Billionaire buys Hawaiian island

As reported in the Wall Street Journal, Larry Ellison, the billionaire chief executive of Oracle Corp. was identified Wednesday as the buyer of the bulk of the Hawaiian island of Lanai.

The deal to buy 98% of the 141-square-mile island was disclosed by the state's governor, Neil Abercrombie, who cited a transfer application that owner Castle & Cooke Inc. filed with the Public Utilities Commission.

Lanai, which is nine miles off the coast of Maui, is the smallest inhabited island in Hawaii that is publicly accessible. It has long been controlled by billionaire David Murdock-who also controls Castle & Cooke and who is known for closing the island's original pineapple plantations to make way for development.

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