You might not be familiar with the name Marion ‘Joe’ Carstairs, but the oil heiress was one of the most talked about people in the 1930s.

She was born in 1900, and was the daughter of Standard Oil billionaire heiress Frances Bostwick. Blessed with an abundance of cash at her disposal, she became a “cross-dressing, speedboat racing, doll-toting heiress”.

That’s according to Forbes, who add that her affair with film star actress Marlene Dietrich ensured she was a tabloid favourite.

She purchased the island in question, Whale Cay in the Bahamas, in the mid 1930’s, which is where we’ll start from below:

[She] proclaimed herself the Queen of Whale Cay and became the demanding ruler of her own paradise island. She would often dress in naval uniform and presided over her “people” with an iron fist. She led a very colorful [sic] life as a cigar smoking, cross-dressing man with arms covered in tattoos.

Carstairs was an open lesbian and had numerous documented affairs including Oscar Wilde’s niece Dolly Wilde as well as actresses Greta Garbo, Tallulah Bankhead, and her true love Marlene Dietrich. Carstairs even offered her entire island to Dietrich as a token of her love. At one point the island of 200 people welcomed legendary movie stars as well as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor on multiple occasions.

Joe spent years racing powerboats and became a very successful racer and established herself as the fastest woman on water. She also became known for always carrying a one-foot doll by the name of Lord Tod Wadley, possibly the real true love of her life, even having clothes made for it in Saville Row. After selling Whale Cay in 1975 she moved to Florida until her death in 1993 at the age of 93. She was cremated along with her doll…

The doll thing is a little weird, but props for not giving a single shit about what other people think.

As for the 711-acre private island, it’s now hit the market for $20 million (R242 million). It comes with an impressive list of features and amenities, and you get the feeling that whoever snaps it up is going to turn a tidy profit from it:

[The island has] the Great House [above], guest cottage, music room, staff dormitory, storage buildings, museum, laundry room, maintenance buildings, seaplane hangar, and lighthouse…

The details of the listing include between 570 to 711 acres with 12 miles of shoreline and have been subdivided into multiple residential lots with a 2-phase plan. The island also highlights seven miles of white sandy beaches…

Whale Cay is accessible by boat, seaplane or using the islands 4,000-foot paved airstrip. On the northern side of the island is a natural 2.5 long waterway that can be developed into a marina and anchorage.

Wasn’t that guy who won the South African lottery looking for an island to buy?

Also, look at all that water – lucky bastards.

[source:forbes]