In 1957 Charles E. Fraser was a Yale-educated lawyer who knew little about real estate, but he did know Hilton Head Island, S.C. His father owned land there, and Fraser was convinced that the alligator-infested island could be turned into a playground for the sports-minded rich. So he borrowed from an insurance company (pledging as collateral pine trees that could be turned into valuable pulpwood) and began developing the 4,500-acre Sea Pines Plantation. It became a world-renowned resort that respected the environment —the pine trees are still standing, and the 'gators and...
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