Skip to main content

Billionaire Larry Ellison is extending full pay and benefits for another month for hundreds of his employees who have been furloughed on the Hawaiian island he owns

* Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison extended full pay and benefits for all his employees through May 31 on the Hawaiian island he owns, a spokesperson for his company on the island told Business Insider. * Ellison owns a 98% stake in Lanai, the smallest inhabited island in Hawaii, which he bought for $300 million in 2012. * The tech mogul owns the island's two Four Seasons hotels, which employ 850 people, another historic hotel, the water company, the cemetery, the main supermarket, and nearly a third of all the housing. * After saying some employees would be furloughed on April 29, Ellison's company changed course the next day and said all workers would continue to be paid through the end of May. * Hawaii's stay-at-home order has been extended through May 31. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison will continue paying full wages and benefits for the hundreds of people who work for him on his Hawaiian island, a spokesperson for his company on the island told Business Insider on Thursday. Ellison owns a 98% stake in Lanai, the smallest inhabited island in Hawaii, which he bought for $300 million in 2012. Through his management arm on the island, Pulama Lanai, the billionaire tech mogul owns the island's two Four Seasons hotels, which employ 850 people, as well as another historic hotel, the water company, the cemetery, the main supermarket, and nearly a third of all the housing. Hawaii's stay-at-home order, enacted on March 25, left many of Lanai's non-essential workers unable to work during the pandemic. But Ellison's company, Pulama Lanai, continued to pay them.  Ellison, who's worth $59.7 billion, had initially pledged to pay workers full wages and benefits until May 1. On April 29, a Pulama Lanai spokesperson told Business Insider that no decision had been made on whether the payments would continue past May 1 — a deadline that was, at that point, just a day away. Governor David Ige had announced four days earlier that Hawaii's stay-at-home order was extended through the end of May. By April 29, some employees still didn't know whether they'd still be getting paid in May. A manager at one of Pulama Lanai's restaurants told Business Insider that their unsalaried coworkers were worried about what would happen in May. "They've been asking me for the last two weeks about what's going on and all I can tell them is I don't have answers yet," the manager told Business Insider. Later on the 29th, some Four Seasons employees were told they would be furloughed with full medical benefits, a spokesperson for the resorts told Business Insider. But the very next day, Pulama Lanai changed course and extended full pay and benefits for all its employees through the end of May. Lori Holland, a spokesperson for the two Four Seasons Resorts that collectively employ 850 people, said that the Four Seasons Resort Lanai will be closed until July 1. The company has not announced a reopening date for the other Four Seasons, Sensei Lanai. Life on Lanai, an island the size of Detroit Lanai has a reputation for being one of the most secluded spots in Hawaii, made up of quiet beaches, hiking trails, and one small town, Lanai City, where you won't see a single traffic light. The 140-square-mile island — about the size of Detroit, Michigan — is home to 3,200 people, local businesses, two golf courses, a police station, a school, and three hotels, including the two Four Seasons resorts. Since buying most of Lanai in 2012, Ellison has spent an additional $41 million on properties on the island. In 2014, he bought Hotel Lanai, which was the only hotel on the island until 1990. He also bought two airlines that connect Lanai to the other islands (and later sold one), refurbished the island's hotels, and invested in sustainable energy sources. The tech mogul plans to use the island as an experimental model for environmentally friendly practices. Ellison is the ninth-richest person in the world, according to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index. Most of his wealth comes from his majority stake in software company Oracle, which he cofounded with two partners in 1977. He also owns Sensei, a "wellbeing" company with a sustainable farm on Lanai. He's known for his lavish lifestyle and spending. He owns a 288-foot yacht and has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on other properties across the globe, including multiple homes in Silicon Valley and Lake Tahoe, and at least 10 homes on a stretch of beach in Malibu known as "Billionaire's Beach." Then there's his private golf club estate in Rancho Mirage, California; his mansions in Newport, Rhode Island; and garden villa in Kyoto, Japan. The spokesperson for Pulama Lanai declined to comment on whether or not Ellison was self-isolating on Lanai or in one of his multiple other homes. Do you live on Lanai and have a story to share? Email the reporter at kwarren@businessinsider.com. SEE ALSO: Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison bought a Hawaiian island for $300 million in 2012. He's paying full wages and benefits for the island's workers during the pandemic shutdown. DON'T MISS: Hawaii is paying for tourists to fly home to places like Guam and Denver, showing the deepening rift between locals and visitors in popular vacation spots during the coronavirus lockdown Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Here's what it's like to travel during the coronavirus outbreak
https://bit.ly/2KUQUlS

Popular posts from this blog

Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck London fintech Lanistar used to raise $19 million at a $190 million valuation

* London-based fintech startup Lanistar has raised a £15 million ($19 million) funding round from Milaya Capital.  * Founded in 2019, Lanistar is building a personal financial management platform that will launch later in 2020.  * "We're expecting a huge amount of growth upon our launch and have already seen strong interest among our sign ups," Gurhan Kiziloz, founder and CEO of Lanistar, told Business Insider. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.  The coronavirus lockdown in the UK has brought the importance of managing money into sharp relief. A recent study from Money.com shows that 71% of UK households have saved cash during lockdown, and, with uncertainty about jobs and the economy looming, money management is now front of mind for many. Lanistar, a banking platform with a focus on personal finance, is one company offering tools for consumers to better manage their money. It has just raised a £15 million ($19 million) funding round from Mil...
Read more

Tokyo installed see-through public toilets in a park to let people inspect their cleanliness before using them, at which point the glass turns opaque

* Two see-through bathrooms have been installed in public parks in Tokyo. * They are made from "smart glass" designed so people can see how clean they are inside before using them. The glass turns opaque when the bathroom is locked and in use. * The stalls are part of a project that is redoing 17 of the city's public bathrooms with different designers to make them more accessible and appealing. * The goal is to fight assumptions that public toilets are "are dark, dirty, smelly, and scary," said the nonprofit foundation behind the project. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Tokyo has installed two see-through bathroom facilities in public parks, allowing people to see how clean they are before deciding to use them, at which point they turn opaque. The bathrooms are made of colored "smart glass," which turns opaque when the stalls are locked, said Shigeru Ban, the architect behind the designs. You can see how it works her...
Read more

Europe's hot challenger banks risk losing their shine with mounting losses and customer 'flight to safety' during the pandemic

* Three UK challenger banks posted their financial results for 2019 through July and August. * Monzo, Starling Bank, and Revolut showed growth in revenues year-on-year but also mounting losses.  * The trio have won customer loyalty and positive press for sleek app designs and colorful payment cards. * But their financial results and the challenge of COVID-19 raise fresh questions about their long-term viability. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. The shine may be rubbing off a key part of Europe's burgeoning fintech market, after three British challenger banks posted mixed full-year financial results for 2019. Monzo, Revolut, and Starling Bank all saw revenue, customers, and deposits go up, in good news for the fast-growing disruptors. But all also posted ballooning losses, with each of the three companies at least doubling their losses in 2019 compared with the previous year.  The additional challenge of COVID-19 may make the prospect of profitabi...
Read more