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Two of the Bishop Estate's five trustees, Richard "Dickie" Wong, a former president of the State Senate, and Gerry Jervis, a lawyer and real estate developer, appeared together to describe the estate's current direction and respond to public criticism. Both trustees outlined plans to expand Kamehameha Schools from roughly 560 students to 1,800 through four new campuses on Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island, and described an investment strategy shifting beyond traditional land holdings toward a diversified portfolio with mainland and international positions. Both defended trustee compensation — running to six or seven figures annually, calculated as a commission on performance — against listener questions about whether such amounts should instead be directed to Hawaiian children's education. On the McKenzie methane co-investment controversy, then in litigation, both maintained the investment had been proper and that an independent legal opinion had cleared the conflict-of-interest question; they acknowledged the board had nonetheless adopted a policy barring future co-investment by trustees and employees. The standing question is whether the estate's business practices and compensation structure are consistent with its obligations as a charitable trust.
Transcript
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Companion newspaper commentaries
Commentaries by the guests, published in The Honolulu Advertiser around the broadcast.
