Abigail K Kawananakoa

Abigail Kawananakoa died in 2023. Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawananakoa is known to friends as Kekau. Kawananakoa on her Hawaiian grandmother’s side was the great-grand-niece of King David Kalakaua. After she suffered a stroke in 2017 she disputed claims that she was impaired, and married Veronica Gail Worth, her partner of 20 years, who later changed her name to Veronica Gail Kawānanakoa. Her estate has been overseen by a trustee.since 2020. She finished a few years of studies at Dominican College in San Rafael, California, and another year at the University of Hawaii, her grandmother made her get a job. She worked first at Bishop Bank, the forerunner of First Hawaiian Bank, and then in 1945-47 for the Territorial Legislature. Her great grandfather Campbell was wealthy but he became truly rich after he purchased 41,000 acres of arid land in Ewa that his critics scoffed at as worthless. After the purchase, he hired a water expert from California who dug Hawaii’s first artesian well, transforming the barren acres with massive amounts of fresh water into highly productive agricultural land. After that, Campbell became known by Hawaiians as “Kimo Ona-Milliona” (James the Millionaire). Kekau Kawananakoa began to inherit money from Campbell Estate after the death of her mother in 1969 — living on a sizable annual income that rose each year in sync with the expanding fortunes of the James Campbell Co. She inherited the bulk of her wealth in 2007 when the Campbell Estate trust was dissolved. Her money today is estimated to have grown to $300 million to $400 million. Recently finalized court documents show that after doling out tens of millions to various people — including former housekeepers, other longtime employees and her wife — there will be at least $100 million left to support Native Hawaiian causes.