Thurston Twigg-Smith

Thurston Twigg-Smith is a fifth generation Hawaiian resident, and a successful businessman and philanthropist.

After returning to Hawaii after WWII in December, 1945, he started work at the Honolulu Advertiser in February, 1946 and as a major, started the 483rd Field Artillery battalion in the Hawaii National Guard. He left the guard in 1954 as a lieutenant colonel to concentrate on his duties as managing editor of the newspaper. In 1961 he took control of the financially ailing paper with the help of outside investors and by 1993 had turned it into a profitable operation which was bought by a regional subsidiary of the Gannett Company for $250 million.

Twigg-Smith founded the Persis Corporation in 1967, originally named "Asa Corporation (Hawaii)" after his missionary ancestor. Persis is a Honolulu-based real estate investment company.