Could an even bigger deal be in the works today while an unrelated 3,000 Hawaii acres just traded hands? Rich and famous Hawaii.
Could an even bigger deal be in the works today while an unrelated 3,000 Hawaii acres just traded hands? Rich and famous Hawaii.
Jeff Bezos has made some very generous donations to benefit the Maui community. It would be nice if Oprah would put some cash towards homelessness and hunger on Maui.
Well, it’s the ‘rich get richer’ syndrone again. Oprah, with her mega-bucks, buys another big chunk of land on Maui so she can enjoy a lot of ‘privacy’ (that’s what it’s really all about, it’s not about ‘preserving the land’, etc.). So local folks, you will gradually see the available land become ‘unavailable’, the rich/mega-rich will be happy in their Private enclaves, and you will get to pitch a tent at the beach as your new, stylish mega-mansion. Congratualtions.
As an additional note, if Oprah was the ‘mega-goddess of goodness’ that so many folks think she is, why wouldn’t she buy the 3,600 acres and Donate it to the State of HI for the purpose of building real affordable housing??? She can afford it!
Why doesn’t the state of Hawaii by the land and build affordable housing? And why doesn’t the state of Hawaii build affordable housing on land the state already owns?
I’d like you to explain That one?
And who’s going to be on the hook for paying for that affordable housing?
It’s very easy to understand where the animosity comes from in Hawaii for tourism and non locals. It tends to make things pricey.
It would be great if they used this to help the native population.
I’m not crazy about all the rich and famous (not to mention powerful) buying up Hawaii one way or another, but isn’t that the way it’s always been? King Kamehameha the Great wouldn’t have united the islands without power, including some killing with that power.
Bad land use decisions are made by anyone, not just kamaainas and haoles. Plenty of locals, some well intending and some not, have squandered the land, the Aina, for a quick buck or some perceived power!
That’s what zoning ordinances are for. If the zoning needs updating then do it. As long as someone abides by the land use ordinances on their acreage, I say to let them be.
Are you seriously wondering what the risk/reward analysis is when billionaires purchase parts of an island? Nobody should be able to own that much of anything. If I didn’t know any better – that is, if I hadn’t paid attention to any classes from 1st grade through grad school, I’d still know it’s not a good idea. I get needing to keep real estate agents working, but selling out to the 1% perpetuates the very complaints that has led to them owning/controlling everything.
Limit ownership and let the people thrive. Or else.
Land is an incredibly valuable and sacred resource in Hawaii. I agree with you completely – there should be a limit to how much land one person can buy. What will become of Oprah’s large holdings, and Ellison’s, when they die? If they would go the right thing and make them available to the people of Hawaii at affordable prices, or better yet, donate the land for affordable housing, that would be one thing – but I highly doubt either will do that. Considering their age, we should know relatively soon what the answer to this will be. Zuckerberg is a completely different, and scarier, issue. I don’t trust him as far as I could throw him, which worries me for Kauai. At least Bezos only bought 14acres!
“…Nobody should be able to own that much of anything.” And who decides how much is to much? You? Me? Maybe people should be limited to only owning one car? Or only traveling so much in a year?
Aloha, what happened to the resettlement of native Hawaiians? The list waiting to get land must be in the tens of thousands by now. I why are the rich non-islanders given preference over the Hawaiians who were promised that they would get a piece of their heritage back? Once again, I believe, the tradition of Haolies using fake promises to get elected.
It is really Ironic How Much Tourists are vilified but it is A OK for Rich Billionaires to buy up your Land!! How about extending the same Aloha to us Tourists who Actually Give Back and Spend a Lot of our money in Hawaii when we visit, Just a Thought!
7,600 per acre for any land in HI, let alone Maui?? There’s something behind this story. No commoner could buy it for that price.
I am a real estate agent on the big island. I can show you tons of land (all 1 acre properties) that are priced under $10,000.
That are zoned appropriately for building single family residences?
Parking millions on desireible
properties is a better bet than stocks, bonds, banks, or gold. maybe even better than an NFL team. Im pleased when US citizens own US property.
That aren’t on the side of a cliff?
Or covered by some recently flowed lava…
Yea they put it that high in hopes she would take it.