Climate Activist And Liberal Billionaire Quietly Gobbles Up Rural Land In Hawaii

by Jason Cohen, Daily Caller News Foundation, February 28, 2024

Salesforce CEO and climate activist Marc Benioff is purchasing rural land in Waimea, Hawaii, NPR reported on Wednesday, citing public records.

Benioff’s funds have invested hundreds of millions into climate agendas and he is a prominent proponent of net zero, the complete negation of human greenhouse gas emissions. His recent acquisitions of rural land have prompted local residents to express concerns about the implications on prices in the area, according to NPR.

“When you have the locals getting priced out of towns like this and more challenges with people moving over here, it just creates more competition in terms of trying to buy land,” one local resident told NPR anonymously. “At what point does Hawaii not become Hawaii anymore, if no Hawaiians are here?”

Benioff resides in a $24.5 million mansion spanning nearly 10,000 square feet by the beach that he constructed around two decades ago along with buying dozens of acres of ranch land, NPR reported. Benioff has expanded his portfolio by buying up more property in a rural residential town since 2020, usually paying prices exceeding the market value.

For instance, Benioff acquired the land where the iconic Mamane Bakery was for over 50% above the present market value and it subsequently ceased operations, according to NPR.

“Our philosophy has always been different, which is that we’re really only here to have a home for our family and then to give,” Benioff told NPR during an interview in Waimea. “We don’t have outsized properties. We have basically enough for ourselves.”

Multiple residents expressed deep concerns over the impact of these land acquisitions on the already soaring housing prices, according to NPR. Benioff has acknowledged that residents have reached out to him to sell their homes and some of his neighbors have been contacted regarding the potential sale of their properties.

“We all have to do number — step number one, we have to commit to be net zero, we have to reduce our emissions,” Benioff said during a 2023 World Economic Forum panel discussion. “We have no choice. We just saw the evidence. This is the most important thing, we have to all make a commitment. We have to have intentionality, we have to decide what do we really want. We have to know we want to be a net-zero planet, we want to be a net zero world.”

Benioff has contributed to Vice President Kamala Harris and Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, according to Federal Election Commission data. Benioff said in 2019 Salesforce would not allow businesses that sell particular guns and ammunition to use its service, according to CNBC.

Salesforce also offered to pay to relocate personnel in Texas who expressed concerns they would be unable to access abortions in 2021, according to The Washington Free Beacon.

Benioff wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times in 2019 calling for a new form of capitalism. “Capitalism, as we know it, is dead,” he wrote. “It’s time for a new capitalism — a more fair, equal and sustainable capitalism that actually works for everyone and where businesses, including tech companies, don’t just take from society but truly give back and have a positive impact.”

Salesforce did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

---30---

F: Marc Benioff quietly bought land worth $100 million in Hawaii | Fortune