An NPR story by tech reporter Dara Kerr about billionaire Marc Benioff buying land in and around Waimea on Hawaiʻi Island caused a stir when it was published in February. The audio version aired in March.
After the story broke, many internet articles and social media posts echoed suspicions about Benioff's ulterior motives. He's the CEO and co-founder of Salesforce, one of the world's largest software companies.
The Conversation's Russell Subiono grew up in Waimea and has deep ties to the land and community. He also hosts "This is Our Hawaiʻi," an HPR podcast about large land ownership.
Several friends and relatives reached out to Subiono to share their thoughts about Kerr's article. He spoke with Kerr about her connection to Waimea, diving into property records, interviewing Benioff one-on-one, and the community's reaction.
Interview Highlights
On how her Waimea roots led her to the story
My family has lived off and on Hawaiʻi for several generations. So I spent a lot of time growing up there. I lived there as a kid. I went to Waimea Elementary School for just a year in fourth grade, but it was formative. And I go back as often as possible. And my family lives there off and on, part time and full time. So I was there visiting my family in November, and I started just hearing these rumors around town. And as the tech reporter at NPR, I was interested because everyone knew it was Marc Benioff, but no one knew what was going on. And people seemed pretty freaked out, you know, not everybody, but a lot of people were like, is he going to bring in all these engineers and like is that gonna change the face of our town? And so I just got really curious to figure out what was going on.
On her experience interviewing Benioff
He reached out to me first via my colleague. So I was just kind of poking around town asking questions, trying to map out the property records. And he got in contact with one of my colleagues and said he wanted to speak with me. And so then we started this month-long conversation. We spoke on the phone a couple of times, we texted a lot. But I would say the vast majority of those conversations were about his philanthropy. It seems that's how he really wanted the story to be focused. And then I did have a sit-down interview with him in Waimea at one of his properties.
On whether Benioff shared why he bought the properties
Not really, you know, it seems that what he's mostly doing is this is just personal property. Although, like how exactly it's being used as personal property isn't clear. And now, like rumors are swirling again around town. But yeah, it was really hard to get an answer about, like, why and what. He was adamant that he's not doing anything with Salesforce there, he wasn't moving employees, there was nothing to do with his business — it was personal.
On Waimea residents feeling that there is a lack of communication about the properties
I mean, there's definitely a handful of people I spoke with who do have access to him and who he speaks to, leaders of the town and leaders of the community. But the vast majority of people said it's near impossible to understand what he's doing and what's going on. It's very similar to what you said happened with Larry Ellison, like there's no clear plans about his intentions to the larger community. And I think that's why people started getting really worried. And to backtrack a teeny bit too like, the timing of this is interesting because the vast majority of Benioff's land buys in Waimea have been since a pandemic, so it's new. And so I think when I talked to him, he kept asking why are you doing the story, why are you doing the story? I'm like, because you just bought all this land, and people are freaking out. And so yeah, but that is definitely something I've heard from people. And since the story published, I've gotten a ton of emails from people. And it's been really interesting. And that is like, the throughline that I have heard is that people just are worried because there's this lack of communication.
On his recent donations to local health care and housing
All of that information came out because of my reporting. I mean, I think he was already in the process of doing those donations — I don't know, he may have stayed anonymous. But when I started digging around is when he said he would no longer be anonymous. So I didn't know that he was going to donate that land by the time I spoke with him. And after I had spoke with him was when he published the press release on the land donation. So I had already asked him about a lot of those land buys. I mean, he is a huge philanthropist. There's the whole debate you could have about philanthropy. But he's very generous. Affordable housing doesn't seem to be one of his major topics, but it's not outside the purview of things he donates to. His name is everywhere in the Bay Area. And I met with the executive director of the nonprofit that is doing the affordable housing project, and the timeline squares. Benioff got in touch with him way before my story.
On the community feedback she has received
As a reporter, especially at a publication that's as widespread as NPR, you're used to getting a lot of trolling, and a lot of negative feedback. And I must say, for this story, I got nothing, no negative feedback. And I'm really heartened by that. For the most part, I've gotten so many thank-you notes. And it's so nice to hear that, and people saying that, like they feel seen, which is, you know, the whole reason we do this job, right, is to bring light to things that are important in people's lives. So the reaction that I've gotten — I haven't read all the social media forums and stuff — has been really good.
On responding to those who defend Benioff
I tried to be as fair as possible and include all the philanthropy that he's done. I mean, if you read the piece from a non-cynical view, you could be like, wow, this guy is doing a lot in town and for the islands, I mean, with the newest donation of $150 million to the hospitals. Yeah, I don't think that that negates that he came into town and bought a lot of land. You can't just buy a lot of land in town and people don't notice. And I'm not prescribing any judgment on that. But that's what happens. So people can decide for themselves what they think about that. But there's no disputing that he's been incredibly generous and helpful in the community. And there's no disputing that a lot of people in the community really love him and think he has been — a lot of times I heard a quote like — a blessing to the community.
Any last thoughts?
The only thing I can really think of is just that Waimea is a really special town. And I think that also was one of the motivations for me wanting to do this story. I care about it. You know, I lived there for just a tiny bit as a kid and visit frequently, but, you know, it's made its impact on me, you know, as a mainlander. And it's interesting to see how places change over time.
This story aired on The Conversation on April 15, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1. Sophia McCullough adapted this story for the web.
