Living the good life on Maui is never out of reach, even when you just got fired by the federal government and left unprecedented wreckage behind. While Hawaii can be an escape from everyday life, your problems can follow you to paradise, as Gregory Becker, ex-president and CEO of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) just found out.
For now, Becker and his wife Marilyn Bautista still fly first class to Hawaii and are enjoying their $4+ million dollar completely remodeled townhome at Maui’s Puamana Resort.
You could afford these perks when making nearly $10M a year. But now, the optics of flaunting wealth are not playing well. Earlier this week, the couple arrived just the day after his high-visibility firing.
In typical Hawaii-casual island wear, Becker was later seen walking on Front Street in nearby Lahaina town. That comes as the Justice Dept. begins probing his cash-out of nearly $4 million just weeks before the bank’s collapse and $30 million in the past 24 months. So while SVB shareholders, executives, and other investors worry about their losses, even as those with deposits were made whole, the Beckers appear happy enjoying their luxury Puamana digs.
The couple arrived at San Francisco Airport via chauffeur-driven car, then flew first class on United nonstop to Maui. The price of one-way tickets to Maui on United varies from $900 to about $2,000 per person.
Home, Sweet Home Away From Home…
Their three-bed, three-bath home at Puamana, seen here before they purchased it in 2018, was torn down and rebuilt larger than before. It sits directly on exquisite Maui ocean frontage. Getting around on Maui, at least this week, their wheels are a newish convertible Mini Cooper by BMW.
The couple lives in Menlo Park when not at their island home. Before leaving California for an unknown duration on Maui (perhaps forever?), Becker sent bank staff a video asking that they “stick together (and) support each other through the crisis.” He said, “It’s with an incredibly heavy heart that I’m here to deliver this message,” according to Reuters. “I can’t imagine what was going through your head and wondering, you know, about your job, your future.” The future of the bank’s nearly 9k employees isn’t clear, even as senior leaders have already been terminated. Employees were left less than impressed by the ex-CEO’s video.
Where do the Beckers dine: Cheeseburger in Paradise!
In a strange juxtaposition to their extravagant flight and posh Maui home, they did a pickup at a Lahaina burger joint for dinner. Cheeseburger in Paradise features oceanside dining and great views, which the Beckers did not avail themselves of. The well-known restaurant is located on Front Street, oceanfront in Lahaina. They’ve been in business since 1989. Recent reviews range from “Great food, music, drinks, service, and location!” and “Nice place with good beers, burgers, and pulled-pork sandwiches” to “salad had dry chicken with bag lettuce that tasted like it was opened days ago.” Well, it is 4-star rated, not 5. It is open from breakfast through dinner, with nightly entertainment.
More about Puamana Maui.
This is a private, beautifully situated, and well-regarded 30-acre gated community in Lahaina (lead photo). Most of the properties there are vacation rentals. Amenities include tennis, three swimming pools, a clubhouse, and more, with golf nearby. Units range from 1 to 4 bedrooms, with the Beckers sitting comfortably at three bedrooms. Some units, including theirs, feature fantastic ocean views. It is a low-rise development with lush, tropical landscaping.
What does it cost to stay at Puamana?
Never mind ownership; what about a vacation at Puamana? Just one week at Puamana in a unit of their size at this time of year will likely set you back no less than $7,000 total.
In a YouTube Video from January 2023, Becker was still “optimistically looking ahead.” As someone said in the video comments, “this didn’t age well.”
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Sadly, the era of tax payer bailouts for bank fails, leaving poor manager practices allowed a free pass, will continue. With all the land Zuckerberg and Oprah have bought up, along w/others…one only can wonder if the majority of the islands will be privately owned?
Typical steal peoples money run off to a private community in Hawaii
Pure and simple, SVB needed to diversify their deposits! This lands on the feet of the Board of Directors who were incompetent at best, their Chief Risk Officer and CEO Greg Becker. Additionally, having worked there for several years, the C suite always touted what a great 40-year relationship they had with the VC community. You might think that over again because in the end they screwed you big time!!!
I know that your goal here is to make them seem lavish, but Puamana is pretty low end, so there’s that, and they could have afforded to fly private vs “$1k” for first class. There are likely dozens of other banks that bought the same long term bonds. The issue is that a bunch of people decided to run for the exit at the same time and the FDIC has made the foolish mistake of thinking that $250k limits would deter that. Well it didn’t, especially for a small business bank where most have more than that in an account. They need to remove the limits.
FDIC needs to increase the insurance coverage by double and has been indicating that it may actually occur. That insurance is meant to protect the Average Person and not Businesses and the Wealthy. For them there is insurance that they can purchase to better suit Their Needs and Protect Their Assets. Apparently it’s time for people, depositor’s, to discover who/what/how much the FDIC Covers. At one time this was taught in Economics and Math classes, beginning in 5th grade through 12th. This was Not a “Small Bank” and is/was a Haven for the Wealthy/Politically Connected, a Prestigious Bank! Why else did President Biden step in to Guarantee All of the Deposits! If the FDIC or other Insurance didn’t cover a loss it shouldn’t have been.
