Point Buckler Island views
Courtesy of John Sweeney
Point Buckler Island in Solano County, California, last sold for $150,000 in 2011.
The 50-acre private island was a kiteboarding hotspot frequented by tech giants.
It’s also in the same county where a secretive Silicon Valley group has scooped up 52,000 acres.
The “only private island in San Francisco Bay” could be yours, as the 50-acre Point Buckler Island hit the market for $75 million this week.
The marshland was previously a billionaires oasis for kiteboarding, hosting a private club where Silicon Valley giants like Larry Page and Sergey Brin would visit and dock their yachts, according to current owner John Sweeney. Sweeney purchased the island for $150,000 in 2011, SF Gate reported.
But over the past few years, the island has been mired in controversy.
A yacht docked on Point Buckler Island
Courtesy of John Sweeney
An extended seven-year court battle that began with Sweeney’s repairs to a broken levee culminated in $10 million worth of liens on the island, he told Insider. In March 2023, Sweeney had to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
“I’ve run out of money to fight and the island is worth a lot of money,” he said.
Billionaires paid $750,000 to join the island’s private kiteboarding club
Inside the Point Buckler Island hangout
Courtesy of John Sweeney
Through his ties to the prestigious sailing race the America’s Cup, Sweeney established a private kiteboarding club on Point Buckler in 2014, where wealthy members could join after a one-time fee of $750,000.
Repurposing two shipping containers, Sweeney created a bar and lounge space along with two helipads on the island so that the handlers and staff for tech giants could fly in beforehand to set up a spread for the billionaires and their guests.
The shipping container clubhouse on Point Buckler Island
Courtesy of John Sweeney
The island’s ritzy history is part of the reason for its $75 million price tag, Sweeney explained.
By his calculations, Sweeney told Insider the land itself is worth $10 million to $15 million, the kiteboarding business is worth another $10 million, and the ultra-exclusive status of a private island 90 minutes from San Francisco is priceless catnip for the billionaire set.
“Billionaires want something that’s one of one,” Sweeney said. “Their egos perk up.”
Sweeney blames his legal woes on a secretive Silicon Valley project
Point Buckler is situated in Solano County, California, in a rural region in the Bay Area that has drawn headlines recently as the site of a clandestine new project led by the boldest names in tech.
Spending $800 million over five years to purchase 52,000 acres of farmland in Solano County, a group known as Flannery Associates counts finance and tech giants like Marc Andreessen and Laurene Powell Jobs among its ranks.
A helipad on the island.
Courtesy of John Sweeney
Flannery Associates has not publicly revealed its plans, though the New York Times reported last month that Solano residents received text messages about a ballot initiative for “a new city with tens of thousands of new homes, a large solar energy farm, orchards with over a million new trees, and over 10,000 acres of new parks and open space.”
Sweeney believes his island, and its placement in the Suisun Bay, became a legal target for future development and water use issues in the region – prompting him to sell.
Interested billionaire buyers may need to act fast, however. Sweeney said at least one interested prospective buyer already reached out on Friday morning.