Abigail Kawānanakoa, the great-granddaughter of James Campbell, an Irish landowner in Hawaii, has left more than $100 million to native Hawaiian causes.
Kawānanakoa, who died in December 2022 at the age of 96, was the great-granddaughter of Derry native James Campbell, who became one of the largest landowners in 19th-century Hawaii.
Campbell married a daughter of the Hawaiian Royal Family, which was overthrown by American businessmen in the late 19th century, making Abigail Kawānanakoa a living reminder of the former Hawaiian monarchy.
Kawānanakoa, who was often referred to as a Hawaiian Princess, supported Native Hawaiian causes throughout her life, supporting the state's native heritage and culture and donating her vast fortune to various local initiatives.
Throughout her life, Kawānanakoa put money toward scholarships, medical bills, and funerals for native Hawaiians in addition to joining native Hawaiian campaigns, such as a local protest against the installation of a giant telescope on Mauna Kea, a sacred mountain in Hawaiian culture.
Before her death, Kawānanakoa established a trust, which now holds a value of over $250 million.
However, legal disputes over the trust surfaced after Kawānanakoa had a stroke in 2017, with Kawānanakoa that she was impaired and unable to manage her business affairs.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that a judge ruled in 2020 that Kawānanakoa was impaired and could not manage her business affairs, leaving her estate in the hands of a trustee.
The Chronicle reports that the legal disputes have now been settled, with $100 million of Kawānanakoa's fortune going toward native Hawaiian causes.
Her estate will give out tens of millions of dollars to various people in Kawānanakoa's life, including $40 million to her wife and long-term partner Veronica Gail Worth. The court's ruling also allocates significant settlements for former housekeepers, long-term employees, and her adopted son.
At least $100 million will go toward causes that Kawānanakoa supported throughout her life, including programming at the Iolani Palace, the only royal palace in the United States.
Kauikeolani Nani’ole, an educator at Hālau Kū Māna Public Charter School in Honolulu, told the Chronicle that donations from Kawānanakoa's trust have a "big impact" on the school.
Kawānanakoa reportedly established the trust in 2001 to help "maintain, support, preserve and foster the traditional Hawaiian culture in existence prior to 1778" when Captain James Cook first reached Hawaii.
According to the Chronicle, she was especially interested in preserving Hawaiian music, religion, language, and arts.
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