‘Open for business, not for sale’: 5 regions that President Trump can’t buy
Trump appears to be in the mood to expand, but is there a limit to possible territorial acquisitions that billionaires and heads of rich states can make?
In light of revelations that US President Donald Trump wants to buy Greenland, many might have wondered how easy it is to simply go out and buy a region. Cursory Quora and Google searches might surprise; if you’ve got the cash, agreement between governments and regional authorities, and military might, you might be able to colonise a new world.
#NotSoSerious Pro tip: go for an autonomous region where it should be easier to convince a small group of citizens that the idea isn’t bonkers.
Greenland officials insist that the island’s autonomy is non-negotiable: “Greenland is rich in valuable resources such as minerals, the purest water and ice, fish stocks, seafood, renewable energy, and is a new frontier for adventure tourism. We’re open for business, not for sale.”
We’re all familiar with billionaires owning private islands, but if you’re the president of the richest nation on earth, and have a questionable real estate background, is there a limit to territorial acquisition?
Without navigating too deeply through the geopolitical nuances of buying a country’s region, we’ve got our list of autonomous regions that offer much more than a price tag. To borrow from the Greenland foreign ministry’s own adage, these regions are “open for business, not for sale”.
Disclaimer: this is not a serious article and we do not encourage colonising autonomous regions.
The Åland Islands