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THE POWER OF WIE
Michelle Wie’s move to turn pro is paying off in ways that transcend the game of golf.
Wie, a senior at Punahou High School, came in at No. 74 in Forbes magazine’s 35th annual list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Celebrities released in June.
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illustration: Scott Thigpen
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The 16-year-old is the youngest member on the list, and has earned roughly $10 million in endorsements from Nike and Sony alone, while also pitching products and services for other companies, including watchmaker Omega and a Korean real estate firm, Shin Young.
Wie raked in an estimated $17 million, which puts her ahead of some pretty well established female athletes, such as tennis star Serena Williams (No. 87, $10 million) and fellow golfer Annika Sorenstam (No. 91, $8 million). Maria Sharapova, tennis’ Russian blond bombshell, came in as the top female athlete on the list at No. 63, with $19 million, just ahead of Wie. The estimated gross earnings are for June 2005 to June 2006.
While Wie is well on her way to establishing herself as one of the most popular golfers in the world, she’s a far cry from catching numero uno. Tiger Woods came in fifth on the list after making $90 million over the past year, mostly from endorsements. Over his career, Woods has also won more prize money than any golfer in history — $58 million.
Here’s some food for thought: If Wie can increase her 2006 earnings by several million, she might break into our Top 250 list, which started at $20.9 million this year. Not bad, considering Michelle Inc. has just one employee.
-Kyle Galdeira
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According to Urbandictionary.com, when cars were first introduced, the steering wheel was called a whip, after the leather whip used to steer horse-drawn carriages. In the ‘90s, hip-hop artists started calling Mercedes Benzes whips because the company logo resembles a steering wheel. Today, the term describes any expensive, flashy ride. So how would you use the term correctly? As rapper 50 Cent says, “I let my whip talk for me.” -Kyle Galdeira |
OLD SCHOOL MEETS NEW SCHOOL
When Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Randy Iwase vowed to run a creative, shoe-string campaign against the well-funded Republican incumbent Gov. Linda Lingle, we honestly expected just a lot of old-school, grassroots political stumping. Well, we were wrong: Randy Iwase has officially gone new school. In the month following his January announcement, Iwase, 58, launched a profile page on the behemoth of youth social networking Internet sites, MySpace.com.
“We were thinking about how to efficiently get out our message,” Iwase says, though he admits when his 28-year-old son Justin offered the MySpace idea, he “didn’t know what it was; it’s not for my generation.” MySpace, he now knows, has more than 70 million registered users and, in recent years, has become the most popular social networking site in the English-speaking world. It’s a place for young people to share photos, video clips and stories with friends. And now, perhaps learn a little about a gubernatorial hopeful.
Iwase’s profile page, myspace.com/iwase4gov, has much of the content of his official campaign page. But while not as flashy as most MySpace pages, it does tell you such tidbits as Iwase is a Sagittarius, and let’s you hear a clip of one of his favorite songs, Iz Kamakawiwo‘ole’s classic “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Says Iwase of the more personal touches of the profile page, “It’s a way to reach out and tell the young voting population they’re important.”
Iwase says in the first days after his page launched, he watched with amazement as people signed up as “friends,” posted comments and linked to his page from theirs. At deadline, Iwase had a total of 149 friends, some who posted shorthand comments such as “Ur such a cool guy. Ur like old... and you have a myspace.” Iwase says, “We have added about a friend a day.” Not a pace that will necessarily swing an election, but, as they say, every vote counts.
-Scott Radway
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| photo: Mary Catherine Hamelin |
Paige Hemmis, of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” fame, says “When people look at me, they don’t think I’m a carpenter, they don’t think I’m a home builder.” Then again, how many carpenters wear pink? Says Hemmis, “It’s nice to go out there and prove them wrong.”
And with a little style, to boot.
Now, Hemmis, a self-taught construction worker, is bringing her trademark pink toolbelt and a message of empowerment to Hawaii. She is one of the featured speakers at the 3rd annual International Women’s Leadership Conference scheduled for Aug. 29 at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel.
The former emergency medical technician, substitute teacher and wedding consultant took a break from filming the 4th season of the hit show in California to talk to Hawaii Business about her message for Hawaii women. “Be strong and excel in whatever it is,” says Hemmis. “It’s the little moments that make you appreciate life and that’s what I’ve definitely learned from being on this show and being a woman in a man’s world.”
She’s been making good use of her moments. Hemmis recently launched Tuff Chix, a women’s line of work gear, such as gloves and toolbelts, which should be available in stores by the end of the year and she’s writing a book called “The Tuff Chix Guide to Easy Home Improvement.”
For more information about the conference, go to iwlchi.org
-Kelli Abe Trifonovitch
REAL ESTATE: KAHALA BEACH APARTMENTS
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4999 Kahala Ave. #367
Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 2 Living Area: 1,258 Monthly Maintenance Fee: $912 Monthly Lease Rent: $1,193 List Price: $375,000 4999 Kahala Avenue #124 photo courtesy: Prudential Locations |
It’s not a misprint: A two-bedroom, two-bath condominium near the beach for $375,000? In addition, how about having the Kahala Hotel & Resort and Waialae Country Club as neighbors? Are we dreaming?
Sort of.
The Kahala Beach apartment building is located in an only-in-Hawaii real estate Twilight Zone. The 196-unit complex was built in 1967 on nearly seven acres of prime beach-front land, which is owned by the Kamehameha Schools. The current lease expires next year and is up for renegotiation between School officials and residents. In 2027, the land will be returned to Kamehameha, and it almost certainly will be redeveloped.
Longtime residents of the Kahala Beach apartments have lately been on an ownership roller coaster of sorts. Several years ago, optimism was high that they might be able to buy their leases under Chapter 38, the repealed city ordinance that allowed residential condominium lessees to purchase their fee-simple interest through condemnation. But last December, the Hawaii State Supreme Court slammed that door shut in a 5 to 0 ruling. Condo prices have since receded with the tides.
However, word on the street is that lease negotiations are going well and that the remaining 20 years won’t be too expensive. (Currently, residents pay approximately $1,200 in lease rent.) In any case, interest in purchasing a Kahala Beach apartment should remain high, even though buyers would only own their home for 20 years. For some people, that’s the price you have to pay for living in the zone.
-David K. Choo
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