TREASURED ISLAND

A sweeping social history of St. Barth charts the island’s rise from impoverished outpost to billionaire enclave.

Gross, a veteran chronicler of wealth and privilege (House of Outrageous Fortune: Fifteen Central Park West, the World’s Most Powerful Address, 2014, etc.), turns his attention to the Caribbean playground of the global rich. Launching his narrative with a roll call of celebrities and billionaires drawn from the worlds of finance, entertainment, and fashion, he swiftly pivots to the island’s colorful and unlikely origins. His prologue evokes the island’s stark past—“There was no running water. …Food was scarce and so was money”—establishing a baseline of hardship that contrasts with today’s megayachts and luxury villas. He traces centuries of colonial rule under Spanish, French, British, and Swedish control, recounting an economy once dependent on salt, indigo, and cotton as well as a population long defined by poverty and isolation. Structured as a long arc of transformation, his narrative follows St. Barth’s emergence as a tax-friendly refuge and luxury destination fueled by ambitious land acquisitions, speculative development and the arrival of wealthy families and entrepreneurs. The rise of fashion photography and media attention in the 1970s helped shape the island’s image as both bohemian retreat and elite enclave, drawing designers, photographers, and celebrities whose presence accelerated its international appeal. Gross also chronicles the devastation wrought by Hurricane Irma and the island’s swift rebuilding—a recovery that restored its luxury infrastructure while intensifying debates about overdevelopment and environmental strain. As the author notes, “St. Barth is more a small town than a private club. Its inhabitants worry about the transience and voracious consumption that characterize postmodern society.” Though largely observational, he acknowledges persistent concerns about cultural erosion and ecological strain. And while dense clusters of names and land transactions occasionally slow the pace, his extensive research yields a textured portrait of wealth, land, and identity.

An expansive history of wealth and place marked by deep research and uneven momentum.