Broken Trust: Greed, Mismanagement, & Political Manipulation at America's Largest Charitable Trust

by King, Samuel P.; Roth, Randall W.

• ISBN13: 9780824830144
• ISBN10: 0824830148
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-03-01
• Publisher: Univ of Hawaii Pr

Summary

Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop was the largest landowner and richest woman in the Hawaiian kingdom. Upon her death in 1884, she entrusted her property--"known as Bishop Estate--"to five trustees in order to create and maintain an institution that would benefit the children of Hawai'i: Kamehameha Schools. A century later, Bishop Estate controlled nearly one out of every nine acres in the state, a concentration of private land ownership rarely seen anywhere in the world. Then in August 1997 the unthinkable happened: Four revered kupuna (native Hawaiian elders) and a professor of trust-law publicly charged Bishop Estate trustees with gross incompetence and massive trust abuse. Entitled "Broken Trust," the statement provided devastating details of rigged appointments, violated trusts, cynical manipulation of the trust's beneficiaries, and the shameful involvement of many of Hawai'i's powerful. No one is better qualified to examine the events and personalities surrounding the scandal than two of the original "Broken Trust" authors.Their comprehensive account together with historical background, brings to light information that has never before been made public, including accounts of secret meetings and communications involving Supreme Court justices.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Foreword	xi
Gladys Kamakakuokalani Brandt
Introduction	1	(10)
David Shapiro
Princess for a New Hawai'i	11	(20)
A Culture Suppressed	31	(12)
``Where Are All the Hawaiian-Looking Ones?''	43	(10)
Newfound Wealth, Cultural Rebirth, Seeds of Discontent	53	(12)
The Trust Plays Politics as Activism Grows	65	(16)
Shell-Shocked Lottery Winners	81	(8)
The ``Black and Blue'' Panel	89	(8)
Five Fingers, One Hand	97	(8)
The Education Trustee	105	(20)
``We Must March!''	125	(18)
A Tinderbox Waiting for a Match	143	(8)
Time to Say ``No More''	151	(16)
Like Investigating the CIA	167	(18)
Mistrust and Paranoia	185	(10)
A World Record for Breaches of Trust	195	(16)
``That's Just the Way You Do It''	211	(8)
Public Pressure Forces a Political Shift	219	(10)
Trustees Surrounded	229	(16)
End of the Line	245	(22)
``Healing'' and ``Closure''	267	(16)
Eternal Vigilance	283	(16)
Afterword	299	(2)
Jan Hanohano Dill
Appendix: The Charitable Trust Provisions of Princess Pauahi's Will and Two Codicils	301	(4)
Credits for Photographs and Editorial Cartoons	305	(2)
Index	307