# Now THIS is [really something] - [Private purchase Island of Lanai]



## hypnotiq (Jun 19, 2012)

http://www.techflash.com/seattle/2012/06/will-bill-gates-buy-hawaiian-island-of.html



> Rumors have been spreading for some time now that two prominent American businessmen, Larry Ellison, co-founder/CEO of Oracle Corp., and Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, may be likely candidates to buy Lanai.


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## scrapngen (Jun 19, 2012)

Don't we all want to own a little piece of Hawaii???


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## SueDonJ (Jun 19, 2012)

from that link:  "Gates and his wife, Melinda, rented out the entire island for their marriage in 1994, and Ellison has a home on Lanai."

Unfreakinbelievable.  Nevermind _buying_ it!  Who can comprehend what it must be like to live in a world where _renting_ a Hawaiian island for functions is a viable option?!?!  Good gravy.


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## ricoba (Jun 19, 2012)

SueDonJ said:


> from that link:  "Gates and his wife, Melinda, rented out the entire island for their marriage in 1994, and Ellison has a home on Lanai."
> 
> Unfreakinbelievable.  Nevermind _buying_ it!  Who can comprehend what it must be like to live in a world where _renting_ a Hawaiian island for functions is a viable option?!?!  Good gravy.



"Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me."
                                                                         F. Scott Fitzgerald


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## scrapngen (Jun 19, 2012)

SueDonJ said:


> from that link:  "Gates and his wife, Melinda, rented out the entire island for their marriage in 1994, and Ellison has a home on Lanai."
> 
> Unfreakinbelievable.  Nevermind _buying_ it!  Who can comprehend what it must be like to live in a world where _renting_ a Hawaiian island for functions is a viable option?!?!  Good gravy.



I remember when they did that. They also rented out all the helicopters in the nearby islands so that there would be no paparazzi taking pictures of the wedding. They took the entire island, again, to maintain some privacy for the guests.


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## ampaholic (Jun 19, 2012)

scrapngen said:


> I remember when they did that. They also rented out all the helicopters in the nearby islands so that there would be no paparazzi taking pictures of the wedding. They took the entire island, again, to maintain some privacy for the guests.



What good is money, if you can't use it?


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## billymach4 (Jun 21, 2012)

*oracle ceo larry ellison buys entire island of lanai*

Just read the news in CNN. No joke he acquired the 6 the largest island . 140 square miles

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/20/us/hawaii-ellison-island/index.html?hpt=hp_c2


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## ace2000 (Jun 21, 2012)

Wonder who he bought it from?  Another individual?


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## jlr10 (Jun 21, 2012)

I hope that if it is true it doesn't become a private island where only they and their friends can visit.


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## artringwald (Jun 21, 2012)

From the article: He bought the island from Castle & Cooke, whose owner, David Murdock, has a net worth of $2.5 billion, according Forbes. Murdock is also the majority stock holder in the Dole Food Company.


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## DeniseM (Jun 21, 2012)

Darn - they beat my snipe bid!  

I was going to open Denise's Timeshare ISLAND!


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## saluki (Jun 21, 2012)

*Hawaiian island to be sold*

Drats! I was outbid!!!


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## ricoba (Jun 21, 2012)

DeniseM said:


> Darn - they beat my snipe bid!
> 
> I was going to open Denise's Timeshare ISLAND!



Didn't you mean Denise's FANTASY Island!!!!


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## Beefnot (Jun 21, 2012)

FYI, Denise (and any others who may have found Hypnotiq's original thread title to be crude), "Balling" is a slang term for being on a whole different level.  Derives from basketball; those basketball players who demonstrated exceptional skill or performances were "balling".  Now that term refers to anyone who does or is able to do things--often financially--that most others don't have the resources or capability to do.


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## Passepartout (Jun 21, 2012)

Sort of puts it in perspective for those of us struggling to pay the MF on a (few) week(s) that we share in a resort with thousands of other interval owners, doesn't it? Especially when you consider that even our paltry timeshares are a PURE luxury item that no one truly NEEDS.

As stated, the rich are _different_ than the rest of us. [sigh]

Jim


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## ronparise (Jun 21, 2012)

ace2000 said:


> Wonder who he bought it from?  Another individual?



The land's current owner, Castle & Cooke Inc., filed a transfer application Wednesday with the state's public utilities commission, which regulates utilities on the island that serve its two resorts.

The sale price for the property was not immediately clear. Lawyers for the seller redacted a copy of the sale agreement signed May 2, saying it includes confidential information that would competitively hurt Ellison and the seller if disclosed. The Maui News previously reported the asking price was between $500 million and $600 million.

Self-made billionaire David Murdock, who owns Castle & Cooke, said he would keep his home on Lanai and the right to build a wind farm, a contentious project that would place windmills on as many as 20 square miles of the island and deliver power to Oahu through an undersea cable.


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## Numismatist (Jun 21, 2012)

It says he bought 98%...I wonder who owns the other 2%...probably someone wiht a real loud barking dog:rofl: :hysterical:


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Jun 21, 2012)

SueDonJ said:


> from that link:  "Gates and his wife, Melinda, rented out the entire island for their marriage in 1994, and Ellison has a home on Lanai."
> 
> Unfreakinbelievable.  Nevermind _buying_ it!  Who can comprehend what it must be like to live in a world where _renting_ a Hawaiian island for functions is a viable option?!?!  Good gravy.


A significant part of planning for an event such as that as security.  If you're someone like Bill Gates getting married, you need to consider that  you and your guests are sitting ducks for a terrorist attack.  Add that factor to your wedding planning, and your options for a wedding locale start to get a lot narrower.  

I'll bet that during the Royal Wedding, for example, the RAF had standing orders to shoot down any airplane that ventured into the restricted airspace and did not immediately obey any command to turn around. Since Bill Gates isn't royalty, he probably can't get the same level of security.  



Numismatist said:


> It says he bought 98%...I wonder who owns the other 2%...probably someone wiht a real loud barking dog:rofl: :hysterical:


I believe the rest is owned by the State of Hawaii.


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## hypnotiq (Jun 21, 2012)

There is nothing "crude" about the word ballin'. :hysterical:


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## Beefnot (Jun 21, 2012)

hypnotiq said:


> There is nothing "crude" about the word ballin'. :hysterical:



EXACTLY. But for the non-hip and, ahem, mature folk among us, I suppose it is an unfamiliar term that evokes some sort of repulsion.


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## DeniseM (Jun 21, 2012)

<---NOT hip!

In my day, it meant something completely different!


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## ampaholic (Jun 21, 2012)

Beefnot said:


> EXACTLY. But for the non-hip and, ahem, mature folk among us, I suppose it is an unfamiliar term that evokes some sort of repulsion.



During the "Summer of Love" (1967) when the world changed it did mean something very different than being good at basketball. :rofl:


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