Protest over yacht tax

last updated 8 January 2015

Sardinia, Italy

Billionaires are rebelling against a new fee for using Sardinian ports. The governor of Sardinia slapped a charge of nearly $20,000 per year to dock large yachts at the Italian island, and the rich are furious. Flavio Briatore, a playboy who manages a Formula One race-car team, hosted a Champagne-fueled party at the Billionaire nightclub, which he also owns, urging fellow yachtsmen to join him in boycotting the island. Briatore also took out several full-page newspaper ads, proclaiming that “entrepreneurs and tourists invest in places where they are welcomed with open arms, not a closed fist.”