Why is Larry Ellison turning Lanai, Hawaii into a ‘health utopia’? The Oracle billionaire’s island plans aren’t just Four Seasons hotels and Nobu Matsuhisa restaurants, but sustainable living too
- Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and friend of Ellison, called Lanai ‘a microcosm for the world’ while Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates got married at its Manele Golf Course
- When Covid-19 hit, Ellison eliminated business rent on Lanai, and in 2018 he founded wellness company Sensei, which oversees spas and solar-powered greenhouses
Ellison revealed last week that he has moved to Lanai, Hawaii, amid the coronavirus pandemic. He plans to use “the power of Zoom to work” from the island, he wrote in an email to Oracle employees, who had been asking about Ellison’s plans in the wake of Oracle moving its headquarters to Austin, Texas.
Ellison owns almost the entirety of Lanai. He bought nearly 98 per cent of the island in 2012 for a reported US$300 million; his purchase included 87,000 (35,200 hectares) of the island’s 90,000 acres (36,400 hectares) of land.
Lanai, which is home to about 3,200 residents, is the smallest inhabited island in Hawaii and is home to serene beaches, rugged terrain, high-end resorts and Ellison’s sustainability ambitions, which he’s executing through a development company called Pulama Lanai.
Here’s how Lanai came to be owned by Ellison and what he’s planning for the island
In June 2012, Ellison bought Lanai for an estimated US$300 million. Before Ellison’s purchase, the island was owned by billionaire Dole chairman David Murdock, who had reportedly been asking for US$1 billion for the island. Murdock became the owner of Lanai in 1985 after taking over Dole’s parent company, Castle & Cooke. Before Murdock’s ownership, the island was controlled by “Pineapple King” James Dole.