Andrea Pignataro, the Italian billionaire who manages Canouan, nearly achieved the dream of re-creating Mustique, a Caribbean resort that attracted billionaires and Hollywood types. Canouan, located 14 miles southwest of Mustique and comprising just five square miles, is part of the Grenadines cluster.
In the 1990s, Mustique’s authorities refused to allow Antonio Saladino, a wealthy Swiss-Italian banker, to build his dream home there. Saladino aimed to clone Mustique’s template and improve it with luxurious development. He started constructing homes and carving land into plots to sell to individual builders. He hoped to attract vacationers by developing a sprawling hotel operation that included two-thirds of the island. However, his efforts floundered, and Canouan’s natural beauty arguably eclipses Mustique’s.
The island’s runway, now the longest in the region, was expanded in 2008 to accommodate long-haul private jets, but commercial service is limited to sporadic puddle jumpers operated by the Grenadine Alliance. In 2023, there were less than 4,000 arrivals on the island.
Canouan, a luxury island in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, has been facing issues due to the ownership of the island by Italian billionaire Antonio Saladino. Saladino’s ambitions outstripped his assets, forcing him to bring in outside investors. Dermot Desmond, who owns the Sandy Lane development in Barbados, bought a 50% stake in Canouan in 2010.
Saladino then turned to fellow Italian Pignataro, nicknamed “the Italian Bloomberg,” to keep his dream alive. The island now has two fiefdoms: Pignataro’s and Desmond’s. Angel Buenano, a Venezuelan businessman and part-time Canouan resident, brought a British case against Pignataro, accusing him of cheating him out of between $600,000 and $700,000 over the sale of a home in Canouan Estate.
The government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is concerned about Canouan’s declining reputation and the island’s out-of-sync with Mustique, which generated a significant amount of real estate activity during the Covid period.
Puerto Rican billionaire, Mario Pignataro, has been accused of neglecting the upkeep of roads, landscaping, and common areas on Canouan Island, which has been a popular destination for homeowners.
The island faces lawsuits for allegedly blocking outside staff from accessing owners’ homes and banning residents who withdraw from the “Maintenance Agreement” from the Soho House, Mandarin Oriental, and Canouan Estate and Resort facilities.
The judge issued a temporary injunction against Pignataro. Despite the controversy, some homeowners are now speaking out, expressing their desire to sell their properties in Canouan. Hurricane Beryl hit the island in July 2024, causing 90% of homes to be damaged or destroyed. Pignataro’s response was less generous, with Batu Erem, the C.E.O. of Pignataro’s Canouan Group, being sent to the local village with only a bag of pasta and beans.
The government issued an exclusion order for Erem, leading to his deportation. In the past eight months, the island has started to recover, with the Mandarin Oriental and Soho House hotels reopening and many homes being rebuilt.
