Larger than Central Park, his Hawaiian complex will feature several villas, an underground bunker, and, for some reason, a village and 11 treehouses connected by rope bridges...
When it comes to billionaires, size matters. How else to explain their obsession with big houses and big boats? Florida native Ken Griffin planned to build the world's second most expensive house in Palm Beach, worth 1 billion dollars. Now, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is drawing attention for the same reason - he's building one of the largest houses in U.S. history, Koolau Ranch. The Facebook founder owns over 1500 acres on Kauai, known as the "Garden Island" for its extensive tropical rainforests. With a net worth of 121 billion dollars, he's ready to turn plans into action with a 270-million-dollar project that will include several villas, an entire village, and a 5000 square foot underground bunker for the estate.
The man who only wears grey t-shirts, hoodies, and jeans will spend a substantial sum on what can be called one of the greatest personal constructions of all time. The spacious, self-sustainable complex, spanning at least 5700 square meters, will have two residences with 30 bedrooms, pools, saunas, conference rooms, and a library. In a very secretive way, like James Bond, the houses will be connected by an underground tunnel. A large soundproof bunker will have a living room, library, and escape exit, all made of metal and concrete, according to NYmag. If the bunker sounds bizarre, what about a network of 11 treehouses connected by a series of rope bridges? Whether it's for the billionaire's children or for themselves is unclear.
The Zuckerberg’s and their guests will never have to worry about leaving, as the estate will have its own water and food source. In addition to incredible guest houses, there are fantastic amenities like a gym for Silicon Valley's strongest CEO, sauna, several pools, a spa, cold plunge pool, and tennis court.
Although this Hawaiian luxury project sounds like a dream, it's already been fraught with nightmares. An online petition demanded Zuckerberg stop the "colonization" of this state, with over 1 million signatures. However, this hasn't stopped the tech tycoon from buying coastal land, reaching the dimensions of two Central Parks.
Zuckerberg had a dispute with neighbours in 2016 when he built a wall around his property to reduce noise from the highway. This wall blocked access to Pila ‘a Beach for locals. This incident was followed by another trouble where Zuckerberg filed a lawsuit against families claiming ownership of parcels within his estate. The billionaire couple plans to expand agricultural, livestock, conservation, and wildlife protection work on their property, but for locals, it's nothing but neo-colonialism.