Three of my college classmates went into banking through different venues. And when asked years later when asked, all 3 of them maintained there’s only two ways a U.S. bank can fail:
1. Sheer incompetence
2. Corruption (read: malfeasance — garden variety off-the-books “banking”/stealing/embezzling)
And if you really want a 3rd reason??
3. A combination of #1 and #2 …
Your Comments, as well as your 3 friends, are pretty much on the “money” with their content. What really shows the Incompetent Culture in our Government Agencies is the fact of how many pulled their money out prior to the collapse, bank executives. This, and the Regent Bank Failure, should have us all concerned about the Health and Stability of the banking industry. The Banks that shored up Regent have, and will continue, received money from the Government. Taxpayer’s Money, what President Biden said would not be used!
Roger that, my friend …
Amen!
Roger that, my friend …
The tone of the responses to this article is disappointing. They are reminiscent of an accident scene on the freeway with participants pointing the finger at who is to blame, when the immediate action should be triage for the injured. This is exactly what the government is doing by backing all depositors of the failed SVB. Otherwise the consequences for the economy will be far worse and infinitely more costly. And yes, I sympathize with all depositors whether they be rich or poor, politicians or business owners. The shareholders of the bank are the ones to suffer, and in my opinion rightly so because that is the inherent risk that investors undertake.
The FDIC’s job is to make sure this doesn’t happen. They did not do their job. This bailout is only happening because of the ties the current administration has with California. The lack of checks and balances this bank had is against the regulations…FDIC sat on this and now we are paying to bail out billionaires. This bank going down is not our responsibility. More money the government spends the less you will see.
Nope. It was the prior administration that voted and passed bill in 2018 to weaken Dodd-Frank regulations. Fact. Sorry.
Thank you.
Eldo, yes Dodd-Frank was weakened by the prior Administration, but what were the reasons behind it my friend? The 2008 Economic Collapse was actually, Factually, Directly Tied to Provisions contained within the Legislation. It was Originally a well meant measure but had enough loopholes to be exploited by Banks, Et Al. It would have been gutted by the Then Administration, however, Barney Frank and Chris Dodd were somehow still Hailed as Heroes for the Legislation. This is where we Hailed certain Banks as “Too Big to Fail,” what a mistake! The prior admin didn’t go far enough, but Yes did do something needed, my friend. We could debate this for Years on the merits of each! Reforms are Needed Quickly, No Bailouts.
One of the authors of Dodd-Frank, former Rep. Barney Frank stated that the rollback of the regulations had absolutely nothing to do with the failure of SVB. He said it was sheer incompetence. Besides that, it was also passed with bipartisan support.
The FDIC guaranteed up to $250,000 on some accounts and then the Rest of the Deposits were covered separately by the Government, All of those Funds Are Taxpayer Money! The Politically Connected and Wealthy Depositor’s were taken care of very quickly and entirely! Must be Nice.
Right
The financier was a major prior administration supporter. Put the blame where it belongs on the prior administration for cutting all kinds of regulations.
Sorry to hear that your view of Democracy in action to save the Wealthy and Politically Connected with Our Money is preferred. Any Account not covered by the FDIC should not have been rescued, they could have purchased private insurance to protect their assets. We have been lied to yet again!
I noticed someone said that they didn’t see what he did wrong, that’s correct, Becker chose to not have a risk management person, the large investors chose not to insure above the FDIC limits, so they should pay for those losses. The bad party here is those who chose to give them tax payer’s money. I bet they won’t do that for you!
Thank you for turning the light on.
not defending these bank execs but this article is literally creepy stalker vibes and is not telling the full story
in addition to casting the (typicaly scheduled and publicly reported many months ahead of time) stock sales as malicious, it goes on and on to single out this person potentially bringing harm their way
if you want to hate on the banking system, hate the regulators and multiple oversight committees as well
also make sure to hate on the various focuses this bank had that were not at all fundamental to their purpose of acting responsibly for their clients
also hate on the FDIC that went out of its way to pass the costs of this egregious behavior down to other more responsible banks, which ultimately falls on depositors
Don’t worry…most of the people at SVB were elites and since a lot of them are in government (Gavin Newsom for one), everyone will get a tax payer funded bail out. Don’t feel bad for the people who had money at that bank.
Mahalo! Very sad story of how this entitled rich guy has nearly ditched everyone for his own glory. Typical. Almost like a president of a country who flees with all the country’s wealth for himself. Very sad. Aloha!
Thank you for shedding light on this
Mahalo Beat of Hawaii!!
The answer is he’s toast, we the taxpayers are bailing the bank out, and he should learn that in prison, you have to be a certain someone to get to complain about the food.
Oh, I almost forgot the impending divorce he’ll be experiencing.
Hope he saved some cash for a rainy day.
Aloha and blessings always 💗🌺
… still trying to figure out what he did wrong. Hindsight is 20/20. No talk of criminal charges being filed against him. (Putting on my helmet and raincoat) Stop throwing rotten tomatoes at me for my comments.
the answer is nothing illegal. there will be a lot of noise made about this but at the end of the day hes operating in a flawed system. apart from “the big four”, nearly every bank in america would also fold if called on that percentage of their deposits- its the nature of the fractional lending system. this bailout just encourages more risky behavior by banks, they know the fed has their backs.
