kim Jong Un, and was to attend a tea party and a gala. The two leaders also spoke for about two hours one-to-one. One banner outside Pyongyang’s Suan International Airport read: “The friendship between North Korea and Russia is eternal.” Another said: "We warmly welcome comrade Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin."   (Putin was welcomed to Pyongyang with an opulent ceremony of white stallions, balloons and posters...

Plans for world domination? Hiding from the in-laws? Fancy watching some puffins? You can do it all on Sanda Island near the Mull of Kintyre. Exciting times here at Country Life as, once again, the opportunity has arisen to buy a Scottish Island. Would you like to buy an island? I would like to buy an island. I don’t have the money, nor do I really know what I would do with an island.   (Sanda Island: 453 acres of Scottish wilderness. Even comes with a beach.)   It is for sale with Knight Frank for the (in my opinion, very reasonable, because it is an entire island) sum of £2.5 million or more.   (One of the other islands included in the...

Crest Nicholson has rejected an unsolicited £650m takeover bid from Britain’s fifth-largest housebuilder, which it said “significantly undervalued” the business. The approach from Bellway, which was tabled last month and announced last night, led to shares in Crest Nicholson rising by more than 9pc as markets opened. It comes amid a broader slowdown in Britain’s housing sector, which has been hammered by high interest rates and soaring costs. In its latest half-year results published on Thursday, Crest Nicholson posted a £31m loss in the six months to May, as it warned that profits for the year were set to be less than expected. The update led to...

  After all, supply across the market is low and as people race to secure a home those who hesitate can be left disappointed. But this often comes with the risk of being left with buyers or renters’ remorse. Property expert Jonathan Rolande, the founder of House Buy Fast, said: “It’s understandable that those looking for somewhere to live might jump at the first opportunity that comes along. After all, like anything, when supply is low the standards you are willing to accept can drop. “But although there is no better feeling than getting the keys to a new house, it can quickly become a nightmare if that property is home to hidden problems. “You might...