Inspire 2023 ANNUAL REPORT
Straub Benioff: A Purpose Found in Paradise
The Straub Benioff Redevelopment project groundbreaking on May 16, 2024. From left: Kahu Kordell Kekoa; Dr. Todd Miller, Straub Benioff chief of staff; Marc Benioff; Ray Vara, HPH president & CEO; Lynne Benioff; and Dr. John Mickey, Straub Benioff internal medicine physician.
Years before he became one of the most successful tech entrepreneurs in the world, Marc Benioff developed a special connection to Hawaii. He first fell in love with the islands during a family vacation when he was just 10 years old. Decades later, the chair, CEO and co-founder of Salesforce often recalls the sense of happiness and peace he felt every time he returned. Little did Marc know then that the aloha spirit he experienced as a kid would become a way of life for him and an integral part of the company he would one day found.
Today, Marc often incorporates traditional Hawaiian blessings at Salesforce events, has created a community Ohana Floor at Salesforce offices around the world and encourages his 72,000 employees to see each other as family. But it’s more than company culture for Marc and his wife, Lynne, distinguished director of the Board of Overseers of the UCSF Foundation and the former chair of the Presidio Trust Board.
“Hawaii is our home,” Marc said during his remarks at the groundbreaking for the redevelopment of Straub Benioff Medical Center. “It’s where we have chosen to raise our family.”
Marc and Kahu Kekoa sharing breath at the ceremony.
Marc and Lynne became part of the Hawaii community nearly 25 years ago and brought with them a strong desire to make a difference.
Health care has always been a top priority for the Benioffs, representing a significant part of their more than $1 billion in family philanthropy. In 2024, the Benioffs made one of the largest single private donations in Hawaii’s history. Hawaii Pacific Health received $100 million from the Benioffs to support the Straub Benioff Medical Center Redevelopment project, which will create a health care campus of the future. Another $50 million went to Hilo Benioff Medical Center to create a childbirth center, intensive care unit and neurosurgery program.
Kahu Kekoa asked attendees to hold out their hands to catch the “blessings that were falling” along with the rain that morning.
“We need to do more to improve access to the highest quality care for everyone, where they need it and when they need it,” Marc said at the event. “My mother lives with us on Hawaii Island and is an amazing woman. She’s beat cancer five times. Like so many people who care for their kupuna, I think of her health every single day.”
Marc and Lynne’s gifts to Hawaii health care go beyond investing in new buildings and facilities; they are an investment in a continuum of care that stretches from Hawaii Island to Oahu to California. The Benioffs are inspired by the possibilities of a collective model that partners providers from different medical centers to build upon care that is available closer to patients’ homes.
As part of its commitment, Straub Benioff will work with Hilo Benioff to better serve Hawaii Island patients when they need further specialized care. When patients and providers in Hawaii need additional support, Straub Benioff will also collaborate with UCSF Health in San Francisco, a partnership that is further enhanced through the Benioffs’ donation. The Benioffs are also major contributors to UCSF Health, including UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals in San Francisco and Oakland, which are among the leading children’s hospitals in the nation.
From left: Dan Brinkman, Hilo Benioff Medical Center CEO; Lynne Benioff; and Dr. Leslie B. Chun, Hawaii Pacific Health Medical Group CEO.
“Lynne and Marc Benioff understand the importance of world-class health care in our communities,” said Ray Vara, HPH president & CEO. “They also recognize that you have to become part of the core fabric of the community in which you live.”
The Benioffs are deeply committed to their community and hope to inspire others to give as well. Some of their other contributions in Hawaii include funding for state-of-the-art medical helicopters and fire trucks in Hilo, and more than $2 million for Maui wildfire relief efforts. They have also donated hundreds of acres of land on Hawaii Island, including 440 acres to a nonprofit, Hawaii Island Community Development Corporation, for affordable housing. To date, the Benioffs’ total philanthropy in Hawaii is more than $250 million.
“We all have to pull together to make progress like this,” Marc said.
HPH honored Lynne and Marc’s gift by renaming Straub Benioff Medical Center. A special groundbreaking was held in May 2024 to celebrate the start of construction on the first phase of the multi-year redevelopment project. The ceremony was held on the site of the new 1,600-stall Parking Building, which is slated to be completed in 2026.
“We are truly grateful to the Benioffs for their generosity, which will help us build on the medical center’s more than 100-year legacy of providing exceptional care for our patients,” Vara said. “This is not only a gift for Straub Benioff Medical Center, it’s a gift for Hawaii.”
For the Benioffs, it’s a full-circle moment. They’re changing the health outlook for generations of families in Hawaii. It’s the same place where Marc, as a child, discovered the joy of caring for one another in the spirit of aloha.