Looking through the Oracle at the future of Lanai

The Hotel Lana'i was erected in 1923 as a retreat for Dole pineapple executives and guests on Lanai in Hawaii. - Photo by Brian J. Cantwell/Seattle Times/MCT

Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison has big plans for transforming little Lanai into a bigger player in tourism.

FROM the wheel of the big four-wheel-drive Suburban, our guide nods at a small roadside sign pointing to a beach called Lapaiki. “That’s one of those dotted-line roads on the map,” he says. “If you go down there you might as well be driving up and down flights of stairs.”