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A Billionaire's Land Purchases In Rural Hawaii Have Locals Worried

The rolling hills of Waimea, HI, on January 30, 2024. The town is situated between Mauna Kea and the Kohala Mountains, and is prone to extreme weather.

Ronit Fahl for NPR

A Billionaire's Land Purchases In Rural Hawaii Have Locals Worried

The rolling hills of Waimea, HI, on January 30, 2024. The town is situated between Mauna Kea and the Kohala Mountains, and is prone to extreme weather.

Ronit Fahl for NPR

A Billionaire's Land Purchases In Rural Hawaii Have Locals Worried

Hawaii is no stranger to extravagant homes owned by the super-rich. But when a tech billionaire started buying up land in Waimea, a small, rural town on the Big Island, the community got curious - and worried. Locals fear it will become even more difficult for Native Hawaiians to afford to live in Waimea and buy property. In Hawaii, the average home price is close to a million dollars. Who's purchasing all this land in rural Hawaii and how will it affect the already high cost of housing in Waimea? For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

The rolling hills of Waimea, HI, on January 30, 2024. The town is situated between Mauna Kea and the Kohala Mountains, and is prone to extreme weather.

Ronit Fahl for NPR

 

Hawaii is no stranger to extravagant homes owned by the super-rich. But when a tech billionaire started buying up land in Waimea, a small, rural town on the Big Island, the community got curious - and worried.

Locals fear it will become even more difficult for Native Hawaiians to afford to live in Waimea and buy property. In Hawaii, the average home price is close to a million dollars.

Who's purchasing all this land in rural Hawaii and how will it affect the already high cost of housing in Waimea?

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

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