Meta mogul Mark Zuckerberg, one of the richest people in the world, boasts an enviable portfolio of properties across the U.S, from Silicon Valley, Hawaii, and one just minutes away from the White House in D.C.
In Palo Alto, California, Zuckerberg has splurged over $110 million on properties since 2011 — and created a compound of 11 properties by purchasing adjoining houses.
He purchased a $7 million home in Crescent Park and later took on four more for an estimated $43 million. Security is tight around the estate, which features a saltwater pool, a sunroom, multiple guest houses, and even a private school operating under disputed legality.
Neighbors in the area, however, are rattled by the technogarchs’ overwhelming presence and feel that the area has dramatically transformed since his takeover, according to The New York Times.
In keeping with his fellow billionaire tech bros, Zuckerberg has also cozied up to Trump over the past few months, after being unveiled as the mystery buyer paying $23 million – in cash – for a tree-lined mansion nestled in the D.C. suburbs of Woodland Normanstone.
One premium D.C. real estate broker told Politico that Zuckerberg’s purchase in the nation’s capital had everything to do with politics.
“It’s the ultimate bow to the man in the White House […] He notices who’s there. It’s an easy way to say, ‘Hey, we’re with ya. Here we are,’” Tom Daley said.
A monopoly of homes in Palo Alto, California
Zuckerberg’s Silicon Valley purchases have recently caused a stir locally. Along two streets in Palo Alto, Edgewood Drive and Hamilton Avenue, the $270 billion mogul now owns 11 properties.
Some of the houses lie dormant, while five others have been merged into a compound. Nine neighbors in the Crescent Park area spoke recently told The Times about their frustration with the Zuckerberg expansion.
“It’s a mystery why the city has been so feckless,” said Michael Kieschnick – whose home on Hamilton Avenue is bound on three sides by property owned by Zuckerberg.
Zuckerberg reportedly offered neighbors as much as triple the market value to buy them out, The Times reports.
Just a 10-minute drive from Meta HQ in Menlo Park, Zuckerberg’s homes are said to be kitted out with the latest AI-assisted modifications.
The main Zuckerberg family estate comes with a saltwater pool, a decadent sun room, five bedrooms, and five bathrooms, according to Architectural Digest.
Private security guards have been spotted lingering in cars, filming visitors, and even questioning passersby along the sidewalk, according to The Times.
Aaron McLear, Zuckerberg and Chan’s spokesman, recently told the Times that the couple fought hard to appease their neighbors. But credible threats to Meta, Mclear argues, require the homes to be heavily surveilled.
“Billionaires everywhere are used to just making their own rules — Zuckerberg and Chan are not unique, except that they’re our neighbors,” Kieschnick added.
The $23 million Washington, D.C., mansion
Months earlier, Zuckerberg snapped up a $23 million mansion in the upscale Woodland Normanstone neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
Zuckerberg’s 15,000-square-foot home along 30th Street is nestled between embassies and luxury homes, and located just steps from Woodland-Normanstone Terrace Park and the U.S. Naval Observatory.
Photos of the palatial home reveal big windows allowing for ample natural light, high ceilings, and warm features. Enveloped by trees, the modern home was designed “to maintain the rhythm of the street and to respect the traditional Architecture found in the neighborhood,” according to architect Robert Gurney.
Its new buyer was kept under wraps for months until a Politico spilled the beans. A Meta spokesperson confirmed that the home will “allow Mark to spend more time [in D.C.] as Meta continues the work on policy issues related to American technology leadership.”
The Hawaii megacomplex
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The most controversial jewel in Zuckerberg’s property crown lies thousands of miles away in Hawaii.
On the island of Kauai, he has spent over $100 million assembling a 1,400-acre mega-compound known as Ko’olau Ranch, according to WIRED.
Beginning in 2014, the estate has expanded to include at least two mansions with 57,000 square feet of combined floor space, a 5,000-square-foot underground bunker, and over 30 bedrooms and bathrooms.
Cloaked by 6-foot walls, the tech baron’s sprawling tropical estate is shrouded in secrecy and designed to be self-sufficient in case of extreme emergencies.
Yet, his Hawaiian venture has attracted fierce criticism from the local community.
The island’s 74,000 residents, many of whom are Native Hawaiian or descendants of plantation workers, have witnessed the building of his passion projects with mounting frustration.
In June 2020, over a million people signed a petition accusing Zuckerberg of “colonizing Kauai,” citing a series of lawsuits and land disputes.
The secrecy surrounding the compound became more controversial following a string of tragic workplace incidents.
In 2023, a 53-year-old crane operator was severely injured on site. Even more troubling was the death of 70-year-old security guard Rodney Medeiros in 2019, who collapsed after a 12-hour shift. His family filed legal claims, citing poor conditions and the restrictive non-disclosure agreements that kept his death tightly under wraps.
The ordeal grew more complicated over time, as the family became frustrated by the omission of detail regarding their loved ones’ death and the NDA’s limits, according to Wired.
A glittering Lake Tahoe retreat
Zuckerberg also owns luxury estates on Lake Tahoe’s west shore, acquired for $59 million in late 2018 and early 2019, according to San Francisco Gate.
The properties, named Carousel and Brushwood, were purchased through NDAs and are located on pristine lakefront land.
Both are used as vacation getaways for his family.
From Silicon Valley to D.C., Kauai to Lake Tahoe, Zuckerberg’s real estate acquisitions reflect not only his saturated wealth status but also a strategic and controversial power play when it boils down to seeking power and influence.
The Independent contacted Meta and Zuckerberg’s lawyer for comment.
