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Japanese mogul gives mansions to Hawaiians

The Worley family stand outside the home of Japanese billionaire Genshiro Kawamoto after Kawamoto handed over the keys to the multimillion-dollar home in Honolulu for the Worleys to live in rent free on Thursday. PHOTO: AP

Japanese real estate mogul Genshiro Kawamoto handed over three of his many multimillion-dollar homes in Oahu's priciest neighborhood to homeless and low-income Native Hawaiian families.

Tears ran down Dorie-Ann Kahele's cheeks on Thursday as she accepted the key to a white columned house worth nearly US$5 million. Her family will live in the mansion rent-free.

Kawamoto plans to open eight of his 22 Kahala neighborhood homes to needy Hawaiian families. He says they will be able to stay in the homes for up to 10 years.

Kahele, 39, and her five daughters had been living in one small room at a homeless shelter for the past five years.

"What we need to do is appreciate," Kahele said. "As fast as we got it, it could disappear."

Kawamoto, whose eyes started welling up when Kahele cried, said he will not charge the families anything to live in the homes. They will, however, have to pay their own utility bills.

The billionaire is one of Japan's richest men. He said he was embarking on the unusual venture because it made him happy. He also gave each family 10 US$100 bills to help them move in.

Native Hawaiians are disproportionately represented among the state's homeless and working poor.

Kawamoto owns dozens of office buildings in Tokyo and has been buying and selling real estate in Hawaii and California since the 1980s.

He has been criticized for evicting tenants of his rental homes on short notice so he could sell the properties, as in 2002, when he gave hundreds of California tenants 30 days to leave.

Two years later, he served eviction notices to tenants in 27 Oahu rental homes, saying they had to leave within a month. He said he wanted to sell the houses to take advantage of rising prices.

Kawamoto selected the eight low-income families from 3,000 people who wrote him letters last fall after he announced his plan. He has said he tried to pick working, single mothers.

He added it showed more dedication to helping the homeless than just handing out cash.

Kawamoto laughed when asked if he was concerned about losing money on the effort, saying: "This is pocket money for me."

Kahele became homeless two years ago when her landlord raised her rent from US$800 to US$1,200, putting the apartment beyond reach of her salary as a customer service representative.
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