38 AMERICANWAY
JULY 1 2007
C U L T I V A T I O N
TheKingof Panama
How the “anti-development developer” combines the bottom
linewith a higher purpose— and succeeds.
ByChrisWarren
DoNKINg
isquitepossibly theoddest, least
likely real estatedeveloper inall ofPanama,
if not theworld.
In fact, King could reasonably be called
the accidental developer, since most of his
career has been spent doing other things
like teaching marine biology and, well,
King, who lives inBocas del Toro, which is
locatedon theCaribbean, in thenorthwest-
ernpart of Panama, nearCostaRica.
These days, King’s perspective has ma-
tured somewhat. He’s still adamantly
against projects that have a needlessly det-
rimental impact on the environment— like
thosethatrequireclear-cuttingofforestland
and those that aren’t built in away to take
advantage of the area’s abundant sunshine
for solarpower, for instance.ButKing,who
is comically opposite in demeanor to the
hirsute, flamboyant boxingpromoter of the
samename, alsounderstands that develop-
ment is often inevitable, so he focuses his
efforts on ensuring that it’s done correctly
and inaway that helpspeople.
In fact, King, whose real estate company
is calledBocas del ToroRealty Services, has
come to the realization that his business
couldbea farmoreeffectiveway to improve
the livesofpeopleandtoprotecttheenviron-
ment than his activism ever was. “Withmy
impact studies, I had no power,” he says. “I
couldwrite the study andpresent the study,
but that was it. Then other people decided
whathappened.Here, Ihaveachance toac-
tually shape a little bit how things happen.”
One thing is for certain: It isn’t about get-
tingrich. “Ithasneverbeenaboutmoney for
Don,” saysChesterKroeger, abusinesspart-
ner of King’s and one of his college friends.
“Ithasbeenaboutmakingadifference.”
And King is clearly making a differ-
ence. Financed largely by the operations of
the real estate company he co-owns with
Kroeger, King has launched a myriad of
projects designed to conserve the environ-
ment and improve the lives of local Pana-
manians — in particular the native Ngobe
Indians,who live inprimitiveconditionson
the islands thatmakeup theBocasdelToro
archipelago. Among his initiatives, which
are spearheaded by his organization, Solu-
ciones Biotecnologicas Tropicales (Tropical
Biotechnical Solutions), is a school for the
Indian children in the village of Salt Creek.
Inan effort tohelppreserve theNgobe lan-
guage and culture, King found and hired
fighting developers. For a time, he worked
in the Federated States ofMicronesia for a
firm churning out environmental-impact
studies, hoping that his work would derail
whathesawas theoftengrandiose,harmful
plans of developers. “I was very, very envi-
ronmental. Iwantednodevelopment,” says
ILLUstratIonBYstefanoVItaLe
