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A tech billionaire is quietly buying up land in Hawaii. No one knows why
npr ^ | FEBRUARY 28, 2024

Posted on 02/28/2024 12:23:49 PM PST by BenLurkin

Waimea is primarily an agricultural town with just three stoplights and around 10,000 residents. It has lush forests filled with guava trees and torch ginger, and it's known for being the birthplace of the Hawaiian cowboy, or paniolo. It sits thousands of feet above sea level, where misty winds often blow sideways and, on clear days, give way to expansive views of the island's three towering volcanoes.

Over the last couple of years, a mystery has been brewing in this small mountain town. Someone has been quietly buying hundreds of acres of land...

He's the CEO and co-founder of San Francisco-based Salesforce, one of the world's largest software companies, which owns the popular messaging service Slack and is worth nearly $300 billion. He also owns Time magazine. Benioff is hard to miss — the 59-year-old stands at a towering 6 feet, 5 inches and is often seen driving around Waimea in his white Hummer pickup, sporting his signature look of a baseball cap with his curly brown hair tumbling out back.

Benioff lives in a beachside mansion down the mountain from Waimea. He built the $24.5 million, 9,800-square-foot home about 20 years ago and also bought dozens of acres of ranch land in Waimea around that time, according to public records.

Jeff Bezos owns a sprawling beach mansion in Maui. Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has plans to build a bunker on his land in Kauai, according to Wired. Benioff's former boss, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, owns 98% of Lanai.

(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Front Page News; Politics/Elections; US: Hawaii
KEYWORDS: benioff; communist; marcbenioff
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To: metmom

Wish he’d buy out Pahoa!

That place is a dump!

Open drug usage, drunks passed out on the curbs, filthy poorly maintained houses.

Tear it down and start over.


21 posted on 02/28/2024 1:06:12 PM PST by Bartholomew Roberts
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To: SaxxonWoods
this person is probably buying real estate all over the world. I would.

Ditto. If I was a billionaire, I would buy up real estate too. Spend it on something you and your family can enjoy and put a big fence around it to keep out the riff raff (democrats and illegal aliens).

22 posted on 02/28/2024 1:09:27 PM PST by Bubba_Leroy ( Dementia Joe is Not My President)
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To: BenLurkin

Who cares?

I believe people (including billionaires) should be free to buy whatever property they want to buy.


23 posted on 02/28/2024 1:12:17 PM PST by Miami Rebel
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To: SaxxonWoods

“Real estate is a great inflation hedge”

When I ask internet what is a good investment when:
stock market crashing - property
inflation - property
stagflation - property
dollar losing value - property

Most often a good move.


24 posted on 02/28/2024 1:17:04 PM PST by Jolla
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To: BenLurkin

I thought you couldn’t buy ln HI you could only rent the property?


25 posted on 02/28/2024 1:17:57 PM PST by Rappini ("No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in it's preservation" MacArthr)
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To: LeoWindhorse

It is best to show up for dinner with a bottle of wine...


26 posted on 02/28/2024 1:22:22 PM PST by Empire_of_Liberty ( )
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To: metmom

He thinks he’s going to be safe that way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I’ve often wondered what this Bible verse means....If nothing else, it raises the question of ‘what is an island’?

Revelation 16:20 “And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.”


27 posted on 02/28/2024 1:34:29 PM PST by hecticskeptic
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To: BenLurkin

Has anyone considered the action of asking him “why are you doing this”?


28 posted on 02/28/2024 1:34:44 PM PST by The_Media_never_lie ( )
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To: LeoWindhorse

His name is on a lot of children’s hospitals.


29 posted on 02/28/2024 1:37:23 PM PST by Lisbon1940 (I don’t see why they would)
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To: The_Media_never_lie

It’s NPR. They are propagandists. Not journalists.


30 posted on 02/28/2024 1:39:10 PM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion, or satire, or both.)
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To: BenLurkin

The next time a chunk of one of the islands sloughs off in a landslide, there won’t be anything left on most of the islands, including the land owned by these rich richard craniums.

So don’t sweat it.


31 posted on 02/28/2024 1:42:24 PM PST by logi_cal869 (-cynicus the "concern troll" a/o 10/03/2018 /!i!! &@$%&*(@ -)
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To: BenLurkin
If you were expecting "global warming and rising sea levels" you would not.

But if you were expecting global cooling on the other hand......

32 posted on 02/28/2024 1:44:43 PM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear ( Roses are red, Violets are blue, I love being on the government watch list, along with all of you.)
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To: hecticskeptic

Well, if the islands disappear during a massive earthquake, he ain’t going to be safe at all.

But then again, those guys likely don’t even believe in God, much less anything from Scripture.


33 posted on 02/28/2024 1:54:35 PM PST by metmom (He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus…)
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To: metmom
He thinks he’s going to be safe that way.

LOL isolated on a small island when the food delivery's run out, how long before the locals make him into a meat sandwich.

34 posted on 02/28/2024 2:01:25 PM PST by usurper (AI was born with a birth defect.)
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To: BenLurkin

It’s simple.

He grew up watching Gilligan’s Island reruns.


35 posted on 02/28/2024 2:07:17 PM PST by 9YearLurker
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To: BenLurkin

Guess climate change is only for the pions


36 posted on 02/28/2024 2:22:03 PM PST by ronnie raygun
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To: Lisbon1940

Yea, I do not consider him just a rich schmuck. He comports himself pretty well around here. Never heard of any of the sketchy arrogance and stealthy shenanigans that FB nerd has been up to on Kauai. Frankly, I am surprised the locals have tolerated Z’s behaviors and the court cases he generated. It seems likely just a matter of time before they don’t


37 posted on 02/28/2024 3:00:06 PM PST by LeoWindhorse
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To: metmom

asteroid strike in the mid Pac would do it


38 posted on 02/28/2024 3:01:38 PM PST by LeoWindhorse
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To: Auntie Dem
I thought Haolis couldn’t buy land in Hawaii, but could only have a 99 year lease.

Well, you thought wrong. (You may be thinking of Samoa.)
And the word is Haole. :)

39 posted on 02/28/2024 3:05:31 PM PST by norcal joe
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To: BenLurkin

To sell to more foreigners who will pay BIG BUCKS for our land.


40 posted on 02/28/2024 3:15:12 PM PST by TribalPrincess2U (Bye done!)
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