Nationality United States Name Randall Roth | Occupation Law Professor/Scholar Education Regis College | |
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Born May 14, 1948 Ellinwood, Kansas Known for Scholarship In Trusts & Estates Books Broken Trust: Greed, Mismanagement & Political Manipulation at America's Largest Charitable Trust | ||
Ken lawson interviewed by randall roth
A Professor of Law at the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa William S. Richardson School of Law, Randall Roth is a “nationally know trusts and estates expert.” Recognizing his work in Hawaiʻi, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin identified him, as one of the “100 Who Made A Difference” in the state since statehood, and Honolulu Magazine recognized his work, specifically on Broken Trust, as one of the "50 turning points" in the state's history.
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Background
Born in Kansas, Roth graduated with a B.S. in Economics and Accounting from Regis College, which was later renamed Regis University, in Denver, Colorado in 1970, later earning his JD from University of Denver College of Law in 1974 and his LLM from University of Miami Law School in 1975.
In 1982, he moved to Hawaiʻi, where he has lived since.
Roth is married to his wife, Susan, and they have four children.
Scholarship
Roth has both written and consulted on legal issues concerning trusts and estates.
In 2011, he was the legal advisor for The Descendants, consulting on such issues. Starring George Clooney as Matt King, a Honolulu-based lawyer and the sole trustee of a family trust that controls 25,000 acres of pristine land on the island of Kaua'i, the film forces King to confront the realities of balancing the family's long-held interest in protecting the land with selling it to a developer.
Part of Roth's national recognition is derived from his work on important issues of Hawaiian concern, including:
The Price of Paradise
In 1992 and 1993, Roth co-authored a series of best-selling books called the The Price of Paradise. In them, he coined the term “Paradise Tax,” a term now widely used to denote the differential in the cost of living in the United States Mainland versus Hawaiʻi. He attributed the "Paradise Tax" to multiple factors including differences in regulation, land use, land availability, and shipping costs.
Broken Trust
Further Information: Kamehameha Schools ControversiesIn 2006, Broken Trust: Greed, Mismanagement and Political Manipulation at America’s Largest Charitable Trust, co-authored by Roth and Samuel Pailthorpe King, a Judge for United States District Court for the District of Hawaii, chronicled the controversies that had enveloped Hawaiʻi's Bishop Estate, one of the nation's largest trusts, estimated to be valued by the Wall Street Journal at nearly $10 billion. Established by the Hawaiian Princess, Bernice Pauahi Bishop, in a trust before her death in 1884, the Estate was entrusted with running Kamehameha Schools, a private college preparatory school dedicated to educating Native Hawaiian youth.
In the best-seller, he exposed how the Estate had been corrupted by the state's political apparatus and its trustees for their personal use at the expense of Kamehameha; a group of trustees who included, among others, Hawaii Supreme Court justices and prominent politicians; trustees were earning salaries of nearly $950,000 for their work as such.
Publications
In addition to numerous articles, Roth is the coauthor of: