How It's Used

“Through a series of subsidiaries, Mr. [Chinn] Ho controlled an international real estate empire extending from California to Hong Kong, with most holdings on Oahu, Hawaii's main island. He was chairman of the U.S. group that owns 49 per cent of the 1,000-room Great Wall Hotel being built in Peking.

“In 1954, he was the first Oriental named a trustee of one of Hawaii's giant land holdings, the Robinson Estate, and three months later became the first Oriental named president of the Honolulu Stock Exchange. In 1961, Mr. Ho was named a director of Theo. H. Davies & Co., one of Hawaii's 'big five' companies traditionally led by Caucasians.”

—The Associated Press, “Chinn Ho Hawaiian business leader started by selling pencils,” The Globe and Mail, May 14, 1987, p. A23.

“What's more, A&B is the last of the 'big five' Hawaiian companies still intact and still based in Hawaii. Amfac diversified, moved to San Francisco and was acquired. Castle & Cooke, now headed by David Murdock, is focusing on its mainland food business. C. Brewer was acquired and then bought by management, and Theo H. Davies was bought by Hong Kong's Jardine Matheson.”

—Marc Beauchamp, “Hunkering Down Is No Strategy,” Forbes, October 31, 1988.

“Mr. [Colin Campbell] Cameron, a native of Maui, was a descendant of the Baldwins, a family that arrived from New England as Congregational missionaries in 1836 and became one of the Big Five families that dominated Hawaii before World War II.

“He graduated from Harvard in 1950 and earned a master's degree in business administration there in 1953. He started work in a family pineapple company and became its executive vice president and general manager, then quit after a dispute with management. He later returned to buy a controlling share.”

—Bruce Lambert, “Colin Cameron, 65, Hawaiian Who Led Pineapple Company,” The New York Times, June 14, 1992.

“The Obamas are enjoying stunning seaside views from the master bedroom, heavy granite in the kitchen and detailed woodwork throughout. Tiki torches dot the manicured yard, while the recently remodeled interior features stone imported from Peru, Jerusalem and Italy, Zimel said. Decorated with a cut Christmas tree and poinsettias, the home is where the Obamas opened presents Thursday morning and were to enjoy a traditional dinner of turkey and ham.

“One of Obama's high school friends in Hawaii negotiated a deal to rent the multimillion-dollar homes late this summer, Zimel said. The entire Kailua neighborhood once was the private estate of Samuel N. Castle, a sugar magnate whose Castle & Cooke company was one of the Big Five firms that dominated Hawaiian politics for decades. The Obamas' rental sits near land that used to be Castle's horse pasture and skeet ranch, neighbors said.”

—Philip Rucker, “Far West of Washington, Calm Before the Term: Obama Family Seeks Low Profile in Hawaii,” The Washington Post, December 26, 2008, p. A03.

“The 50th state is in a great process of changeover.

“The Big Five—the major island companies—are diversifying into lumber, concrete, insurance, airlines. Even dress shops. Families whose names meant sugar and pineapple have holdings in shopping centers and movie theaters.

“There is a tremendous boom in Hawaiian real estate. But little land is for sale. Land is owned by the big companies, too. And if it develops from sugar to living room, it is leased. Usually on a 50-year basis. The rental price is based on a percentage of the assessed value.”

—Stanton Delaplane, “Postcard from Kauai,” The San Francisco Chronicle, July 12, 2009.

Links

Related on eAlmanac
The Big Five Movie Studios

Beyond eAlmanac
Wikipedia article on the Big Five in Hawaii