“In a bid to salvage jobs, the government of Barbados agreed last month to guarantee a $60 million loan from a Caribbean bank to help restart construction. In return for the guarantee, the government ultimately will end up with a 20% equity stake in the project. The down side: if the developer defaults, Barbadian taxpayers will get stuck with the loan. While $60 million is small in comparison with the hundreds of billions of dollars spent on bailouts in the U.S., it is a big commitment for a nation whose government revenue totaled just $549 million last year The Four Seasons chain, which the investment arm of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates bought for $3.4 billion in 2007 in partnership with Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, is squabbling with some of its hotel owners over cost cutting, which it fears could cheapen its luxury image. The new loan from Caribbean bank Ansa McAL Merchant Bank will go mostly toward paying off a previous $31.5 million loan from Bank of Scotland used to buy the resort's 32-acre site. Mr. Pemberton's group then razed the hotel to make way for a 110-room Four Seasons and 35 private villas priced at $11 million to $18 million apiece. Early on, the villas attracted big-name buyers, including "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and Formula One team owner Eddie Jordan. Inspired by Mr. Pemberton's home on the island, the models ranged from 10,000 to 20,000 square feet, and included private pools, indoor ponds stocked with koi or small sharks, floor-to-ceiling windows and hardwood floors. Mr. Cowell's villa spans two plots and cost $32 million ”
