They fled ‘political hell’ at home. But super-rich Americans who bought golden passports have ruined their lives… and are begging for a way back

They’re ditching the Stars and Stripes for palm trees and passports — but life in ‘paradise’ is proving to be far more complicated than a beachfront cocktail.

A growing number of Americans are fleeing the political mayhem of Donald Trump’s second term by snapping up second passports and beachfront homes across the Caribbean.

But while the region boasts tranquil beaches and azure waters, it also hides a terrifying underbelly — of crime, corruption, and catastrophe.

From power outages and gang violence to spiraling costs and crumbling infrastructure, life in the tropics isn’t all rum punches and hammock naps.

And if history is any guide, the Caribbean can be where high-flying American lives unravel in spectacular fashion.

Think convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, whose sinister empire of sexual abuse thrived for years on his secluded island of Little Saint James in the US Virgin Islands — safely out of sight of US law enforcement.

Or crypto kingpin-turned-felon Sam Bankman-Fried, who lived lavishly in a $35million Bahamian compound with nine housemates as his shady crypto exchange FTX collapsed in a $32billion fraud.

His New Providence hideaway, complete with rumored orgies and hedonistic antics, became a symbol of tech excess and island escapism gone rogue.

Now, in 2025, amid growing unrest in the US — border closures, protests, even whispers of civil strife — wealthy Americans are once again heading for the exits. And the Caribbean is taking their call.

More and more Americans are grabbing what’s known as a golden passport — a citizenship-by-investment program offered by five Caribbean nations: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, and St Lucia.

The deal? Fork over as little as $100,000 — usually through a real estate investment or donation — and get dual citizenship, sun-drenched freedom, and a potential escape route from an unstable America.

According to Henley & Partners, a New York-based firm that helps the ultra-wealthy secure second citizenships, inquiries from Americans spiked by a whopping 182 percent in early 2025 alone.

They had already soared fivefold between 2019 and 2023.

‘Americans are looking for a plan B,’ Basil Mohr-Elzeki of Henley & Partners told NBC News.

‘It’s an insurance policy. A hedge against political chaos, a future change of laws — or a government they no longer trust.’

Nadia Dyson, who runs Luxury Locations Real Estate in Antigua, says her phone hasn’t stopped ringing.

‘Ninety-nine percent of our calls are from Americans,’ she said. ‘They just want a safe place to come if borders close.’

But the dream of palm trees and peace doesn’t always go as planned.

Many of these new passport-holders arrive to find island life is less ‘paradise’ and more ‘power outage.’

‘The power utility is bankrupt and there are outages all…the…time,’ wrote one ex-resident of the US Virgin Islands in a popular online forum.

‘You never know when the internet will cut. Groceries cost double what I paid in Brooklyn.’

Others complain of violent crime, broken healthcare systems and corrupt or ineffective police forces.

Poverty and inequality remain rampant across much of the Caribbean — fueling everything from drug trafficking and gang warfare to domestic violence and theft.

Even the weather can be deadly: the region lies directly in the path of powerful hurricanes, which are only growing stronger and more frequent.

And while tourism funds parts of the economy, locals in several nations have grown skeptical — even resentful — of the ‘citizenship-for-sale’ programs, which some fear are letting in wealthy tax dodgers or white-collar criminals.

Still, supporters of the schemes point to success stories. Dominica’s program has reportedly raised over $1billion — a lifeline for a nation that struggles with chronic underdevelopment.

Antigua’s program helped the country avoid bankruptcy. Grenada saw revenues from golden passports equal more than a quarter of its entire economy in 2023.

Even Trump has floated the idea of a US ‘gold card’ citizenship scheme — with a sky-high $5million price tag.

But even high-rolling Americans can crash and burn in the Caribbean.

Jeffrey Epstein’s sprawling sex trafficking operation thrived on his private island in the Virgin Islands — where victims say they were flown in from abroad and subjected to horrific abuse.

It wasn’t until his 2019 arrest that the extent of his Caribbean crimes came to light.

Sam Bankman-Fried, once hailed as a crypto visionary, lived like royalty in the Bahamas — even as his financial empire crumbled beneath him.

His New Providence apartment, which he shared with lovers and colleagues, was said to blur the lines between business and bedroom.

Today, he’s serving a 25-year prison sentence for fraud.

Both men found isolation, secrecy, and lax oversight in the Caribbean — and used it to their advantage.

While most Americans heading south aren’t criminals, critics warn that the region’s allure of privacy and soft-touch regulation can be a magnet for bad behavior.

For Americans worried about the future of their homeland, the Caribbean seems like a tempting escape.

But for all its beauty and blue water, the region comes with baggage — high costs, dangerous storms, fragile governance, and a long history of dreams going up in smoke.

Paradise, it seems, always comes at a price.