Lanai [key], island, 141 sq mi (365 sq km), central Hawaii, W of Maui island across the Auau Channel; Mt. Lanaihale (3,370 ft/1,027 m) is the island's highest point. Lanai City (1990 pop. 2,400) and Kaumalapau port are on the island. For many years the island was used for sugarcane and pineapple raising and cattle grazing. From 1961, 98% of the island was owned by Castle & Cooke, Inc., which promoted tourism and developed resorts on the island on a limited basis as agriculture waned; it sold its interests to Larry Ellison, a computer software billionaire, in 2012.
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