That Vijay Mallya, the flamboyant chairman of the UB group, likes the good life is well known. His penchant for fast cars, castles, horses, jets, yachts, game lodges and bling is well chronicled.

It looks as if islands are his latest passion. The buzz in Bangalore is that he has bought an island in Europe, ostensibly off the coast of Monte Carlo, though the exact location couldn’t be verified. Multiple sources involved in the deal have confirmed the news to TOI and indicated that the price Mallya paid was between $100 million and $150 million (Rs 500 crore to Rs 750 crore). The man himself rubbished the news. Said Mallya, “Island? Rs 800 crore? Complete nonsense. Please quote me on this.” We have.

This wouldn’t be the first island that Mallya would own. He bought a string of islands north of Maldives years ago and now runs resorts in these islands. At one point he had a stake in an aircraft company that offered hopping flights to these islands. Recently, he acquired the island of Thinnakkara off the cost of Lakshwadeep.

Mallya in his personal capacity has heavily invested in the tourism space. He owns the Mabula Game Lodge, close to Johannesburg in South Africa. Spread over 12,000 hectares it is said to be one of South Africa’s finest private game reserves.