You can find private islands for sale via Private Islands Inc. or Vladi Private Islands, or by contacting a realtor who specializes in big-ticket sales. Additionally, some high-end real estate companies, like Sotheby's International Realty or Christie's International Real Estate, list private islands for sale.

More than two years passed before he could get another commission but by then Krolow had 80 islands for sale, in different parts of the world. He also started buying islands himself. He and his company now own more than a dozen islands — in Canada, Panama, Belize and Fiji — which are rented out as holiday lets.

You can only use the island for a specific time - meaning that the longer you own the island, the less the developments, for which you have paid, are worth. If the lease is for a specific use and you wish to change the use, you may lose your rights to the island.

John Mallone – Sampson Cay, Exuma Bahamas John Malone is the largest private land owner in the US – owning over 2.2 million acres of land through the United States. 31 of the acres he owns are Sampson Cay, an island in the Exuma chain the Bahamas. Sampson Cay is complete with a resort and a yacht marina.