Development: Trading Up Nantucket

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Understandably, Beinecke's growing monopoly has disturbed islanders and off-islanders alike. He now owns all or part of five inns, two of the three fuel outlets and most of the shops. Last summer irate residents wore buttons declaring "No Man Is an Island" and "Ban the B." Native businessmen complain that he has doubled their rent and driven the price of land out of reach, while summer residents lament the canned "ye olde" atmosphere of Beinecke's fake gas lamps and candle-dipping shops.

Still, most islanders admit that Beinecke's development, even if executed somewhat imperiously, is far superior to anything a quick-buck developer would put up. Says Philip Read, who runs Beinecke's Jared Coffin House and has been around long enough to be considered an "islander": "If Nantucket becomes a little sophisticated, a little high-priced, then I think it's all right. If it becomes a Coney Island, I think it's dead."

The S & H heir could not agree more, which is why he is "trading up" the island from those who save Green Stamps to those who do not have to.