Extinction Rebellion activists staged their latest protest against super yachts and wealthy tourists over the Easter weekend in Ibiza. This time their target was the £198million Lady Moura yacht, owned by the Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego.
The protesters unfurled a banner in front of the moored luxury yacht which said: “You are kicking us off the island. Your luxury is our crisis.”
The eco warriors claimed in a social media post on Instagram that the Mexican entrepreneur had no concern for the “suffering of others or inequality or injustice”.
They added: “He cares little about the housing crisis that we suffer in Ibiza, the cause of which is largely the creation of Ibiza as a luxury destination.
“The elite of the mega-rich constitute a real danger to all humanity.
“We denounce the mega fortunes, their impunity for tax evasion and abuse of the Earth’s resources.
“Their fortune is our misery and we do not tolerate it.”
Mr Pliego, 68, is the founder and chairman of Grupo Salinas – a corporate conglomerate with interests in telecommunications, media, financial services and retail.
He is also the third richest man in Mexico with a fortune estimated to be around USD13.5 billion by Forbes magazine.
The Lady Moura was originally built in 1990 and cost USD 250 million and was initially owned by the Saudi Arabian billionaire Nasser al-Raschid for 31 years.
It is currently the 48th largest private yacht in the world and was bought by Mr Pliego from its former owner for USD 125 million.
Mega-yachts and private jets have increasingly become targets for direct action by eco groups in Ibiza.
Last year a group called Futuro Vegetal threw paint at a luxury yacht moored in the port of Ibiza, as well as at a private jet in the local airport
They also sprayed painted the mega-yacht Kaos, owned by Nancy Walton Laurie, the billionaire heiress of the Walmart company.
In a press statement at the time, the group said their actions were part of a campaign organised by Extinction Rebellion Ibiza known as “Jets and Yachts, the party is over”.
The campaign is calling for a ban on private jets and an end to luxury emissions.
