Who owns Niihau island?

When the Sinclairs purchased the island in 1864, they committed to maintaining Niihau's Hawaiian culture. Brothers Bruce and Keith Robinson, descendants of the Sinclairs, own the island today, and they have continued to protect the island from the pressures of the outside world.



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The island is currently managed by brothers Bruce and Keith Robinson. The people of Ni?ihau are noted for their gemlike lei pupu (shell lei) craftsmanship. They speak Hawaiian as a primary language.

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Elizabeth Sinclair purchased Ni?ihau in 1864 for US$10,000 (equivalent to about $190,000 in 2022) from the Kingdom of Hawaii. The island's private ownership passed on to her descendants, the Robinsons.

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The Robinson family decided to restrict access of Niihau back in 1864, giving it its nickname of the “Forbidden Island.” They put a policy in place to ensure that all those born on Niihau would be able to live there for their entire life with limited exposure to the outside world.

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No one is allowed to land on Niihau unless you are a resident of the island, a member of the Robinson family, or an invited guest. The Robinson family permits helicopter tours, but contact between the visitors and natives is not allowed. Fishermen and sailors may visit the island by sea, but are not able to land.

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No one is allowed to visit Hawaii's Forbidden Isle—the 70-square-mile island, which on a clear day can be spied from Kauai's west coast—unless they are invited by Niihau owners the Robinson family, or by one of its 70 full-time Native Hawaiian residents.

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What happens if you go to Niihau uninvited? Turns out that Ni'ihau is called the Forbidden Isle because it's private property owned entirely by the Robinson family. Showing up without an invitation is trespassing, and the Robinson family doesn't appreciate uninvited visitors.

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Niihau is now valued at $88 million, according to county tax records.

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King Kamehameha IV sold it for $10,000 in 1863 to Elizabeth Sinclair of Scotland. Her descendants, the Kamaaina (meaning “Old-Timer”) Robinson family, continue to live on the island and have attempted to preserve Hawaiian culture there.

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The villagers on Niihau are American citizens. They just happen to live on an island that's privately owned by this family. They can move away anytime they want. But if they want to stay, they have to respect the rules, that this is a regulated paradise.

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'mother tongue') is a dialect of the Hawaiian language spoken on the island of Ni?ihau, more specifically in its only settlement Pu?uwai, and on the island of Kaua?i, specifically near Kekaha, where descendants of families from Ni?ihau now live. Today, the Ni?ihau dialect is taught in Ke Kula Niihau O Kekaha.

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Ni'ihau High & Elementary School or Niihau Island School is a public K-12 school in Niihau, Hawaii, United States. It is operated by the Hawaii Department of Education.

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No perennial streams exist on the island but about a dozen playa lakes, fresh or brackish during rainy weather, lie on the plain. The domestic water supply is rain caught from roofs. Only three wells on the island yield water with less than 25 grains of salt per gallon (260 parts per million of chloride).

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Don't Even Try. While Niihau would be a perfectly stunning island to book a vacation to, it's already owned by the Robinson family. That means any and all visiting is off-limits and they can legally have you removed if you enter without permission. Tours via helicopter are the only way to get a good look at this place.

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Ni?ihau was owned by Lester's wife Helen Matthew Robinson (1910–2002) and then as of 2008, her sons Bruce and Keith Robinson.

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Non-residents are only allowed to buy property with government permits in French Polynesia and Fiji, although there are no restrictions in Hawaii. Elsewhere land can only be bought by those with personal links to the area and islands are therefore normally available only on a leasehold basis and to residents.

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