Thurston Howell III

Living… on a deserted island three hours away from Honolulu. Mr. Howell and his wife found themselves stranded on the island during what was supposed to be a brief vacation from his mansion in Newport, Rhode Island. Now, Howell is living without a servant for perhaps the first time in his life and is completely unprepared for the island’s harsh living conditions. Because he’s unaccustomed to physical labor, he sits in a lawn chair while the other castaways work.

Profession… business executive. Howell is an investor and titan of industry. Among his assets are a diamond mine, a coconut plantation, a railroad, an oil well, and 40,000 acres in Colorado. He owns the Hatchet-Cuckoo Oil Company, twelve corporations, and has over 5,000 employees. He’s known as the “Wizard of Wall Street,” having been convicted 6 times on antitrust suits. He is investigated annually every year for income tax evasion.

Interests… aviation, oil wells, and getting his battery company and movie studio off the ground. He’s also a member of at least two yacht clubs. On the island, he’s usually relaxing with his wife on bamboo lounge chairs drinking tropical drinks and listening to the stock market report. He plays golf with bamboo and seashell clubs and reads the same copy of the Wall Street Journal every day.

Relationship Status… married to “Lovey” since 1944. They met at Harvard and married on the day Consolidated General jumped 17 points. The last five years of their marriage have been rocky, and their island desertion has only increased tensions between them. Still, they occasionally have romantic moments, with Thurston going out of his way to woo his wife of twenty years.

Challenge… adjusting to his new life, where economic status is close to worthless. Thurston is bewildered by the fact that the constant barrage of problems on the island can’t be solved with money. He’s desperate to gain some semblance of the billionaire’s life, at the very least hoping to acquire some sort of servant for him and his wife. Even on the island, he’s always thinking of ways to financially exploit or manipulate others. He’s also worried about the fate of his fortunes off the island and terrified that his fortune will be jeopardized.

Personality… manipulative, charismatic, and vain. He considers himself above island life, refusing to do manual labor of any sort. Instead of working, he tries to bribe others even though money is not worth anything on the island. At times, he can be also charming, generous, and even compassionate.