Aloha kākou. The Hawai’i Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the central Pacific where the early Polynesians reached centuries ago. Hawai’i is the most idyllic location in the Pacific Ocean. Hawai’i is often called the Crossroads of the Pacific. Hawai’i became the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959. The state is strategically important to the global defense system of the United States and serves as a transportation hub for the Pacific basin. Hawai’i is the tropical jewel of the Pacific.
So, who owns Hawai’i? Is it the indigenous people? Is it the permanent residents living full time on the islands? Is it the United States government? Is Hawai’i just another citizen of the world? Increasingly, none of these are true. Tech Giant Billionaires are becoming Hawaii’s largest landowners. By nature, money owns the government and money talks. If you got it, flaunt it, baby.
For years now, the world’s richest billionaires have been quietly buying up land throughout the Hawaiian Islands. No one really knows exactly how extensive their land holdings are. Investigative journalists for Forbes spent months digging through thousands of property records on Hawai’i’s six largest islands. What they found was unexpected. This video was produced a month ago, February 2024.
Currently, there are 37 billionaires, that we know of, that own approximately 218,000 acres of Hawaiian lands. That’s 5.3% of the state’s total land and 11.1% of all non-government-owned land. Even more unusual is the lengths to which these billionaires will go to conceal their land ownership. Maybe it’s to prevent prying eyes and trespassers. However, these properties can be found in public records at Hawaii’s DLNR Bureau of Land Conveyances.
By the numbers, these 37 billionaires represent just 0.003% of Hawaii’s total population out of 1.4 million residents that own more than 10% of its land. Hawaii has always been the playground for the uber wealthy. It’s no wonder why these billionaires hide their land grab. It wouldn’t be received favorably in the public’s eye given the prohibitive cost of land ownership in Hawai’i. Many generational landowners dating back to the Great Mahele have either been bought out or sued off their land. Indigenous island locals have been regulated to mere tourist attractions.
Who are these billionaires? Many of these landowners are well known celebrities: Oprah Winfrey, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Case, and Larry Ellison, to name just a few. Some are non-American billionaires from parts around the world. It’s one thing to buy the land and use it for agriculture, it’s another to use the land to build a doomsday bunker as Mark Schmuckerberg is doing on the island of Kaua’i.
Home ownership is a real problem in Hawai’i. Real estate here is sold either as “fee simple” where you own the land beneath your feet, or “leasehold.” Where the land is leased to the resident for a period of time. In other words, you rent the land from the government. You still pay taxes on the land, so you’re renting the land and your house from the government anyway. Who knows what kind of deals high priced lawyers made for celebrity billionaires and their property ownership.
House Maui is a sub organization of Hawaii Community Foundation (HCF) that’s focused on affordable housing in Maui County. The following video was a clip posted by someone on the social media news site “X.” The video appears to be a television advertisement for a “Smart City” development on Maui. The video promotes the environmental social impact on land usage and building affordable housing. The video clip was made sometime before the Lāhainā, Maui wildfire.
Hawaii Community Foundation is the organization that launched House Maui. Their mission is to bring all levels of government, elected leaders, nonprofits, homebuilders, businesses, philanthropists, and the local community together to create affordable housing solutions on Maui. So, local families can continue to call Maui home. A Nobel idea that’s very appealing. They posted a webinar in 2021 where they walk through their progress on Maui. Their goal is to replicate House Maui across all neighbor islands. (Yes, we say neighbor islands, not neighboring).
Smart Cities in Hawai’i has been a discussion for a number of years to address limited land availability and affordable housing. The idea of “Smart Cities” has been talked about for years. House Maui focuses on building environmentally friendly affordable housing, but it’s not clear how home ownership, ideal location, infrastructure facilities, and house design will attract buyers. Smart Cities seem more of a tourist attraction than home ownership.
A centrally planned “technology” designed city that’s supposed to improve the environment, enhance government services, and bolster citizen welfare has a ring of socialist familiarity. Essentially, Smart Cities are planned communities to reduce the impact of human interaction upon the environment. Where people are confined to 15-minute destinations and where all services needed are confined within a defined boundary. Plans for making Lāhainā, Maui, Hawai’i First Smart City have been in the works for a long time. After the wildfires destroyed Lāhainā, Maui, it may have opened an opportunity for the socialists to fulfill those plans. What would a Smart City look like?
