Castle & Cooke

Castle & Cooke, Inc.
	File:Castle and Cooke logo.png
Industry	Real estate
Founded	1851; 175 years ago
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California
Website	www.castlecookehawaii.com/Page/Home

Castle & Cooke, Inc. is a Los Angeles-headquartered firm that was once a member of the Big Five companies during the era of territorial Hawaii. Originally centered on agriculture, it combined with the contemporary Dole Food Company to form the globe’s largest producer of fruits and vegetables. After separating from Dole in 1995, it shifted its focus to real estate development, encompassing residential, commercial, and retail sectors.

History

Established in 1851 by Samuel Northrup Castle and Amos Starr Cooke, Castle & Cooke initially operated as a department store offering agricultural equipment and pharmaceuticals. In 1858, Joseph Ballard Atherton joined the enterprise and became a partner by 1865. The company broadened its scope into Hawaii's sugar industry by acquiring plantations in both Kohala and Haiku. Following the passing of the founders, leadership transitioned to Atherton, then to George Parmele Castle and Edward Davies Tenney.

During the early 1900s, Castle & Cooke invested in the Matson Navigation Company, with Tenney serving as its president. In 1931, the company acquired a 21% interest in Hawaiian Pineapple Company (which later became Dole Food Company) and secured full ownership by 1961. Between 1964 and 1968, it expanded by acquiring the Standard Fruit Company, thereby entering the banana and tropical fruit markets. In 1978, Bud Antle Inc. was purchased and later renamed Dole Fresh Vegetables in 1989.

Castle & Cooke managed vast pineapple plantations throughout Hawaii, notably controlling approximately 95% of the island of Lanai. Confronted with challenges due to the decline of Hawaii’s agricultural sector, it diversified through strategic mergers and acquisitions: merging with Flexi-Van Corporation in 1985; obtaining Tenneco West’s agricultural assets and S&J Ranch from Apache Corporation in 1987. The company rebranded as Dole Food Company in 1991.

In 1995, its real estate operations were separated and re-established as Castle & Cooke, acquired by Dole’s CEO, David H. Murdock, who continues to serve as CEO.

On May 2, 2012, Oracle’s CEO Larry Ellison agreed to purchase most of Lanai from Castle & Cooke for $300 million.

In April 2016, Castle & Cooke’s Koa Ridge project in central Oahu received approval from the Hawaii State Supreme Court—a $2 billion initiative designed to develop an initial phase of 3,500 homes priced around $300,000 each. Construction began in November 2017, with residents starting to move in by November 2020.

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