Larry Ellison Hawaiian island
Larry Ellison Hawaiian island,By now you have likely heard about Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison‘s Hawaiian island purchase. America’s third richest man, thanks to an estimated $36 billion fortune, is becoming the majority owner of the so-called ‘pineapple island’ of Lanai.
Ellison, a noted trophy home collector with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of property to his name already, will hold a 98% stake of the tropical 141-square mile island. He’s buying the land from fellow Forbes 400 member David Murdoch, the 89-year old billionaire behind Dole Foods, via Castle & Cooke. Castle & Cooke is a real estate outfit that owned Dole Foods before Murdoch bought it out in 1985.
The final sales price will be kept confidential but the Maui News has reported that the asking price was between $500 million and $600 million. If it fetches even close to that $500 million price tag, it will be a record-breaking transaction. And the tech titan’s paying all-cash.
“I would say it is the most expensive island probably ever sold,” says Chris Krolow, chief executive of Private Islands Inc., a Toronto-based firm that represents island real estate across the globe. “This property just doesn’t fit into any category: you’re buying an island with thousands of residents…and never have there been any islands for sale in Hawaii before this.”
News of Ellison’s purchase broke when the office of Hawaii governor Neil Abercrombie announced Castle & Cooke’s transfer application with the Public Utilities Commission on Wednesday night:
“It is my understanding that Mr. Ellison has had a long standing interest in Lana’i. His passion for nature, particularly the ocean is well known specifically in the realm of America’s Cup sailing,” Governor Abercrombie said in a release. “He is also a businessman whose record of community involvement in medical research and education causes is equally notable.”
Lanai sits nine miles off the coast of Maui and is Hawaii’s sixth largest island. It is the smallest inhabited island that is publicly accessible. The lush land mass is home to roughly 3,200 inhabitants and it boasts two vacation resorts, two golf courses and a variety of residential and commercial buildings. However, unlike some of its larger neighbors, Lanai remains relatively unspoiled by development and tourism, touting streets without stoplights and areas only accessible by vehicles with four wheel drive.
Lanai is also known by its nickname Pineapple Island, harking back to the days when Dole Food used the majority of the land for fruit farming. After taking control of the island following a shareholder buyout of nearly $700 million, Murdock closed pineapple operations on Lanai in favor of developing luxury resorts and stoking tourism.
But tourism has waned. Roughly 26,000 vacationers visited the island from January to April of this year, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority. That’s 6% lower than it was during the same time frame last year. According to Maui News, Castle & Cooke has been losing as much as $40 million a year on its Lanai operations. Other sources put the number at $20 million to $30 million per year from 2006 through 2010. Either way, it would appear the island has been costing Murdoch money.
Given that negative revenue stream, is this still a good investment for Ellison? “It’s hard to put a value on something so big. It really comes down to those losses and I’m sure the sale took those into consideration,” suspects Krolow.
Indeed. While $600 million is a staggering number to the average American, in billionaire buying terms, it’s chump change for what Ellison gets. As my colleagues Clare O’Connor and Steve Bertoni calculated, the purchase would be the equivalent of a family with net worth of $1 million buying a used Chevy Impala.
While a Hawaiian island may be the ultimate trophy property, and while the total sales price will likely dash records,Ellison may still be getting a good deal, especially compared to other billionaire property collectors. It’s of course important to note that location, property type and use all play a huge role in any valuation. That said, if he agreed to a $600 million price tag (which I doubt), Ellison’s picking up his 98% stake for less than $7,000 an acre. That’s almost half the price per acre of eastern Maui’s 4,500-acre Hana Ranch, an operational cattle ranch asking $55 million.
Compared to other islands around the world touting commercial capabilities, it’s a steal. For example Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen has been trying to unload a 292-acre private island in the San Juans Archipelago off the coast of Washington State. Despite its lack utilities infrastructure (a key driver of island value) and it’s colder, less exclusive locale (being situated among many islands that come on and off market), Allan Island’s $13.5 million ask price breaks down to more than $46,000 per acre.
In fiscally-plagued Greece, an island in the Aegean Sea with commercial capabilities (and no development to date) asks about $45.5 million for slightly more than 86 acres. That breaks down to a staggering $526,000 per acre.
In terms of square feet, Ellison’s purchase — at $600 million mind you — is a measly 16 cents per square foot. With billionaires like Dmitry Rybolovlev throwing down more than $13,000 per square foot on a Manhattan penthouse, the price is laughable in the world of billionaire property collecting.
Currently, the unconfirmed assumption is that Ellison plans to develop the island and boost tourism. The 2% he won’t acquire is owned by the state, the county and private residents. Murdoch will keep his home on the Hawaiian island, as well.
In the world of island real estate, that 2% may pose a future problem, depending on what the Calif.-based billionaire plans to do with his pending possession. If he decides to ever sell, finding a private buyer may be hard. “Most people want to have a whole island,” notes Krolow. “We have seen a couple islands sit on the market for years because of this.”
Even so, Lanai is a special case. “If Lanai wasn’t part of Hawaii and there were neighboring islands for sale as well, this may not have sold. But properties like this don’t come on the market often, if ever.”
source: forbes
