I was talking the other day at the Center for Business Law & Society (leadership) with Brian Bartow, General Counsel of CalSTRS, who mentioned—somewhat casually—that he had to fly to Hawaii as part of litigation involving Mark Zuckerberg and Meta Platforms. (We all make sacrifices for our jobs.) He was there in Hawaii, I gather, to take a deposition in connection with CalSTRS’ case—one that ultimately led to a significant shareholder settlement. For those who missed it, CalSTRS recently highlighted that outcome.
That conversation lingered with me—not because of the litigation itself, but because of the setting. Hawaii was the home of some of my wife’s ancestors. On several visits, we have tended some of their graves and traced lives. Only one of her close relatives remains… and she grew up in Iowa. More on the geography of inequality to follow.
E Ku Kaʻāina and Music for a Democratic Corporate Governance
Hawaii
Later, while listening to Beth Post’s Na Mele O Hawaii on KDRT, I found myself thinking less about depositions and more about inequality—specifically, how it manifests not just in wealth portfolios, but in land, place, and belonging.
We often talk about inequality in terms of wealth distribution. The numbers are stark and familiar: the top 1% of U.S. households now hold roughly 30.9% of total national wealth—about $50 trillion as of late 2024. That’s up dramatically from the late 1970s, when the top 1% held closer to 7%. Entry into that group doesn’t require billions—“only” multimillion-dollar assets—but the scale still matters. Billionaires, numbering perhaps 900–1,100 in the U.S., occupy a rarified stratum: roughly the top 0.0003% of adults.
But wealth isn’t just an abstraction. It takes physical form. In Hawaii, that form is land, the geography of inequality.
The Geography of Inequality
A quick search—prompted by Brian’s trip and a bit of musical inspiration—turned up a striking figure: 37 billionaires collectively own about 218,000 acres of land in Hawaii, or roughly 11.1% of the state’s private land. The precise breakdown is hard to determine, since much of it is held through LLCs and layered ownership structures. Still, the pattern is unmistakable. Even Forbes—once branded as “the capitalist’s tool”—has taken note.
It’s not hard to see the implications.
When land—especially finite, culturally rooted land—is increasingly concentrated in the hands of the ultra-wealthy, the effects ripple outward. Housing becomes unaffordable. Local ownership declines. Cultural continuity frays. For many Hawaiians, the idea of owning property in their home state has slipped out of reach.
And if current trends continue? It’s not unreasonable to imagine a future in which billionaires control 20% or more of private land in Hawaii and a considerable proportion of it in every desirable state.
That’s not just a statistic. It’s a structural shift.
Which brings us back—indirectly—to power and corporate governance.
Breaking Free
Because the same forces that drive wealth concentration also shape our corporations, our capital markets, and ultimately, our democracy. When ownership becomes too concentrated, voice diminishes. When voice diminishes, accountability erodes. And when accountability erodes, systems begin to serve themselves rather than the people within them. Think of the implications of the law considering humans as “incidental.” Fiduciary Duty Drift and Restoration
There are, of course, many possible pathways forward. I’ve outlined one here: Shared Capitalism. The idea is simple, though not easy: broaden ownership in public companies. Not through control capture or symbolic gestures, but through meaningful, distributed stakes—so that more people have both the incentive and the capacity to monitor, build, and engage their bodies, minds, and voices.
But no single reform will suffice. We need dozens—hundreds—of complementary changes across law, markets, and institutions.
Because if we don’t address these dynamics, we risk drifting further into an economy that feels less like capitalism and more like a mix of speculation, extraction, and what can only be described as organized gamboling or scamming.
As we mark Easter and Passover—a season of renewal and liberation—we’re reminded that our collective work in restoring fairness and shared ownership is, at its heart, an act of release and rebirth.
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