“The fed has their backs” = taxpayers money going to banks instead of; healthcare, child care, education, living wages, social security, infrastructure, etc. etc.
In the past, many BOH commenters have expressed their desire for more “high-end” types to travel to the islands because they spend more of their money than working-class folks. Be careful what you wish for.
Puamana is definitely the GEM of Lahaina. The first time I stayed there was in 1995 and Paid $175 per night for an Oceanfront 3 br condo with the 7th night free! I stayed in that very Condo twice with the last time being 2017 and I think we paid $350 per night. Actually that was about the going rate for the 3 bedrooms that hadn’t been updated and who cares you are out at the beach all day. In 2018 we were staying at another place as this Unit was unavailable as it had just been purchased. I’ve stayed at Puamana over 20 times and I believe that time is over as $7K/week is just way too much even for an entire family. the Pandemic and remote working is what has led to this and the high prices. I’m So Sad
Disgusting toad. What a joke this bank was/is. Just take a gander at the 12 board members and their “qualifications”. Only one of the 12 members have any kind of banking or finance background. What could go wrong? 😠
And the Lone Board Members Credentials are Sorely Lacking. He was only there for a Year! The Board just needed someone to give them temporary credibility.
With all of the Stress and Finger Pointing who could possibly blame Greg Becker and his wife for escaping California for Maui. Now they can regroup their thoughts and begin the Executive Job Search, Greg is currently unemployed. How fortunate they Greg pulled their tens of millions from the Bank before it failed, even so how can they possibly afford too much, no paycheck coming in. Is there a “Go Fund Me” account setup for them yet? It must be Tough! Maybe the Federal Reserve has an opening 🤔
All they need now are a few other neighbors of the same caliber! All the scumbags should socialize together.
As Yoda might have said: “A bit tabloidy this article was.” This bankster isn’t even that extravagant in his tastes. A Mini Cooper? A refurbished condo? Chain burger restaurants ? United First Class? Hardly status symbols in this day and age. Not impressed.
Ah, Mighty Short and Green Yoda, he’s not employed anymore, they must be cutting costs wherever they are able. I keep wondering when the Force will be knocking on their door to take statements, will they be illusive in their memories? Possibly Janet Yellen needs help at the Federal Reserve, certainly many will be receptive to his resume.
Ernesto, so true. But as others have stated, isn’t he exactly the type of tourist that we need and want here in Hawaii? As long as he doesn’t try to open a bank here, I’m cool with him. In fact, I’m driving over to the Westside to see if I can share a coffee or beer with him. I have this amazingly great idea that needs venture capital funding. Can’t provide too many details, but it involves coconuts and small battery operated drones. That’s all I can say. Mahalo!
Eldo, I am fairly certain that your perception of a viable business venture worth backing is “spot on” and if for some reason it doesn’t garner the proper response, I could make it a point to “visit” and engage in “negotiations” for you. Sometimes, Eldo, Experience is needed for proper responses. Good Luck with the Business.
I just love how you guys bust these folks chops & show how they immediately run away from their problems to paradise! The woman who is on trial for murdering her children did the same thing…unbelievable!
Like Ted Cruz jetting down to Cancun during the Texas Deep Freeze!
A pre-planned family vacation that was on the schedule but I do Agree that the actual circumstances should have postponed it. Disasters occur, especially when, and where, over dependency on Wind and Solar Energy is concerned. Been warning ⚠️ about this for a Long Time. Senator Cruz should have rescheduled his family vacation, plain and simple.
I just love how you guys bust these folks chops & show how they immediately run away from their problems to paradise! The woman who is on trial for murdering her children did the same thing…Unbelievable.
It begins to make me wonder if the Woman believed that Hawaii could be a great place to fight extradition while working on her tan! 🤔 Maybe she “thought” that she could hide out there and avoid Prosecution altogether or possibly escape to another country where extradition isn’t a problem. Never know what the “Troubled and Devious Mind” thinks!
Where to start? The in your face corruption and and outright theft of millions while running a bank into the ground. I hope there is justice coming but when it’s practiced in the White House also I’m not counting on it
Disgusting people!
He’s a scumbag and should lose everything. He was well aware of the situation with SVB and just like all of these executives, made his money off the sweat of others. He should be publicly crucified.
I threw up a little in my mouth reading this. And we the taxpayers are bailing out this bank
Not technically a bailout like we saw in 2008. SVB is dead – it’s gone. It’s only the depositors, the average schlubs like you and me who kept their money there, that are being rescued by the gub’ment. Bank investors and executives are getting zilch.
There are no “average schlubs” at that bank in Silicon Valley. You needed clout to bank there. Half of its loans were for venture capitalists and private equity firms, and Gavin Newsom is one of their clients.
Let’s hope he will soon be wearing a Hawaii-casual orange stripe prison outfit.