Emirates Today
Movie Idols Brad and Angelina Buy Ethiopia
By Ashaba K Abdul Basti
November 14, 2007

Hollywood golden couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have bought the Ethiopia island on Dubai's offshore The World Development.

The intend to use the reclaimed piece of land in the Gulf to showcase environmental issues and encourage people to live a greener life.

Their adopted two-year-old daughter Zahara was born in the African state of Ethiopia.

Developer Nahkeel declined to comment on the couple's purchase. But reliable sources said the deal had gone ahead - and this was confirmed by representatives of the pair in the United States.

Rumours that Pitt and Jolie wanted to buy an island on The World first emerged after they visited Dubai in 2005 with Zahara and their adopted son Maddox, who was born in Cambodia.

The family stayed in the royal suite of the Burj Al Arab hotel and were reported to have fallen in love with Dubai.

The World will consist of up to 300 private artificial islands named after countries and arranged in the shape of a map of the Earth. Richard Branson and Rod Stewart are among other celebrities who have bought plots there.

Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee announced earlier this year that he was buying the Greece island for former wife Pamela Anderson, the mother of his two children. Lee said he chose the island because of his Greek heritage and hoped the family would spend time there together.

Nakheel's sales team is mainly targeting celebrities as The World will provide them with privacy. The plots will be accessible only by boat and security teams will patrol constantly. Owners will be able to develop the islands according to their requirements.

The plots on The World are divided into four categories - private homes, estate homes, dream resorts and community islands.

They range in size from 23,000 to 83,000 square metres and are separated by channels of water up to 100 metres wide. Some plots are selling for up to Dh180 million. The development will cover an area measuring 9km by 6km surrounded by an oval-shaped breakwater.

Jolie shot to fame in 2001 with Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and her most recent hit was A Mighty Heart. Pitt starred in the Ocean's franchise and Troy. The pair appeared together in Mr and Mrs Smith.

Last year they had a third child, a girl called Shiloh, together and earlier this year they adopted a fourth, a Vietnamese boy called Pax.

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