Campbell trustees
paid $840,000 each

But the four each waived another
$1 million in commissions last year

By Rick Daysog
Star-Bulletin

The four trustees at the Estate of James Campbell each waived more than $1 million in commissions last year. But they still received $840,000 each.

According to court documents, Campbell Estate trustees Paul Cassiday, Clint Churchill, David Heenan and Dudley Pratt each were legally entitled to receive as much as $1.85 million in commissions last year but, as in past years, opted to waive a huge chunk of that amount.

The trustees' 1996 commissions were unchanged from the previous year and were comparable to the $843,109 that Bishop Estate paid each of its trustees last year.

"By and large, (the trustees) do a good job at managing the estate," said Fred Trotter, a former Campbell Estate trustee and trust beneficiary.

Campbell Estate's commissions were disclosed in an annual financial report filed in state Circuit Court by the trust's accounting firm, KPMG Peat Marwick L.L.P.

Peat Marwick said the estate earned $148.1 million, excluding expenses, last year from its mainland and Hawaii real estate and other holdings. That's slightly less than the $148.4 million the organization earned in 1995.

Including expenses, the estate netted $46.6 million in 1996, up 11.2 percent from the year-earlier's $41.9 million. Most of the estate's income came from its mainland properties, which represents about a third, or about $759 million, of the estate's overall $2.01 billion in assets.

Last year, Campbell disposed of two Arizona retail projects -- the Riviera Plaza Shopping Center and the Phoenix West Shopping Center -- for undisclosed prices.

It also acquired its first Atlanta property, a 25.8-acre industrial complex known as Breckinridge North Business Park.

In Hawaii, the estate recently began construction of an 80,000-square-foot distribution and office center in Kapolei for Allegiance Healthcare Corp.

It also is building a 33,000-square-foot service center in Kapolei for Neiman Marcus, which plans to open a large department store at Ala Moana Center.

The Campbell Estate, which began operating in 1900, is a private, for-profit trust set up to benefit the heirs of Scottish seaman James Campbell.

With more than 71,000 acres in Hawaii, the trust is the state's seventh largest private landowner.

Trustees declined comment on their commissions, which are set by Hawaii estate law.

They are entitled to receive 7 percent of the first $5,000 of income earned by the trust.

Any income above $5,000, trustees get a 5 percent cut.