The Descendants (appointed, crime, income)

[HonuMan]

Is the dilemma faced in the book/movie based on fact? In other words, are there land trustees who will be forced to sell their land by a certain date, because new laws prevent holding the land in perpetuity? If so, could noble-minded trustees donate the land to some sort of conservancy that would guarantee that the land was never developed? That option was never discussed in the movie.

My wife spent her first decade on Kukaiau Ranch near Pa'auilo on the BI, where her father was a paniolo. It stopped being a working ranch years ago, and several times over the past decade, we saw it up for sale, but unfortunately we didn't have the $13 million needed to buy it. Apparently, it never sold, and we recently learned that part of it was donated to a preservation society in Kohala.

[KauaiHiker]

Thanks Jonah, for getting the details straight for me. Yes, on Kaua'i I was mostly thinking of the Robinsons. I still think I'm generally right: the big 5 are diversified into ... shipping to Hawaii, growing coffee on Kaua'i instead of sugar, developing housing and retail in the Hawaii market, etc. Yes, they have moved a lot of earned capital into the world's capital markets, but the base here is still real-estate, and the government is trying keep the ag lands from developing.

Hank, I agree that the sugar is being kept alive just for the jobs, in a sort of nice paternalistic gesture. Still, I think it is better to keep the land in use, it keeps away the development and keeps experience and mills from going away. After the Lihue Mill was closed, Amfac sold the bagasse burning and electric generators to the Philippines. It seems like sugar could provide both ethanol for fuel and bagasse for alternative energy. They'd be more expensive because of the labor, but then we'd be independent of fluctuating and ever-rising oil prices.

And yes, a lot of the landowners are turning over some of their pristine acreage to conservation (Wainiha valley on Kaua'i, for example), which helps them with taxes and preserves undeveloped (though usually undevelopable) land.

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by KauaiHiker

Thanks Jonah, for getting the details straight for me. Yes, on Kaua'i I was mostly thinking of the Robinsons. I still think I'm generally right: the big 5 are diversified into ... shipping to Hawaii, growing coffee on Kaua'i instead of sugar, developing housing and retail in the Hawaii market, etc. Yes, they have moved a lot of earned capital into the world's capital markets, but the base here is still real-estate, and the government is trying keep the ag lands from developing.

Let's explore what the former "Big 5" are doing now...

First, there's Castle & Cooke which has diversified into such things as retail development, office development, resorts, golf clubs, manufacturing, aviation, mining, and manufacturing. One can visit operations owned by Castle & Cooke, such as Yankee Hill Brick & Tile (in Lincoln, Nebraska), the Lake Elsinore Outlet Center (in Lake Elsinore, California) and Irish Creek Homes (in Landis, North Carolina) and see that they have extensive and diverse business interests outside of Hawai'i.

Next, there's Alexander & Baldwin, which has diversified into transportation, real estate, and agribusiness. While A&B owns Matson and Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company, it also owns such things as the Broadlands Marketplace (in Denver, Colorado) and Savannah Logistics Park (in Atlanta, Georgia).

Third, we have C. Brewer & Co., which diversified into macadamia nut production via its Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corporation. It was sold a couple of times and eventually liquidated.
C. Brewer to Sell All Assets

Fourth, we have Theo H. Davies & Co., which was bought out by Hong Kong-based Jardine Matheson in the early 1970s. At one time, Theo H. Davies & Co. owned the Hawai'i Pizza Hut and Taco Bell franchises as well as Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar dealerships. Nowadays, it's pretty much defunct.
Theo H. Davies sells off remaining Hawaii assets - Pacific Business News

Finally, we have Amfac, Inc., which owned the Liberty House department store chain and went on a "spending spree" during the late 1960s and early 1970s acquiring 42 different companies. It was sold in the late 1980s to Chicago-based JMB Realty. JMB gradually sold much its Amfac assets and reorganized some of the remainder into Kāʻanapali Land, LLC.

Out of the "Big 5", only two have managed to survive pretty much intact. However, both of them are relatively diversified and their reach extends far beyond Hawai'i.

[DeirdreDedra]

Thanks for all the local and historical info. I really liked the book when I read it a while ago. And I've seen the movie twice. I'm a sucker for Hawai'i on the big screen. The story and acting are top notch. Two thumbs up!

[melaniej65]

I have a lovely older friend on Maui who happens to be a Baldwin. She has a truly lovely home upcountry as well as another home on the beach. She also has holding on Oahu.

She gives generously (both of time and of money) to a few causes that she believes in. She is such a truly beautiful woman with such welcome and warmth. I feel quite happy to have her as a friend. I am a bit sad since she is very old and she may not be with us much longer. I shudder to think what her relatives will do with her holdings once she is gone.

[MMoon17]

I would see it if GC wasn't in it. I cannot see certain movies despite how good they are if certain actors are in them (GC, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ashton Kutcher, or Lindsay Lohan).

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by HonuMan

Is the dilemma faced in the book/movie based on fact? In other words, are there land trustees who will be forced to sell their land by a certain date, because new laws prevent holding the land in perpetuity? If so, could noble-minded trustees donate the land to some sort of conservancy that would guarantee that the land was never developed? That option was never discussed in the movie.

Actually, two large trusts were forced to be terminated several years ago -- the "Estate of Samuel Mills Damon" (aka "the Damon Estate") and the "Estate of James Campbell" (aka "the Campbell Estate"). However, it wasn't a new law that forced their termination of the trusts -- it was the wills that established the them that forced their termination. Samuel M. Damon's will stipulated that his estate be terminated after the death of his last surviving grandchild. Damon's last surviving grandchild, Joan Damon Haig, passed away in late 2004. James Campbell's will stipulated that his estate be terminated 20 years after the death of his last surviving child. Campbell's last surviving child, Beatrice Campbell Wrigley, passed away in early 1987; thus, the Campbell Estate had to be terminated in 2007.

The Damon heirs ended up taking their fight over the estate's dissolution to the Hawai'i Supreme Court and liquidated its assets.
In re Estate of Damon

The Campbell heirs were a little smarter -- a successor entity called the "James Campbell Company, LLC" was established and most of the heirs took shares in the successor entity upon the estate's dissolution, instead of cash.

As for donating land to some sort of conservancy, both the Damon Estate and Campbell Estate had the zoning of some of their holdings changed to from "agricultural" to "conservation" over the years (for tax purposes) as well as engaged in "land swaps" with the State of Hawai'i. However, both of these trusts were "for profit" entities, not "non-profit" and the trustees had a fiduciary duty to maximize the income of the trusts for its beneficiaries. Thus, even if the trustees were "noble-minded" and wished to donate land, they didn't have the power to do so.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by MMoon17

I would see it if GC wasn't in it. I cannot see certain movies despite how good they are if certain actors are in them (GC, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ashton Kutcher, or Lindsay Lohan).

That's kind of sad that you've moved to Hawaii but won't see a movie about it's history because you have an issue with the actors. Your loss - it was a good movie.

[MMoon17]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

That's kind of sad that you've moved to Hawaii but won't see a movie about it's history because you have an issue with the actors. Your loss - it was a good movie.

I'm sure that I could go on with my life.

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

That's kind of sad that you've moved to Hawaii but won't see a movie about it's history because you have an issue with the actors. Your loss - it was a good movie.

Unfortunately, "The Descendants" isn't playing in any of the theaters on the Big Island, so even if someone wishes to see it, they'd have to go off-island or wait for the DVD.