Okay, this is the part where I get silly and post a relevant Simpson’s cartoon about being captives in an idyllic island paradise Smart City under the watchful eyes of a secret government entity.
If anyone has ever watched the British TV series, “The Prisoner,” then you know what’s missing here. Local Indigenous people: the farmers, hotel and city workers, the ubiquitous tourist spots, café shop owners, and everything that made Lāhainā, Maui a unique antiquity. Historic Lāhainā, Maui original whaling village with its early construction and oceanside attractions was a magnificent historical landmark.
Smart Cities are the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) perfect world where we will own nothing, and you will be happy eating the bugs. Don’t laugh or roll your eyes. Some places already have Smart Cities. This CBS News report was produced six years ago in 2018.
Note that trivial little problem regarding your personal privacy. Much of your private information is collected by technology platforms that harvest your personal data. When you agree to the terms and conditions of a software application you downloaded onto your device. You also agree to the terms and conditions of that program. It’s the same thing living in a Smart City. You surrender some of your freedoms and privacy for a little comfort and security in the community of tomorrow. Sounds great, doesn’t it?
There are already more than a thousand cities in the world that are transitioning to Smart Cities. They exist in Europe, Japan, China, and North America. They all have tracking censors everywhere. Everyone will be required to have a tracking device. You can’t leave your home without your tracking device. Eventually, you’ll have a tracking device implanted somewhere in your body. Now let’s get back to Hawai’i Communist (Community) Foundation (HCF).
Interesting Note: I learned that early designs of Smart Cities failed because they couldn’t secure the necessary funding and reliable technology to maintain the Smart façade. Smart Cities either ran out of money or people never wanted them. They ended up turning into ghost cities. Communist China is littered with ghost cities where investors lost millions of dollars in real estate speculation.
In this edition of Living Akamai, Kay Mukaigawa of Engel & Volkers invites Micah Kāne, President & CEO of Hawai’i Community Foundation to discuss affordable housing. – Khon2 Apr 4, 2023
Micah Kāne makes some good and compelling points. However, there as some logistical issues that are in conflict. Namely government regulations and maintenance efficiency, changing political priorities, budgeting, and taxes. People’s preferences in housing design, location, and affordability. Jobs, skills, and employment opportunities are not really discussed in the design and development of Smart Cities.
Getting from here to there in 15 minutes or less requires little motivation. Confinement to 15-minute boundaries isn’t that much of a tourist attraction. But what about the prospects for employment and growing a livable income? How much of your income goes back to taxes to maintain Smart Cities? How expensive are Smart Cities to live comfortably? Are Smart Cities desirable locations?
Many planned communities are cookie cutter neighborhoods with homes that are built using the same blueprints. There’s no character to these homes. They all look sterile and uniform. The neighborhoods are usually run by fascistic Homeowners Associations (HOA) to maintain the same appearance, colors, style, and look across the entire neighborhood. It solves the housing needs, but it lacks curb appeal. Be thankful you have a roof over your head that you can afford. Not everyone doesn’t have the same income, spending habits, and life goals. People are not cookie cutter clones of their neighborhood. Humans have cultural, religious, and other differences. Can Smart Cities address those needs?
Āina kulāiwi means to “own native land.” Real estate is at premium in most locations in Hawai’i. People want mountain views and oceanfront locations. When billionaires own that much land and are not using the land productively, it seems like a waste of valuable real estate. Billionaires can do with the land as they want, they paid for their slice of paradise. But, to me, it still seems like a waste of valuable real estate location. Who am I to judge. If you have the money, honey, you could buy your slice of paradise. Meanwhile, the less fortunate sleep at night by the dashboard light.
Current Conditions: Mostly cloudy skies with moderate showers. There is a 50% chance of precipitation. We received 5/64 inch of precipitation overnight. Tradewinds from the northeast at 10 mph, gust 21 mph. Cloud cover is 76%. Visibility is 10 miles. Temperatures are in the low 70’s. Humidity is 75%. Barometric pressure is 30.08 inches. Dewpoint is 64° and UV index is 9. Air quality Index is fair 44. Readings taken at 12:00PM HST.
E Māua Ola i Moku o Keawe 