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After a catastrophic wildfire burned down several properties in Hawaii’s Maui, media personality Oprah Winfrey became the subject of conspiracy theories. The wildfire, which broke out on Tuesday, August 8, has burned hundreds and thousands of acres of land, residential areas, businesses, resorts, and other tourist strips, especially in Lahaina, the largest census-designated place in Hawaii.
As of Friday, August 11, 36 people have been declared dead, with many injured or unaccounted for. Most of the island has no power, internet, weak cell phone service, no water, no food, and no properly working 911 service. Search and rescue operations are ongoing, with state and national authorities joining hands.
A few thousand people, including locals, resort employees, and tourists, have been evacuated and put into shelters. Several media outlets, including CBS News, reported that the wildfire resulted from dry and drought-like weather conditions worsened by strong winds that came along with Category 4 Hurricane Dora over the weekend.
However, Oprah Winfrey’s name has been making rounds on social media as she owns multiple properties on the island and reportedly spends half of the year there for the last 15 years. Oprah’s properties are spread across 2000 acres of Maui, and experts who have assessed the situation believe many of them have been affected, even destroyed, by the blazes.
The Queen of All Media has so far not issued a statement on the wildfire and whether or not any of her properties were damaged. However, she has visited evacuees at Maui’s War Memorial Gymnasium, which is being used as a shelter.
Since the news of Oprah having properties in Maui has surfaced on social media, netizens have spun their own conspiracy theories. While some believe she was allegedly involved in the fires caused by an alleged bomb, others have pointed out that she may have underground facilities in her Maui homes, used primarily for hideouts.
In this regard, one user has commented under @MauiPatroit’s tweet on Winfrey’s presence on the island:
“So is Oprah gonna open her wallet to help rebuild Maui”: Netizens discuss media star’s involvement in the aftermath of the wildfire
Oprah Winfrey's massive property in Maui has triggered online speculations about whether or not they were impacted due to the wildfire on the island. Over the years, Oprah has purchased over a few thousand acres of land and has even been a part-time resident of the island.
Among multiple properties on the island, some notable ones include 2000 acres of farmland on the side of Haleakala, a dormant volcano at a height of 4000 feet, and a private ranch.
Then there are the 870 acres of agricultural land spread across Kula, a part of Upcountry, to the western-facing slopes of Haleakala, all the way to Makawao and Kanaio. As per Maui Now, she bought the last one for a whopping $ 6.6 million in February this year, which added to her existing properties in Kula and Hana.
Additionally, two other properties, one 520 acres and another 300 acres, were also purchased by Winfrey’s Los Angeles-based real estate company Harpo Inc. earlier this year for $3.89 million and $2.47 million, respectively. At the end of 2022, she also bought two 10 acres of land for $100,000 each.
Now that the island is on fire, Winfrey’s properties and their current status are being debated online, with many coming up with their own conspiracy theories. Some believe Oprah was involved in the causing and spreading of the blazes, saying it was from a bomb dropping, as she wanted to vacate and dislocate the islanders and tourists and buy it entirely for herself.
Others have conspired that her lands were not devastated as they were specially built with concrete steel bunkers that she uses for alleged trafficking. Many have also demanded answers from her on whether or not she would spend on rebuilding Maui just like she did while buying lands there.
Oprah’s silence on the fires has added fuel to the controversies. Here are some of the tweets in this regard:
Interestingly, Oprah, who has a private road on the island that she only uses to travel, was opened to the public in 2019, when a similar wildfire took place, as per CNN.
Earlier this year, Winfrey documented her hikes in Maui with longtime friend Gayle King and even took to social media to share with her followers that she needed extra land on the island for more such hikes. According to Newsweek, a 2006 issue of her magazine O also had a story that said she has many architects under her permanent employment who only devote their time to redesigning and repurposing her island properties.
This is not the first time Oprah’s properties on the island have come under scrutiny. Earlier, acclaimed radio personality Howard Stern accused Winfrey of destroying the island's natural balance by trying to develop it into her own real estate opportunities.
Apart from Winfrey, other Hollywood celebrities and business tycoons are said to have properties on the island. These people include Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, legendary actor Clint Eastwood, and actors Owen Wilson and Jim Carey.
