The Resnicks who, according to Forbes, own 70,000 acres of pistachio and almond trees in California’s central valley, and entitlements to “at least 120 billion gallons of water per year” (enough to supply nearly 2 million households, by my estimate), and additional privileges. Their assets total $4.3 billion, estimates Forbes, including not only California properties but also Fiji Water. At least the government of Fiji manages to collect some tax on the water exported. In the U S, they’re well-connected with major politicians, and how much tax they pay is not reported.
Just another example of how fortunes are accumulated by control of natural resources, facilitated and supplemented by political favors (and, yes, a lot of hard work).
UPDATE December 27 2015: Not for the first time, the Resnicks have shared a tiny bit of their fortune with the Aspen Institute, which is thus funded by water taken from Fiji and California. Silly me, I always assumed the Aspen Institute was in Colorado, but of course for optimal influence and convenient participation by the influential it is in Washington, DC. And, yes, among the Institute’s concerns is water supply.