Pro-Palestinian billionaire heir wanted by the US arrested in Ibiza

Spain’s National Police have arrested James Cox Chambers in Ibiza. The American billionaire heir, a prominent supporter of the Palestinian cause, was wanted by the United States authorities.

The National Police confirmed the arrest to Diario de Ibiza, but provided no further details about the reasons behind it. After appearing before a judge, Chambers was remanded in custody pending the outcome of the extradition proceedings, according to Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia.

The arrest has already prompted a political response. On Monday, Podem Illes Balears called on the Spanish authorities not to approve Chambers’ extradition, arguing that the case forms part of an “international crackdown on the Palestine solidarity movement”.

“We are seeing how the administration of US President Donald Trump is attempting to extend beyond its borders the persecution of those who denounce the genocide in Gaza and support the Palestinian cause,” Podem Illes Balears coordinator Lucía Muñoz said in a statement.

“If this extradition goes ahead, it will set a very dangerous precedent for democratic rights and freedoms”, she warned.

A vast family fortune

The political party also expressed its solidarity with Chambers, his family and all those it described as being persecuted for their support for Palestine. It called on Spanish institutions to “defend democratic sovereignty against any attempt to export political repression”.

The Chambers family is the tenth-richest family in the United States, with an estimated fortune of more than €33 billion, according to Forbes.

In 2023, James Cox Chambers announced that he had sold his shares in Cox Enterprises in protest against his family’s support for the Atlanta police. His decision followed a controversial shooting in the city that resulted in several deaths.