Interviews

1. No question about going into the family business

2. From attorney to developer

3. A perfect mix of both

4. Growing up in two cultures

5. Never feeling discriminated against in Hawai‘i

6. About Albert Chikanobu Kobayashi, Inc.

7. Three important things learned from father

Hawaiian businessman, developer.

From attorney to developer

Sure, it fits in pretty well. You know, I went to school here in Hawaii then got in and went back east to Georgetown University School of Business and the connection there primarily was family. My mom’s brothers and a bunch of her family – cousins…in fact when I went to Georgetown there were 7 other cousins that I had that were already attending Georgetown. So a strong family connection to that university sent me there. And it was also one of the best business schools that I could find on the east coast. And I was dead set on entering into a business school for my undergraduate education. And Georgetown also has a very good liberal arts program that I got to take advantage of as well. So that’s how I ended up back east in Washington, D.C.

I finished college a year early and decided, “Well, I could get a second major or I could maybe work on the Hill” and so I phoned my dad to see if he could get me an interview with Senator Inouye and I didn’t get one, but I got one with someone that was close to Senator Inouye and ended up getting a position there. And while I was there, I saw the importance of being able to understand the way bills become law, how laws are managed, and how they’re argued by attorneys and I thought that would be valuable for me to understand in my real estate business. So I applied to law schools, got into a bunch and ended up choosing Georgetown, staying in the same neighborhood.

education Georgetown University law schools universities Washington, D.C.

Date: June 1, 2006

Location: Hawai'i, US

Interviewer: Akemi Kikumura Yano

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Interviewee Bio

Bert A. Kobayashi, Jr., known as “B.J.,” first experienced the construction business as a laborer for Albert C. Kobayashi, Inc., the Hawai‘i company founded by his grandfather and run by his father, Bert, Sr. After graduating from Georgetown University in 1993, he worked in Senator Daniel Inouye’s Washington, D.C., office—where Hawai‘i’s senior Democrat advised him to consider the value of obtaining a law degree. After three years studying real estate and business law at Georgetown, B.J. took over as president of his father’s company, developing the Kapolei Civic Center. With his brother, sister and a business partner, he then formed the Kobayashi Group, developing major condominium and luxury golf resort projects. In addition to his business interests, B.J. is also passionate about promoting sustainability and protecting Hawai ‘i’s natural resources, and is active in community work such as the Gift Foundation of Hawai‘i (which he co-founded) and the Nature Conservancy. (June 2007)

Source: Based on article in Pacific Business News.

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(b.1926) Democratic politician and three-term Governor of Hawai'i