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Oprah snaps up another 870 acres on Maui for $6.6M – amid anger over megarich takeover

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Oprah snaps up another 870 acres on Maui for .6M – amid anger over megarich takeover


Oprah Winfrey has snapped up 870 acres of picturesque land on the Hawaiian island of Maui – including to her burgeoning portfolio of actual property within the Aloha state.

The TV host and leisure mogul, 69, splashed out $6.6million on the land within the Kula area, near the gorgeous ranch she already owns on the island.

Oprah’s latest buy, revealed in gross sales deeds, means she now owns round 1,000 acres of land on Maui. 

She reportedly snapped up the brand new plots in a number of purchases: a 520 acre parcel for $3.89 million, a 330 acre parcel for $2.47 million, and two 10 acre parcels for $100,000 every.

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Oprah, whose internet value is estimated at between $2.5 billion and $3 billion, is considered one of a number of billionaires to purchase up swathes of land in Hawaii – to the frustration of some locals who say it is pricing them out of the market.

Oprah Winfrey has snapped up 870 acres of picturesque land on the Hawaiian island of Maui – including to her burgeoning portfolio of actual property within the Aloha state

The land purchased  by Oprah is close to two adjacent properties she bought in Maui in 2003 for about $5.3 million, which contained a main house and a guest house on 23.7 acres of land

The land bought  by Oprah is shut to 2 adjoining properties she purchased in Maui in 2003 for about $5.3 million, which contained a predominant home and a visitor home on 23.7 acres of land

Oprah's purchase means she now owns around 1,000 acres of land on the paradise island of Maui

Oprah’s buy means she now owns round 1,000 acres of land on the paradise island of Maui

Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg, the Fb founder value practically $70 billion, has been accused of making an attempt to ‘colonize’ the paradise island of Kauai, the place he is thought to personal not less than 1,400 acres of land – greater than the native authorities.

Oprah purchased her newest plots of land from Ulupalakua Ranch, which is owned by the outstanding Erdman household. The land is agriculturally-zoned. Oprah’s intentions for the plot aren’t clear however she’s beforehand bought land to guard it from improvement, based on her web site.

About 11,000 acres of Ulupalakua land is protected for conservation – and can’t be developed – however the chunks purchased by Oprah aren’t included inside that, based on SFGate.

Oprah's land on Maui is also believed to include about 100 acres in Hana

Oprah’s land on Maui can also be believed to incorporate about 100 acres in Hana

Oprah’s hyperlinks to Hawaii return greater than a decade and he or she confirmed her love for the state in January with snaps of her mountaineering in Kauai with fellow TV star Gayle King.

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She joked she was displaying off her ‘new knees’ through the hike.

Oprah’s web site states that it was her good friend Bob who first satisfied her to buy a house within the Aloha State.

‘Besotted with the climate, the mountains, and the ocean, Bob has been visiting Hawaii for 15 years,’ it explains, including that he spent years in search of the ‘good spot’ for her.

‘He discovered it in a distant up-country area, the place the homes that dot the moss-covered rock hillside face the ocean. 

‘Bob satisfied Oprah to have a look at a close-by property on the market. He was apprehensive that some developer would possibly swoop up the land and construct condos. As a substitute, Oprah purchased the land and has no plan to construct any condos.’

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Her ranch on Maui contains two adjoining properties bought in 2003 for about $5.3 million, which contained a predominant home and a visitor home, and sat on 23.7 acres of land.

