Gensiro Kawamoto

Who is Gensiro Kawamoto?

Gensiro Kawamoto is a Japanese businessman known for his real estate investments in Japan, California and Hawaiʻi. He's also notable for controversial real estate investments in the late 1980s, when he bought more than 170 properties, including many Oʻahu homes. More recently, Kawamoto is known for owning 30 properties in the Kāhala area of Honolulu where he has allowed them to be run down, attracting many complaints and media attention. Although these homes are vacant, boarded up and often vandalised, their value has an estimated total value worth of $200 million. In September, 2013, Kawamoto sold all of his Hawaii assets to Alexander and Baldwin for $128 million. The highly publicized transaction was brokered by Steve Sombrero, president of NAI ChaneyBrooks.