Anonymous ID: dabd4a Aug. 28, 2023, 6:35 p.m. No.19451095   🗄️.is đź”—kun   >>1119

A billionaire’s presence on a Hawaiian island is pushing out longtime residents.

 

Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle and the world’s 11th-richest person, bought 98 percent of Lanai in 2012 for $300 million, Bloomberg reported. The purchase of the 90,000-acre island came with the two Four Seasons resorts that provide jobs and homes for most of the island’s population, making Ellison a landlord or boss for most residents – and both for some.

 

Ellison owns the island’s main grocery store, the only gas station, the community newspaper and the only non-Four Seasons hotel. His development plans tend to be secret. Many locals have heard that he plans to make the island “sustainable,” though not how.

 

Residents say that no other entity can balance Ellison’s control, meaning his decisions carry the weight of the law, with minimal discussions of new projects and almost no due process. After the pandemic hit and Ellison moved to Lanai full time, the island became a popular destination for yachts and private jets and attracted big-name guests such as Elon Musk, Tom Cruise and former Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu.

 

https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2022/06/12/billionaire-ellison-turning-hawaiis-lanai-into-playground-for-the-rich/