Oprah already owned land on Maui, including a luxury ranch which includes a guest house

Oprah already owned land on Maui, together with a luxurious ranch which features a visitor home

She then enlisted designer Ellie Cullman to help build her the 'ultimate Hawaii homestead,' who stripped the main house of its basic structure, raised the ceilings, installed French doors , and wrapped the entire thing with a 'wonderfully wide' porch

Designer Ellie Cullman to assist construct her the ‘final Hawaii homestead,’ who stripped the primary home of its fundamental construction, raised the ceilings, put in French doorways, and wrapped the whole factor with a ‘splendidly broad’ porch

Oprah's links to Hawaii go back nearly two decades and in January 2023 she shared a video of herself hiking on Kauai with fellow TV star Gayle King

Oprah’s hyperlinks to Hawaii return practically twenty years and in January 2023 she shared a video of herself mountaineering on Kauai with fellow TV star Gayle King

Oprah's website states that it was her friend Bob who first convinced her to purchase a home in the Aloha State

 Oprah’s web site states that it was her good friend Bob who first satisfied her to buy a house within the Aloha State

She then enlisted designer Ellie Cullman to assist construct her the ‘final Hawaii homestead.’

Cullman, together with architect Jeff Wooley, stripped the primary home of its fundamental construction, raised the ceilings, put in French doorways all through, and wrapped the whole factor with a ‘splendidly broad’ porch, which Oprah described as a ‘excellent spot to sit down and absorb the sweeping view.’

The ‘open and ethereal’ mansion is full of ‘extraordinary’ antiques which are a part of the American heritage, together with customized curtains embroidered in India.

The swathes of land owned by Oprah on Hawaii are only a small fraction of her sizeable actual property portfolio.

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Her predominant base is a 23,000-square-foot mansion in Montecito. She first purchased the luxurious house in 2001 for $52 million, and through the years, she has continued to increase the property by shopping for neighboring estates.

The controversy of millionaires shopping for up land in Hawaii was additionally highlighted in December 2021 when Mark Zuckerberg and his spouse, Priscilla, purchased 110 acres of a former sugar plantation on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.

The purchase of swathes of land in Hawaii by the megarich has not been without controversy. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla, have been accused of attempting to 'colonize' the island of Kauai, where they own about 1,500 acres of land

The acquisition of swathes of land in Hawaii by the megarich has not been with out controversy. Fb founder Mark Zuckerberg and his spouse, Priscilla, have been accused of making an attempt to ‘colonize’ the island of Kauai, the place they personal about 1,500 acres of land

The Facebook founder has vowed to preserve the pristine island landscape

The Fb founder has vowed to protect the pristine island panorama

The now 1,400 estate owned by Zuckerberg on the Hawaiian island

The now 1,400 property owned by Zuckerberg on the Hawaiian island

The agricultural land contains many of the earthen Ka Loko Reservoir, which unleashed a whole lot of gallons of water in 2006 after its wall collapsed, killing seven individuals together with a pregnant girl.

The land added to the couple’s 1,300 acre $100million luxurious property, which has made them the goal of critics slamming them for making an attempt to ‘colonize’ the island.

Zuckerberg spent $116 million in 2014 on 707 acres of land, which included most of Pila’a seashore and Kahu’aina Plantation, in addition to practically 600 acres in April this 12 months for $53 million.

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The couple have been first scrutinized after they constructed a wall round his first Hawaiian actual property buy in 2014 that blocked entry to Pila’a seashore.

Zuckerberg was additionally accused by a few of making an attempt to power the tenant farmers from their historic plots, and in 2017 he apologized within the native newspaper, explaining that he was abandoning his quiet title actions and would ‘work along with the neighborhood on a brand new strategy’.

A petition was launched to ‘cease Mark Zuckerberg from colonizing Kauai’, and gained greater than 1,000,000 signatures – 13 occasions the inhabitants of the island.



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Hawaii

Hawaii Set to Host First State Surfing Championship in 2026

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Hawaii Set to Host First State Surfing Championship in 2026


Hawaii Governor Josh Green was joined by Carissa Moore Monday to announce the 2026 Hawaii High School Athletic Association (HHSAA) surfing competition. The contest will be held at Hookipa Beach on Maui’s north shore on May 1 and May 2 and will cap off the first school year in which surfing is an official team sport at the prep level in the Aloha State.

