Did Larry Ellison Buy Lanai?

OMG, butter beans, buckle your real estate safety belts children, because this one will knock your damn bobby socks off.

Fresh reports out of the Pacific say that Oracle multi-billionaire Larry Ellison has come to terms regarding the acquisition of nearly 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lanai. That's right, nearly 98% of the entire Hawaiian island of Lanai, all 141 square miles of

The deal involves 88,000 acres of land plus two very swank resorts, a couple of top-grade golf courses, an equestrian facility and various residential and commercial buildings.

The agreed upon sale price hasn't been released—at least not that we foound—but the rumored asking price for the island was between $500 and $600 million dollars. That's plenty of dough to keep a small country afloat for years but still just a fraction of Mister Ellison's reported net worth of (around) $36 billion. At least one report say Mister Ellison is expected to pay cash.

Mister Ellison hasn't publicly commented on the (alleged) purchase but apparently Hawaii's Governor Neil Abercrombie spilled the real estate beans on the deal. "We look forward to welcoming Mr. Ellison in the near future," Abercrombie said (via Bloomberg Businessweek). "His passion for nature, particularly the ocean, is well known specifically in the realm of America's Cup sailing."


 The seller, 89-year old self-made billionaire David Murdock, has owned the almost 98% stake in the island since the mid 1985 and was reported to lose between $18 and $25 million dollars a year running the hotels and golf courses.

The agreement would allow him to keep his home plus the rights to build a (a controversial and no doubt exceedingly lucrative) wind farm that would provide power to the island of Oahu via and underwater cable.

Mister Ellison is a frequent buyer (and rare seller) of high-priced and high-maintenance properties. He owns more than $180-plus million worth of property in Malibu, a San Francisco mansion, a Japanese themed compound in Woodside, CA, a Gilded Age mansion in Newport, RI, a vast estate in Rancho Mirage with a private 18-hole golf course and 8 guest houses and on and on and on and on.