A tech billionaire is quietly buying up land in Hawaii. No one knows why.

(This story shows the relevance of having the name of a property owner in the public record and the lengths some will go to hide this public fact.)

By Dara Kerr, NPR, February 28, 2024

“Over the last couple of years, a mystery has been brewing in this small mountain town. Someone has been quietly buying hundreds of acres of land — stirring worries about rising housing prices and speculation among locals about what exactly is going on.”

“People in Waimea tell me about (Marc) Benioff's land purchases, but I want to confirm them. Before speaking with him, I start combing through Waimea property maps and cross-checking the data with public records from Hawaii's Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. I find that since 2000, Benioff has bought at least 38 parcels of land through at least six anonymous limited liability companies, or LLCs, and one nonprofit. All of the property owned by the LLCs has the same mailing address — a P.O. box in the San Francisco Bay Area — and the same registered agent in Palo Alto, California. None of the documentation has Benioff's name, but he doesn't dispute any of it.