America’s Cup Defender Buys Hawaiian Island
July 16, 2012
Byline: Associated Press
HONOLULU (AP) — Yachting enthusiast and Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison has reached a deal to buy 98 percent of the island of Lanai from its current owner, Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie announced June 20.
“We look forward to welcoming Mr. Ellison in the near future,” Abercrombie said. “His passion for nature, particularly the ocean, is well known — specifically the realm of America’s Cup sailing,” he said.
Representing San Francisco’s Golden Gate Yacht Club, Ellison won the America’s Cup in 2010 and then wrestled with San Francisco city leaders over his big plans for the 2013 America’s Cup finals in San Francisco, where his team will defend the Cup.
The Hawaii deal involves 88,000 acres of land, plus two resorts, two golf courses, a stable and various residential and commercial buildings.
The sale price for the property, which comprises the vast majority of the island’s 141 square miles, was not revealed. The Maui News previously reported the asking price was between $500 million and $600 million.
While detailed plans for the island have not yet been revealed, Ellison is likely to do something “epic and grand,” said Mike Wilson, who wrote the first biography of Ellison, “The Difference Between God and Larry Ellison: God Doesn’t Think He’s Larry Ellison.”
Ellison built Oracle Corp. with $1,200 in 1977, and he is has been named as the world’s sixth wealthiest billionaire.