HHSAA announced that surfing would be added to its spring 2026 schedule back in July after Gov. Green signed a bill providing $685,000 in funding for the state’s interscholastic leagues. Prior to that, athletes like Carissa Moore were left with traveling to compete as individuals representing their schools in NSSA events.

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“It would’ve been cool to have a few more of my peers alongside me competing and doing it together, and representing something bigger than ourselves,” Moore told the media on Monday. She joked about the complications it created as a student, making up missed P.E. credits with laps around the track at Punahou School.  “Surfing is a very individual sport, and I think this team aspect is so important and something that I missed out on as a young person.”

The May 2026 event will include competition categories for both boys and girls in three different disciplines: shortboard, longboard, and bodyboard.

“The Maui high schools have competed for 19 years as an unofficial club sport and then from 10 years ago, we’ve been competing as an official MIL sport,” said Maui Interscholastic League surfing co-coordinator Kim Ball. “So you can imagine the enthusiasm and excitement after 29 years that we’re finally going to have a state championship. The county of Maui and our MIL surf crew will do all we can to make it a memorable event.”

The news is being celebrated around Hawaii for the sport’s importance within the state’s culture and history. Beyond that, however, it makes Hawaii the first state in the U.S. to recognize surfing as a state champion team event.

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Shohei Ohtani’s lawyers claim he was victim in Hawaii real estate deal

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Shohei Ohtani’s lawyers claim he was victim in Hawaii real estate deal


Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his agent, Nez Balelo, moved to dismiss a lawsuit filed last month accusing them of causing a Hawaii real estate investor and broker to be fired from a $240-million luxury housing development on the Big Island’s Hapuna Coast.

Ohtani and Balelo were sued Aug. 8 in Hawaii Circuit Court for the First Circuit by developer Kevin J. Hayes Sr. and real estate broker Tomoko Matsumoto, West Point Investment Corp. and Hapuna Estates Property Owners, who accused them of “abuse of power” that allegedly resulted in tortious interference and unjust enrichment.

Hayes and Matsumoto had been dropped from the development deal by Kingsbarn Realty Capital, the joint venture’s majority owner.

In papers filed Sunday, lawyers for Ohtani and Balelo said Hayes and Matsumoto in 2023 acquired rights for a joint venture in which they owned a minority percentage to use Ohtani’s name, image and likeness under an endorsement agreement to market the venture’s real estate development at the Mauna Kea Resort. The lawyers said Ohtani was a “victim of NIL violations.”

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“Unbeknownst to Ohtani and his agent Nez Balelo, plaintiffs exploited Ohtani’s name and photograph to drum up traffic to a website that marketed plaintiffs’ own side project development,” the lawyers wrote. “They engaged in this self-dealing without authorization, and without paying Ohtani for that use, in a selfish and wrongful effort to take advantage of their proximity to the most famous baseball player in the world.”

The lawyers claimed Hayes and Matsumoto sued after “Balelo did his job and protected his client by expressing justifiable concern about this misuse and threatening to take legal action against this clear misappropriation.” They called Balelo’s actions “clearly protected speech “

In a statement issued after the suit was filed last month, Kingsbarn called the allegations “completely frivolous and without merit.”

Ohtani is a three-time MVP on the defending World Series champion Dodgers.

“Nez Balelo has always prioritized Shohei Ohtani’s best interests, including protecting his name, image, and likeness from unauthorized use,” a lawyer for Ohtani and Balelo, said in a statement. “This frivolous lawsuit is a desperate attempt by plaintiffs to distract from their myriad of failures and blatant misappropriation of Mr. Ohtani’s rights.”

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Lawyers for Hayes and Matsumoto did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



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Hawaii justices offer mixed ruling on Green’s housing proclamation | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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Hawaii justices offer mixed ruling on Green’s housing proclamation | Honolulu Star-Advertiser




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